A private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, IN, admitting 11.27% of applicants with a 94.62% four-year graduation rate.
Notre Dame, Indiana
The University of Notre Dame is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, adjacent to South Bend, founded in 1842 by the Congregation of Holy Cross. It enrolls 8,818 undergraduates and 4,162 graduate students across four undergraduate colleges: the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Science, the College of Engineering, and the Mendoza College of Business. Social sciences, business, engineering, and biological sciences account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees.
Notre Dame holds accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and is classified as a Doctoral University with Very High Research Activity (R1). Notre Dame is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Catholic identity is central to the university: residential life, campus liturgy, the Campus Ministry, and the Community Standards are woven into the undergraduate experience.
Official website: nd.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Notre Dame scores 83.31 overall, rated Strong. Outcomes (98.72) reflects a 95.17% six-year graduation rate and a four-year completion rate of 94.62%, among the highest at any selective private university. Affordability scores 14.87, the weakest pillar, driven by an average net price of $26,780 and a federal loan rate of 24.67%. Selectivity scores 97.56. All scores use verified federal data only.
Notre Dame is among the most selective universities in the country, admitting 11.27% of applicants. Notre Dame is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Students who submit scores typically average 1,520 on the SAT, with the middle 50% ACT range between 33 and 35. Notre Dame uses its own application rather than the Common App; the Restrictive Early Action deadline is November 1.
The Regular Decision deadline is January 1. Notre Dame's admissions review places particular weight on academic achievement, character, and alignment with the university's Catholic mission and community values. Students who are Catholic, who have demonstrated leadership in service, and who show a genuine interest in the Notre Dame community tend to be the best fit.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether University of Notre Dame is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Notre Dame charges $65,025 in tuition plus $17,900 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $86,000 before aid. Notre Dame meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted domestic students; financial aid packages include loans as part of the award, unlike policies at Ivy League schools where loans are excluded.
The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $26,780. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $7,244. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $7,254. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $18,670. For families earning above $110,000, it averages $45,321.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $75 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Notre Dame completes students at an exceptional rate. The six-year graduation rate is 95.17% and the four-year rate is 94.62%, among the highest of any selective private university in the country. First-year retention stands at 98.64%. These rates reflect the university's residential culture, structured academic programs, and the tight-knit community that Notre Dame deliberately cultivates through its residential college system.
Notre Dame graduates earn above the national median for private research universities. Median earnings are $86,210 six years after first enrolling and $99,980 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 93.98% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate.
Notre Dame's federal loan rate of 24.67% and median debt of $19,000 are the highest among the selective private universities in this peer group, reflecting that Notre Dame's aid packages include loans, unlike no-loan Ivy League policies. Business (Mendoza), engineering, pre-law, and pre-medicine are the dominant career pathways, with strong alumni networks in New York, Chicago, and national Catholic institutional networks.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Notre Dame enrolls 8,818 undergraduates on its campus in Notre Dame, Indiana, a suburb of South Bend in northern Indiana, approximately 90 miles east of Chicago. White students account for 59.39% of undergraduates, among the highest at any selective research university in this peer group; Hispanic 15.32%, Asian 5.72%, and Black 4.72%.
Thirteen percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 10.24% are first-generation college students, both figures lower than at most peer institutions. Notre Dame football is the defining cultural event of the academic year: home game Saturdays on the Notre Dame campus, the Grotto, and the sense of Catholic community are experiences that alumni consistently describe as central to their time at the university.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at University of Notre Dame. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
University of Notre Dame offers an extensive catalog of programs: 127 distinct programs across 24 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Notre Dame operates at a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 88.13% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $38,658 per year. The endowment stands at $18.25 billion, among the largest at any private university outside the Ivy League and comparable to the University of Michigan ($18.89 billion). The endowment supports need-based financial aid, research initiatives, and the residential college infrastructure that distinguishes the Notre Dame undergraduate experience.
1,288 instructional faculty across 5 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 453 | 35% | $213,929 |
| Associate Professors | 259 | 20% | $139,722 |
| Assistant Professors | 211 | 16% | $132,165 |
| Instructors | 2 | 0% | $83,500 |
| No Rank | 363 | 28% | $96,476 |
Notre Dame's defining strengths are its Outcomes score (98.72), its four-year graduation rate (94.62%, among the highest at any selective private university), its $18.25B endowment, and a strong Catholic community culture that produces exceptionally loyal alumni networks. Ten-year earnings of $99,980 are near six figures and competitive with most Ivy League institutions. The challenges are Affordability (14.87) and the loan structure: unlike Ivy League schools whose aid packages exclude loans entirely, Notre Dame includes loans in aid packages, which is reflected in the 24.67% federal loan rate and $19,000 median debt.
The campus culture is explicitly Catholic, which is a strong draw for students who value that environment and a significant deterrent for those who do not. Best fit for students who want a structured residential Catholic university with strong business, engineering, and pre-professional programs, and who will qualify for substantial need-based aid.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Notre Dame: how selective admissions are, how the Catholic identity affects campus life, how financial aid compares to Ivy League peers, and what graduates earn.
One federal dataset, 3,839 colleges. The median school costs $16,371 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,259 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
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