FAQs

The Gateway Program invites highly talented students from across the world to attend Holy Cross for one year while taking a class at Notre Dame each semester. During this year, you will integrate yourself into the Notre Dame family. Completing the academic requirements and being in good standing (at both institutions) will allow you to move on as a full-time Notre Dame student in your sophomore year.  Visit the Holy Cross- Notre Dame Gateway Program on Instagram

Of the thousands of students who apply to Notre Dame, only 75 carefully selected students will participate in the Gateway Program, with the full expectation that all will successfully transfer to Notre Dame. The collaborative nature of the program ensures you will feel supported and challenged by your peers.

You will live at Holy Cross for your first year, typically with another Gateway student. 

Once officially admitted to Notre Dame, Gateway students (not exceeding 75) will be assigned to on-campus housing during the summer preceding their fall enrollment by Notre Dame’s Office of Residential Life.

On-campus housing is a requirement for all undergraduate students for their first six semesters, with transfer students receiving credit toward this requirement from semesters spent in degree-seeking programs at other universities. Students are eligible to request an exemption after their first year on campus. For more details about the Notre Dame residency requirement and housing application processes, please contact Notre Dame’s Office of Residential Life at residentiallife@nd.edu.

You will feel as much like a Notre Dame student as you allow yourself to be. In the Gateway Program, you are able to immerse yourself in the Notre Dame community through clubs, sporting events, and classes. The more time you spend doing things you love at Notre Dame, the more you will feel at home. You will receive Notre Dame IDs, meal swipes, and ND emails, making it easier to sign up for clubs, go to Notre Dame dining halls, serve through mission trips, and participate in many of the same summer opportunities as other Notre Dame students after their first year. In addition, like all Holy Cross students, you will have access to ND football tickets in the freshman student section. As a Gateway student, you will become part of the University of Notre Dame Class of 2028. The Gateway Program has become well-known and integrated into the Notre Dame community, and you’ll have past Gateway students who have transferred to Notre Dame welcoming you to campus from the very beginning of your freshman year.

No. The walk is short enough that you do not need a car. However, it is a nice convenience to have a car to get off campus, and first-year students at Holy Cross are permitted to have cars.

Joining clubs at both Notre Dame and Holy Cross is a great way to maximize your Gateway experience, and do things you love! Don’t be afraid to take the initiative to try something new at any point in the year. Previous Gateway students have been involved in a variety of activities and clubs ranging from theater productions, the Student Union Board, Mock Trial, the Notre Dame Marching Band, Campus Ministry, Basilica Choirs, the Center for Social Concerns, and Bookstore Basketball to name just a few.

In your first year, you are a full-time student at Holy Cross College and a member of the highly-selective Notre Dame-Holy Cross College Gateway Program. You may share that you will be a part of Notre Dame's graduating Class of 2028. 

Study something you love and find interesting. This is an opportunity to explore completely new fields of study or to take a more advanced class in something that already excites you. You can also look into taking seminars, research, and mission trips.

At Holy Cross, you will follow a rigorous curriculum that mirrors courses offered at Notre Dame, and most of your classes will consist of Gateway students. As at any school, the instructor and subject matter determine the difficulty of the class. Gateway students have found that the small class sizes at Holy Cross and the tightly-knit Gateway community allow them to form great study habits that they bring with them to Notre Dame in the second year. Your Notre Dame class each semester will also be challenging.

Understanding that many students did not envision their college career beginning in the Gateway Program, the happiest and most successful students have embraced this unique opportunity as a gift. Adopting a flexible attitude (it is your first year of college after all!) and being willing to take initiative will ensure that the year is exciting and enjoyable while achieving your ultimate goal—graduating with the Notre Dame Class of 2028!

If you love Notre Dame, then you will love Gateway. Gateway students immediately become your family on the first day of orientation. If you have any more questions, feel free to reach out to students who are currently enrolled in the program as well as those who have already joined their class at Notre Dame!