Is Arizona State or Notre Dame considered more prestigious?

Notre Dame is more widely viewed as the more prestigious school overall. It has a stronger national reputation for traditional academic prestige, and its name carries weight well beyond the Midwest because of its long history, athletics, and broad national visibility. Arizona State has very strong name recognition too, but it is usually known more for scale, innovation, and access than for old-line prestige.

For a student who cares about how the school’s name is likely to be read in a general prestige conversation, Notre Dame is the one people are more likely to place in that higher-status category. It is often seen as a nationally prominent private university with a strong alumni network and a distinctive brand that combines academics, school spirit, and institutional identity. In many professional and social settings, saying you went to Notre Dame tends to signal a more elite or selective institution.

Arizona State fits a different kind of reputation. It is a major public research university with a broad set of programs, and a reputation for entrepreneurship, online education, and student opportunity. In some fields, especially ones tied to large public-university resources or specific programs, ASU can be highly respected. But in everyday prestige language, people usually do not place it in the same category as Notre Dame.

So if the question is purely about overall reputation and perceived prestige, Notre Dame has the edge by a clear margin. ASU is well known and respected, but its reputation is built around size, accessibility, and innovation rather than the kind of traditional prestige most people mean when they use that word.