College Bound

Admissions Counselors Maria Finan and Zach Klonsinski are back for another season to help you navigate the college application process. They kick off season 5 with this episode, where they cover the extension of Notre Dame's test-optional pilot program and how they evaluate test-optional applications. 

The ND Admissions senior interns get together for one last episode before graduation. They reflect on their final academic year as undergrads at Notre Dame and share what's coming up next for them this summer. 

ND Admissions interns and seniors Rory Finn and Hailey Oppenlander discuss their service experience during their four years at Notre Dame and share how the theme of Being a Force for Good is implemented in that service work as well as some of the courses offered to students. 

ND Admissions intern Lulu Romero hosts this episode. She is a first-generation college student at Notre Dame from southern California. In this episode, she's joined by two other first-generation students at Notre Dame, 1stG ND President Miguel Coste, and Student Body President Allan Njomo. They share their perspective on the college search process and what their experience was like coming to Notre Dame.

In this week's episode, we explore the experiences of two Indigenous students at Notre Dame. Host and ND Admissions intern Tajae Thompson sits down with her classmates Yvette Pino and Mikaela Murphy to discuss their decision to come to Notre Dame and what their academic and social experiences have been like on campus. 

In this week's episode, we continue to explore identity at Notre Dame and, more specifically, what it means to be a student with intersectional identities on our campus. ND Admissions intern Hailey Oppenlander sits down with her classmate CJ Foronda and asks her about being Asian American at Notre Dame. 

In this second episode of season 4, we continue to explore identity at Notre Dame and, more specifically, what it means to be a student with intersectional identities on our campus. ND Admissions interns and co-hosts Irasema Hernandez Trujillo, Lulu Romero, and Vera Leon Asilis team up to discuss being Latinx at Notre Dame. 

This season on the College Bound Podcast, the ND Admissions student intern team is exploring identity at Notre Dame, and more specifically, what it means to be a student with intersectional identities at Notre Dame. ND Admissions interns Tajae Thompson and Savannah Carr co-host this episode about being Black at Notre Dame.

Admissions counselors and co-hosts Maria Finan and Zach Klonsinski dive into everything about the area surrounding Notre Dame's campus, including details on travel, where to eat, and all of the fun places to check out outside of campus.

Admissions counselors and College Bound co-hosts Maria Finan and Zach Klonsinski dig into Notre Dame's history and its mission, taking you all the way back to the year the University was founded and sharing the key moments over the years that have made Notre Dame what it is today. 

Admissions counselors and co-hosts Maria Finan and Zach Klonsinski walk you through a home game weekend at Notre Dame, covering everything from admissions information sessions and campus tours to tailgating and the best spots to grab a bite to eat. 

Admissions counselors and co-hosts Maria Finan and Zach Klonsinski debunk myths surrounding the Notre Dame admissions process. Is there a secret code to crack to gain admission to Notre Dame? How much does your freshman year in high school impact your college application? Is standardized testing required? Maria and Zach tackle all of these topics and more in this episode.

Our admissions counselors are back as your hosts for season 3 of College Bound! Maria Finan and Zach Klonsinski are discussing Notre Dame being test-optional for the 2022-23 application cycle . They will also give you a rundown of our application deadlines and help you to determine whether applying Restrictive Early Action or Regular Decision is best for you.

ND Admissions interns and co-hosts Catherine O'Leary, Hailey Oppenlander and Tajae Thompson are joined by guest, Ben Fecher, a junior political science major who lives in Dunne Hall. They share studying tips for finals week and discuss how they keep in touch and stay connected with Notre Dame during the summer break. 

ND Admissions interns and co-hosts Catherine O'Leary, Hailey Oppenlander and Tajae Thompson are joined by fellow intern, Rory Finn and Rory's first-year roommate, Gador Aliseda-Canton. They discuss how they navigated living together as first-year students at Notre Dame and how what started as a random roommate assignment grew into a close friendship between the two of them. 

ND Admissions interns Catherine O'Leary, Hailey Oppenlander and Tajae Thompson debate North vs. South dining halls and share all of the good eats and treats you can find across campus. 

ND Admissions interns and College Bound hosts Catherine O'Leary, Hailey Oppenlander and Tajae Thompson are joined by fellow Notre Dame student Indy Brown, who is from South Bend. They chat about all of the best spots to hang, eat and check out in the South Bend community surrounding campus.

ND Admissions interns Catherine O'Leary, Hailey Oppenlander and Tajae Thompson are joined by fellow intern Sarah Price to discuss resources available to students on campus for everything from their mental wellness to academics.

In this week's episode of College Bound, ND Admissions interns Catherine O'Leary, Hailey Oppenlander and Adeline Chappuis discuss how they navigated making the transition from high school to college during their first year at Notre Dame. 

In this episode of College Bound, hosts Catherine O'Leary, Hailey Oppenlander and Tajae Thompson discuss faith and spirituality at Notre Dame. They share how faith and spirituality play a role in classes, in the community and in campus life, and they discuss what it's like to be both Catholic and a non-denominational Christian at Notre Dame.

In this episode, your hosts Catherine O'Leary, Hailey Oppenlander, and Tajae Thompson are joined by fellow ND Admissions intern Grace McDermott. They highlight the fun traditions each residence hall has, game day traditions, and other Notre Dame traditions, superstitions, and lore!

Current students from the ND Admissions Intern Team are stepping in as your guest hosts for season two of College Bound: Notre Dame Admissions Podcast! In this first episode of season two, interns Hailey Oppenlander, Catherine O'Leary, Tajae Thompson and Nicole Campbell discuss why they love their majors, their favorite classes, and most memorable professors.

In our final episode of season 1, we’re joined by American Studies major, Meg Beuter ‘21, and Political Science major, Matthew Fischer ‘21. Meg and Matthew join us to talk about their transition to Notre Dame from Tennessee and North Dakota, as well as their extracurriculars, dorms, and favorite aspects of Notre Dame. They end by sharing their best advice for current high school seniors!

David Korzeniowski ‘20 joins us to talk about how Notre Dame, his internships, and the Alumni Network helped him find his path post-graduation. Currently a graduate student at Northwestern, David talks about working with NBC at Notre Dame football games, calling baseball games for the Falmouth Falcons, and the way Notre Dame alumni helped him decide to pursue graduate school.

Kellen Round ‘21, a Science-Business major, and Alena Coleman ‘22, an English and Spanish major, join us to talk about their current research projects and how they got involved in research. Notre Dame puts a big emphasis on undergraduate research in all academic disciplines, whether that’s here on campus, in communities across the U.S., or even internationally!

We dive into two quintessential aspects of life at Notre Dame this week: faith and service. Brian McGee ‘21 and Adeline Chappuis ‘23 join us to discuss their experiences with faith and service, on and off campus.

This week we attempt to settle the debate as to which dorm really is the best dorm on campus. Tajae Thompson ‘22 and Connor Patrick ‘23 join us to talk about how residential life works at Notre Dame, and their favorite traditions and events associated with their dorm communities.

This episode of College Bound is a special one as we transition into our first of many discussions about student life at Notre Dame. With over 175 years of tradition, Notre Dame has a rich history full of lore, legends, and traditions. If you like ghost stories, or triumphant endings, you’ll love our exploration of Notre Dame’s past and present.

We cover the financial aid applications Notre Dame requires, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the CSS Profile, and provide you with some helpful resources. We also explain how merit aid works at Notre Dame.

Our discussion of holistic review continues in this episode as we talk about the non-academic portions of the application. We offer advice on what to include and some insight on how to best tackle your college essays.

This episode provides an overview of the academic criteria we consider when reviewing applications. We dig into test-optional and what that really means, in addition to offering advice about who should submit which tests under specific circumstances. Lastly, we emphasize that test-optional really does mean optional!

In our inaugural episode of College Bound, we discuss our philosophy for application evaluation, specifically the holistic approach we take to evaluating applications, and the role that context plays in our review process. We also explain our Restrictive Early Action and Regular Decision deadlines and timelines, and how to choose the best one for you.