Notre Dame: the complete school report for parents

What’s new at Notre Dame for 2026-27

Notre Dame stays test optional for fall 2027, then brings back required test scores. Applicants for fall 2027 may apply with or without ACT or SAT scores. Starting with the 2027-28 admissions cycle, first-year and transfer applicants seeking fall 2028 enrollment must submit ACT or SAT scores. Restrictive Early Action applications are due November 1, 2026 and Regular Decision applications January 4, 2027.

Source: Standardized Testing Policy, Notre Dame Undergraduate Admissions; Undergraduate Admissions, University of Notre Dame

What does Notre Dame actually weigh in admissions?

Notre Dame rates 9 of the 18 factors "Very Important": course rigor, GPA, the essay, extracurricular activities, recommendations, personal qualities, talent, class rank, volunteer work. Every college reports these weights in section C7 of its Common Data Set; below is Notre Dame's 2025-2026 answer, read from the grid in its own file.

What is the Notre Dame waitlist really like?

Notre Dame offered a place on its waiting list to 2,186 applicants and 1,475 accepted one. 54 were ultimately admitted. That is 3.7% of those who waited.

Is transferring in easier than applying as a freshman?

Notre Dame admitted 17.0% of 1,541 transfer applicants, against 9.4% of first-year applicants. For a student who does not get in at eighteen, the transfer route is a genuinely wider door and worth planning for deliberately. The minimum college GPA considered is 3.

When do we apply, and does timing change the odds?

Notre Dame reports its early rounds below.

What does my child need to take in high school?

Notre Dame requires 16 academic units and recommends 20. A college-preparatory program is recommended. A GED is accepted.

What will Notre Dame actually cost us?

Families pay an average of $26,780 a year at Notre Dame after grants and scholarships, against a published in-state tuition of $69,280. The published price is not what most families pay. The university reports meeting 100% of demonstrated need on average. It also gave 43 merit awards averaging $16,616 to first-years with no demonstrated need.

32% of Notre Dame graduates borrow, leaving with an average of $27,861 in debt, which the federal data puts at about $201 a month in repayment. Notre Dame’s net price calculator gives your own figure.

Does a degree from Notre Dame pay off?

Graduates earn a median $99,980 ten years after entering, and $86,210 at six years. 93% out-earn a typical high school graduate within six years. 93% are actively paying down their loans three years in.

$149,206 to $48,541, depending on the major. Median earnings five years out at Notre Dame:

College Scorecard, by field of study; highest and lowest shown.

Will my child actually graduate?

98% of first-years return for a second year. 90% graduate within four years and 95% within six (2019 cohort). The rate holds up across income: 91.0% of Pell-grant recipients graduate within six years against 96.0% of everyone else, a gap of 5.0 points.

How big are the classes?

60% of class sections have fewer than 20 students, while 3% have 100 or more. The student-faculty ratio is 8:1, and 88% of faculty are full-time. Accredited by Higher Learning Commission.

What is life at Notre Dame like?

8,950 undergraduates, 92% of first-years from out of state. 100% of freshmen live in university housing, falling to 81% across all undergraduates. Greek life is small: 0% of men join a fraternity and 0% of women a sorority. 10% of students are the first in their family to attend college, and the median family income is $76,710.

All Notre Dame undergraduates are required to live on campus for their first six semesters, and semesters in University-sponsored programs away from campus count toward the requirement while summer sessions do not. Students live in 33 single-sex residence halls, and exemptions are approved case by case by the Office of Residential Life.

Source: Room Information and Policies, Notre Dame Residential Life; Student Life, Notre Dame Undergraduate Admissions

How is Notre Dame ranked, and how strong is the alumni network?

Notre Dame is ranked #20 for national universities in the U.S. News Best Colleges 2026. Its full set of published positions, including the ones that are less flattering:

Shown in full, including the less flattering ones.

Source: Rankings, Notre Dame Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences

What this means for your student

• Course rigor is rated Very Important here, so the senior-year schedule should hold its AP, IB or honors depth rather than lighten. Notre Dame recommends 20 academic units.
• The waitlist is live but thin: 54 of 1,475 who waited were admitted, about 4%.
• If the first-year answer is no, the transfer route is genuinely wider here and worth planning for from the first semester of college.
• Its highest-earning major returns $149,206 five years out against $48,541 at the other end, a gap wider than the one between most schools.
• See where your student actually stands: calculate their GPA and compare it against the distribution above.

Common questions about Notre Dame

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