Our daughter will be attending college in 5 years. We are looking for a Christian school, we are Catholic, but Notre Dame will definitely not be on our list.
Someone else said this: "At least USC is what it is; ND no longer is what it was intended to be."
To which I say: let's not confuse football programs with campus life. It is fair to say that the overriding PC atmostphere on all campuses is one of political correctness and "diversity." I know both of these campuses well, and do you really think heartland ND is more screwed up than Southern California USC, which is just a pimple on the crap city of Los Angeles? For more, see below:
And you said this: "Our daughter will be attending college in 5 years. We are looking for a Christian school, we are Catholic, but Notre Dame will definitely not be on our list."
First of all, do your daughter a favor. Visit ND. See it, feel it. Our daughter is a junior there now, and most of the kids--as in 85%+--are very conservative. All this transgendered $hit is somethign that's...tolerated--not condemned, not necessarily frowned upon...and very often, just laughed at. Strange kids come to campus and, since we're all so "inclusive" these days, a place must be made for them. Campuses are freewheeling places: You wanna set up a "solidarity" booth on the quad--hey, go for it. NO university is going to be on record as opposing any type of minority's rights to express itself.
The younger generation is a lot cooler about this sort of stuff than we are. They take it with a worldly grain of salt, and a sidelong snarky glance.
Notre Dame is very conservative, very Catholic (upwards of 90%), and just because a literal part of a fraction of the student body or even the faculty "acts out" doesn't mean that such behavior has any real impact on the life of most of the students. Most of these kids arrive with their characters and attitudes fully formed, and they're here to make friends, learn, and have a beer. They're not looking to "find themselves"--they already know who they are, where they are, and what they want. Most of them.
Your daughter, in five years? I suspect you've already formed her. Five more years, she'll be ready for almost anything.
Now, for ND (and I know it very well at this point): The students are conservative (not just in politics, but in many ways), disciplined, responsible...yet pretty cool. Corporate recruiters BEG to come to campus, because ND grads have always made great employees.
And very Catholic. Forget the handouts at mass...they go, they pray, they visit the Grotto.
If you're starting to think about giving ND another shot, know this: ND has never been easy to get into. Today, it is one of the hardest schools in the country to get into.
Ave Maria in Flordia.
Ave Maria is one of several new Catholic colleges that are opening in response to the pleas of Catholic families for colleges at which they don't have to worry about their kids losing their faith. These colleges intend to be faithful to the teachings of Jesus and to the Magesterium of the Church. There is are two opening in CA, one in Sacramento and one in San Diego, but they'll be too late for our daughter, but might be just in time for yours! There is one planned for Phoenix, as well.
Check out the website of the Cardinal Newman Society for the website addys of the new colleges as well as for most Catholic colleges in the country.