They say that you are who you surround yourself with. At Notre Dame, my peers would be excellent.

Why Notre Dame? (150-200 words)

They say that you are who you surround yourself with. At Notre Dame, my peers would be intelligent, passionate, and hardworking individuals who aren't intimidated by a challenge and appreciate the value of a well-rounded education. Although they all hail from diverse backgrounds, a predominant mojority of students shares the same fundamental Catholic beliefs that the University of Notre Dame was founded on. I want to continue to develop [would "better understand" make more sense?] and strengthen my faith [should I say "relationship with God" instead?] and being in an environment around those who have the same intent would encourage me to do so.When I visited Notre Dame, I got the impression that students and professors genuinely feel they have an obligation to serve others. Professors see education as more than just a means to a job; rather, it's tool with which to help others and fight back against injustice. More than three-quarters of students participate in service activities--not to satisfy a requirement, but becuase of their whole-hearted devotion to living a life of service. Those are the types of people I want to be surrounded by. The next four years of my life are critical in my development as a person and will shape who I become for the rest of my life. And there is no place other than the University of Notre Dame that I would rather be.

Comments and criticism much appreciated! Thank you everyone!

Kelly, this is already a very good statement response in a common sense of responding to it. I had hoped that you could give a deeper and stronger response by choosing a core value or the mission / goals / objectives of Notre Dame as an educational institution and as a molder of minds and character traits that can help to inspire you and the world we live in. By creating a deeper connection with the university through any of those criteria you will be able to show them that you will succeed as a student because you embody that which the university holds as a near and dear trait of its students, the fact that you can perform the way a graduate of the school is expected to represent the school. I am only making this suggestion because I believe it can make a better paper for you. I am not saying this current version is bad. In fact, you can use this version if you want to :-) I am only offering a review and commentary of your work.