With the beginning of the school year, many students have begun thinking about college. Juniors start planning out their college visits, while seniors begin to apply to colleges. The state of Indiana, and especially South Bend, offer a variety of excellent choices for college.
For those wishing to stay local and go to a private university, South Bend offers four private schools: Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s, Holy Cross, and Bethel College. Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s, and Holy cross are tri-campus universities, meaning that students from these three campuses may be allowed to take courses from one of the other two campuses that they do not attend. It also means that these three universities share many clubs and activities for students from any of the three colleges. The gorgeous campuses of the three colleges are located side-by-side. On Notre Dame’s campus in particular, there is the stunning Golden Dome, a golden statue of Mary that sits on top of the golden dome of a building. The Dome is perhaps the most iconic feature of Notre Dame.
Notre Dame’s school colors are blue and gold, and their nickname is the “Fighting Irish”. According to U.S. News and World Report, Notre Dame’s acceptance rate is around 13%, making it a tough college to get into. The cost to attend Notre Dame is around $60,000, but the average cost of the school after scholarships and financial aid is almost half of that price, according to another statistic from U.S. News and World Report. Besides their amazing football program, Notre Dame also offers incredible academic opportunities in many areas of study. Notre Dame was ranked as the 20th overall National University in a ranking done by U.S. News and World Report.
Notre Dame’s sister school, Saint Mary’s, is an all-female college whose self-proclaimed goal is to empower young women (Official Saint Mary’s Website). Saint Mary’s official school colors are blue and white, and their nickname is the “Belles”. According to CollegeBoard statistics, Saint Mary’s has an acceptance rate of about 84% and the cost to attend is about $27,000 after scholarships, which about 73% of accepted students get. The recent most common majors taken at Saint Mary’s are in nursing, business, biology, and psychology.
Holy Cross, the last of the sibling colleges, has “Basil the Saint Bernard” as their mascot. U.S. News and World Report states that Holy Cross has an acceptance rate of 77%, and similar to its sibling colleges, has a tuition rate of around $26,000 after scholarships and financial aid. Some common majors for Holy Cross students include business, liberal arts and sciences, psychology, and biology.
Another private college that South Bend offers is Bethel University, a Christian school. Bethel’s mascot is the pilot and their school colors are blue and white. CollegeBoard reports that the admissions rate of Bethel University is about 99%, and their tuition is around $19,000, making it easier to get into and more affordable than the other three private colleges in South Bend. Bethel University is a great choice for those wishing to stay local, receive a good education, and not spend too much money.
For those looking for a more affordable way to go to college, state schools are a wonderful option. An added bonus to going to a state school is that one can choose whether to stay local and close to home, or to go to a college that is a few hours away, since most state schools have campuses across Indiana. The three main state schools in Indiana are Indiana University, Purdue, and Ball State.
Indiana University, otherwise known as IU, has campuses all across the state. Its main campus is located in Bloomington. The Bloomington campus costs about $11,000 for those already living in Indiana, and about $38,000 for those living out of state, according to statistics reported by College Factual. These same statistics report that their acceptance rate is around 83%. U.S. News and World Report ranked the Bloomington campus as #73 in universities nationwide, and #34 in public universities. Indiana University in Bloomington has also done very well in the rankings for business programs, earning the #4 place in both accounting and entrepreneurship programs. Indiana University also has a South Bend campus, called IUSB, located just across the street from John Adams High School. CollegeBoard reports that IUSB has an acceptance rate of 87%, which is similar to the Bloomington campus.
Purdue is another Indiana state school that contains multiple campuses. Purdue’s main campus is in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue’s school colors differ from any of the aforementioned schools, as Purdue’s school colors are gold and black. Many students are extremely grateful for Purdue’s Online Writing Lab (O.W.L.), as almost every student has used this resource at least once while citing sources in MLA format. Purdue is well known for its engineering programs according to College Gazette. Purdue costs around $10,000 in tuition for those living in-state, but is about $27,000 for those living out-of-state based on reports from U.S. World and News Report. The same report states that admission rates are around 50-60%.
Ball State is another state school located in Indiana, with its main campus located in Muncie. In-state tuition for Ball State is about $10,000, and about $28,000 for out-of-state tuition, according to CollegeData. U.S. News and World Report states that Ball State’s admission rate is about 69%. According to an article on Ball State’s website, Ball State has noteworthy programs in architecture, education, business, fine arts, and communications.
Indiana offers many exceptional educational opportunities for those wishing to go to college. With a variety of tuition costs and admission rates, there is an option for pretty much anyone wishing to go to college in-state. For those wishing to stay close after graduation, there are plentiful opportunities to be seen without looking much farther than South Bend, Indiana.
