This is my alma mater. What to say about my high-school experience at MND? Well, first off, I'll admit to being slightly negatively biased against the school because I was forced (thanks, mom and dad!) into attending the private, single-sex Catholic high-school after spending eight lovely years in the Lakota Public School system. There are just a few points I'd like to make about the school, faculty, and my own personal experiences as a "Cougar". First, MND is an all-girls school. For those not in the Cincy mindset, this is not at all rare. In fact, all but a few (two? three?) of the city's Catholic high-schools are single-sex, either male or female entirely. Supposedly many studies have shown that teaching high-school in a single-sex environment eliminates romantic distractions and stresses academic success instead of social success or popularity. I can't speak to the experience of all students, but personally, I found the female dominated environment at Mount Notre Dame to be both catty (what do you expect in a school full of emotionally unbalanced teenage girls?) and not at all conducive to my development as a normal, well-adjusted teenager. Honestly, girls are going to have to socialize with men for the rest of their lives...why not show them how in high-school instead of eliminating the boys entirely? Gender issue aside, the school building is mostly rundown...in a way that the administration would like you to believe is historically accurate and charming. I thought it was decrepit and full of asbestos (and it fact, it was, a major construction project went into place to eliminate the mold during my senior year). The one exception to this is the gymnasium, which was renovated the year before I started at the school. The cafeteria menu, at least as it stood when I graduated in 2005, was in need of a serious over-haul...I brown-bagged everyday for four years, it just looked that unappetizing and overly caloric. I know that cafeteria food doesn't speak volumes about education, but c'mon, look at my other reviews. I'm all about the food, baby. Faculty: basically awful with a (very) few outstanding exceptions. I got a lot of laughs from comparing my high school teacher's curriculums and credits to those of the teachers at the local public school. In my freshmen year "Honors English" class I was instructed to read Out of the Dust, a novel I had read in the fourth grade. I don't want to criticize the whole English department, though, as two of my favorite and most academically decorated high-school instructors (Mr. Tom Geier and Mrs. Julie Haggerty) call this department home. At MND the general rule is that there is one great teacher in each department, so if you send your daughter there, be sure to request them. History: Magnus, Foreign Language: Ortega, Religion: Grote, Science: Peppercorn. MND offers very few AP classes; I had little opportunity to earn college credits. One more note about MND-as with any other Catholic high-school, this place is after your wallet. The tuition is not as high as some comparable schools (UA) but those in charge of soliciting donations from fundraisers and alumni parties get an A + for their ability to guilt. Moral of the story: Save your money, go public. More AP's, better teachers (due to the drastic pay difference), and a better environment for kids to grow socially. read more

Mount Notre Dame High School - photo courtesy of the website - Middle Schools & High Schools Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

As an alumna of MND, I certainly come with a distinct perspective on the school. Of all the schools in Cincinnati, and certainly of the private, all-girls school, I strongly believe that MND makes its mark as the most welcoming, open-armed school in the city. With diverse academic options, ranging from college prep to AP courses (and some offering college credit - I left MND with six college credits), every girl can personalize an academic career that is challenging and enjoyable. MND also has a great reputation as a sports powerhouse, but it doesn't limit its scope of extra-curriculars to athletics only. There is a very robust theater program, Model UN, academic teams, language clubs, volunteer groups, art classes...the list goes on. I can't speak highly enough of my educators at MND, and I made lifelong friends within the walls of the school. I would gladly recommend this high school to a young woman looking for a personalized education with room to grow and expand her education, interests and friendships. read more

best all-girls' school in cincy. down to earth, great teachers and awesome staff. if i had a duaghter, and she didn't go to purcell marian, she would go here. i have learned so much from the staff at this school and the strong, young women they graduate are inspiring. read more

My daughter and I both attended MND and had a similar, great experience, albeit 30 years apart. The faculty and administration are extremely caring and dedicated to their philosophy of empowering young women. The atmosphere is accepting of all and academically motivating and as a result most graduates leave with confidence and skills that serve them well at college and beyond. In contrast to the previous reviewer, my daughter changed from a large public school district for K-8 to MND with a little push from mom and has been very thankful for her decision. read more

