University of Notre Dame's wording, checked October 26, 2026“Everyone has different priorities when considering their higher education options and building their college or university list. Tell us about your “non-negotiable” factor(s) when searching for your future college home.”
How to approach it
- 1Name one or two factors and why they matter to you, through experience.
- 2Connect each to something specific at Notre Dame.
- 3Keep rankings and prestige out of it.
A structure that works
One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.
- 1The factor you will not compromise on.
- 2Where it comes from in your life.
- 3How you found it at Notre Dame.
Where the 150 words go
| Part | Words |
|---|---|
| Your first, most specific reason | about 50 |
| A second reason, tied to your experience | about 50 |
| What you would do or add there | about 50 |
Mistakes to avoid
- A shopping list of features.
- Factors any college meets.
The checklist our grader uses for this question
When you check your Notre Dame answers, this answer is read against these 5 areas. Each comes back Met, Partly or Missing with a quote from your draft as evidence, and together with the 150 words limit they set its readiness verdict.
| Area | What a reader looks for |
|---|---|
| Answers the question | The opening sentences answer what was asked, plainly, before background or a hook; every part of a multi-part question is answered. |
| Specific to this college | It names at least two concrete things that exist at this college (a program, course, research group, tradition, place, way of teaching) and could not survive a swap of the college's name. |
| Connected to you | Each thing named is tied to something the applicant has done, asked or wants, so the reader sees why it matters to THIS student, not why the college is good. |
| What you would do there | It shows how the applicant would use those things and what they would add (join, start, research, contribute), not only what they would receive. |
| Notre Dame's ask | Names the non-negotiable factor(s), why they matter to the applicant, and how they connect to Notre Dame. |
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Questions
More on Notre Dame and this kind of question
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- Dartmouth: Why Dartmouth · 100 words
- Cornell: CALS: what draws you to CALS · 350 words
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