ASCEND

Welcome to ASCEND!

A scholarly community entering Notre Dame (ASCEND) provides an environment for incoming Notre Dame students with the opportunity to prepare for the rigors of Science and Engineering disciplines at Notre Dame before arriving on campus in the fall. Led by the program director, Dr. Brian Mulholland, participants receive access to online learning modules, including videos, real-time discussions with other ASCEND students, as well as advice and mentoring from the current Notre Dame students who serve as coaches. During ASCEND, participants will encounter a variety of problem sets, quizzes and other assessments to help them assess themselves and guide them during their transition to Notre Dame in the fall. Many of the quantitative concepts and skills covered in ASCEND are drawn directly from Notre Dame’s introductory math courses and placement exams.  The advice participants receive from their peer coaches as well as the community that is developed will provide a strong foundation for a successful first year!

If you have just been accepted into the program, congratulations and welcome to the Notre Dame family.  We are excited to have you join us! Throughout this program, you will be refreshing some of your mathematical skills (and maybe learning some new ones) to prepare yourself for the ND experience.  Welcome to the family and go Irish!

Some Initial Advice:

• ASCEND is not just about the math.  Sure, you are going to be watching math videos, confirming this by taking a quiz and doing some harder applications. But it's more than that.
• It's also about connections and the Notre Dame tradition.  We want you to talk. And talk some more. And even more! You will be part of a team with a coach who will work with you through this experience. So talk! Talk to your coach. Talk to fellow coaches. Make a commitment to video conferences (Zoom) with your team.  Make sure you have a quiet space to have your webcam and microphone on. You will find that in order to succeed at Notre Dame, you will need to collaborate well. And this is the first step in that process.
• Our ASCEND coaches are “Awesome!” We've hired some amazing coaches this year. They are other undergrads who are a step or two further down the road from you, so they know what to do (and not do!) to thrive at Notre Dame.  Ask them about math. Ask them about Eddy Street Commons. Ask them about going to office hours or good clubs to join. Ask them about anything you have questions about. You will be getting together with them at least twice a week. We think that you will find your coach to be invaluable in helping you get a head start at Notre Dame.

 The ASCEND Experience: