You are always welcome to stop by Notre Dame College Prep. Stop in and let the front desk know you are interested in a tour of the school and an enrollment representative will guide you around campus, answer any questions you have and give you an application.
All interested eighth grade students are welcome to "shadow" at Notre Dame. Please complete the Shadow Day Form to schedule your "Shadow Day." You will be partnered with a current student of similar academic standing and interests.
Please dress in Notre Dame uniform code: solid color polo shirt and solid color "Docker" style khakis. You do not need to bring a lunch as lunch vouchers will be provided.
Our next Open House is scheduled for Thursday, October 26, 2023. We are excited to welcome future Dons and their families. Check back for details.
All interested eighth-grade students should take our placement exam on Saturday, December 2, 2023. NDCP will offer two times for the entrance exam on that day - 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Students may only take one Catholic High School entrance exam. Preregistration for the entrance exam begins on Saturday, November 11, 2023. There is a $25.00 exam fee.
There are no miraculous books or strategies to performing well on our placement exam. We ask students to study hard during junior high and get a good night's sleep.
Notre Dame offers the High School Placement Test (HSPT).
While the entrance exam is an important tool for us in reviewing applicants, we look at the student as a whole. We use a pre-admission form that we receive from grade schools that indicates 7th and 8th grade grades, attendance, previous standardized testing, and discipline. It is also important to see how a student has been involved at his school and in his community. Notre Dame admits students without regard to race, color, and/or country of national origin.
Students who test in the top fifteen percent of the placement exam do receive a monetary scholarship. There is no need to apply for these.
We also have a need-based Financial Aid Program. All families are invited to apply. Please note, per IHSA rules, no Catholic high school can offer athletic scholarships.
Thanks to the generosity of many of our donors, scholarship awards outside of the standard financial aid awards are available to Dons who meet certain criteria. Each year more than $100,000 is given to young men based on these criteria. Some of our benefactors have arranged, for example, for awards to be available to students from a certain neighborhood or elementary school, who maintain a certain GPA or are involved is specific types of service and activities. To qualify for these awards, a student must complete this SCHOLARSHIP QUALIFICATION FORM. Preferred consideration will be given to applications completed prior to February 1, 2022.
If you have questions about any of these awards, please contact Karen Meyer at kmeyer@nddons.org.
We offer advanced placement exams for Math, English, Foreign Language and Technology.
Notre Dame offers the following academic tracks (please click on to get more info):
The Hesburgh Scholar Program, College Prep Program and St. Andre Scholar Program are ALL COLLEGE PREP. The Burke Scholar Program is for students with mild to moderate cognitive learning difficulties. Notre Dame College Prep is the first Catholic high school in Illinois to offer a special education program.
Please click here for more information about Notre Dame's Counseling Department.
Tuition, not including fees, for the 2021-2022 school year is $13,400. For the 2021-2022 school year, the following tuition discount is offered to a family with more than one son attending Notre Dame College Prep at the same time: 2nd Son - $850.00, 3rd Son - $1,850.00, 4th Son - fees only. Fees for the 2021-2022 school year are $750.00. The total for Seniors, including a $200.00 graduation fee, is $950.00.
Over 50 percent of our student body plays one of the 16 IHSA sponsored sports. Nearly 100 percent of students join one of our over 30 clubs and activities.
People often ask, "Why are the students of Notre Dame College Prep nicknamed the Dons?" The answer is simple. In an attempt to avoid an animal nickname, Notre Dame College Prep's first principal, the Reverend James d'Autremont, CSC, chose the nickname "Dons" because of its Spanish translation of "gentleman." Fr. d'Autremont preferred the students to be referred to as the Dons of Notre Dame, or "Gentlemen of Mary."