The University of Notre Dame, founded in 1842 by a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, is one of the most highly reputable independent, national Catholic universities. It's located at Notre Dame, Indiana, adjacent to the city of South Bend and approximately 90 miles east of Chicago, making it a popular choice among Indiana private colleges.

Admission to the University of Notre Dame is highly competitive, with five applicants for each freshman class position. Sixty-nine percent of incoming freshmen were in the top five percent of their high school graduating classes.

Notre Dame is one of a handful of truly international universities, with a student body drawn from all 50 states and 100 countries. About 80 percent of the undergraduates and 21 percent of advanced students live on campus, and some 80 percent are active in service learning and community volunteer activities. There are no social fraternities or sororities at Notre Dame - the residence hall is the focus of social, religious, and intramural athletic activities.

In laboratories, studios, theaters, libraries, and institutes on campus and around the world, Notre Dame students are engaged in a wide array of research, scholarly, and creative projects. They are selected to the leading academic honor societies and have received such prestigious awards as Rhodes, Fulbright, Marshall, and Truman Scholarships and fellowships from the Goldwater, Mellon, and National Science Foundations.