Our daughter chose to move from a large yet "Excellent" rated public school district to MND. The academics were similar, though she definitely had more homework at MND than she did in the public system. The size of MND is really ideal. There is also school pride over their sports excellence. We found MND to be an extremely caring environment. The teachers took a personal interest in our daughter. While there was one teacher who was particularly poor (she has since left), our daughter was challenged academically overall. She was well prepared when she entered college. She developed her truest girlfriends at MND. The competition over boys at the public school was ferocious. In the public school there were girls threatening to beat other girls up over territorial boy issues. We did not run into any of this at MND. The teen years are difficult ones for most people. It was a great feeling to have our daughter in a safe, caring, and academically challenging environment while she faced those years of finding herself. read more

I don't exactly understand the above ^^^ review because my high school experience at MND was a different story completely. I'm sort of the same as Angela B. as i went to a public grade school (Loveland High School) in the Cincy Area, but i absolutely hated it. I felt like i didn't really belong there. i had loads of friends but it just wasn't right for me. i came in Freshman year knowing maybe 5 girls. i was very nervous mostly about academics because i really struggled at Loveland. I will be the first to tell you that (At Least for me) MY teachers throughout my years at MND wanted nothing more than to help me succeed. i almost failed freshman year and came back sophmore year taking honors and AP courses. my teachers at MND weren't ALL pleasant to be around but they really do want to help your kids be the best they can be. as far as "gender issues" go, i completely disagree. i think girls at MND bonded SO well. everyday i was laughing and excited to come into school to see my friends and to learn, yes ACTUALLY excited to learn. i LOVED the separation from the boys. NOTE* about 99.9% of MND students appear to have rolled out of a garbage can before arriving at school. this can be kinda gross sometimes but you learn to LOVE it, most girls roll out of bed put their hair in a messy bun and a soft headband MND sweatshirt & skirt. and NO make up. in fact wearing makeup is looked down upon. why wear makeup? who are you trying to impress? it's just very relaxing. this way i feel like not many girls were judgemental. i remember being friends with almost everyone. i met TONS of guys in high school. through friends and through activities. that isn't even a worry, believe me. i'll give it to Angela B. MND is quite "rundown". im SURE there are worse, but MND is a PRIVATE school. they make about 4 mill. a year when you do the math... sounds like a lot, but it isn't. on top of that, MND alum pay for some of every students tuition. (you pay a little over $8,500.00- but our ACTAUL tuition is around $10,000.00) PLUS there are tons of students on finacial aid. i wish MND could have a better environment, but they just don't have the money. PLUS to the comment about the mold and asbestos, i had to laugh at. mnd does NOT have either. let me add, this year 2009, mnd has made HUGE changes in the school. putting up a lot of pictures in our foyer; cool stuff to lighten up the school. they put in air conditioning and they redid the main office. its not fully there but much better. also, the incoming class of 2014 will be the first class to receive their very own individual Tablet computers, which they will take all their notes on and bring to and from school everyday. i think our cafeteria food was good! i bought most of the time. my only complaint is that it is VERY expensive. i usually got a salad, sprite, and a yogert and that was about 5 dollars.- 25 a week 100 a month- 1200 for the year. they also stopped carrying non diet drink. no regular. they have the zero and diet products. and diet tea. to the faculty i had a lot of good... a lot of bad. but what i NOW realize you're always going to have good and bad teachers and you cant help it. especially in college. the good teachers i had were: Math- Todd Forman; Foreign Language- Patricia Meyer; English- Shannon Reinert; History and Social Studies; Jennifer Koutnik. and i disagree. i took TONS of AP classes. including one AP art class. i think they offer a lot of honors and ap classes. YES mnd is expensive. can't deny this. $8,500.00 a year and close to $10,000.00 for 2014 and beyond. although the price is upping every year i think more and more improvements are being made at mnd. i loved my high school experience at MND and i encourage people to look into it and go walk through if your thinking about sending your child there. i love it and i think it is a great environment and opportunity for high school female students. read more

Mount Notre Dame is a petty school. The teachers and staff are harsh to students for the littlest things, which seems unprofessional and not a happy environment. I would definitely not recommend going to MND if you are considering it. You don't want to be in a close-minded environment in high school. You want space to learn and grow and be diverse. MND is not a place for that. You will receive demerits for some of the most unreasonable things and when it comes down to it, you have no voice. All they do is scold you. Some of their policies are the dumbest as well. As I said, definitely do not go to MND. You will not be happy there. read more