<p>Jesuit schools Holy Cross and Georgetown actively seek diversity.</p>
<p>As many others have said, Jesuit colleges are the ideal Catholic schools for non-Catholics. There are 28 in the US alone.</p>
<p>Complete list here: </p>
<p>[Jesuit</a> Colleges and Universities Quiz Results - sporcle](<a href=“http://www.sporcle.com/games/jesuit_colleges_results.php]Jesuit”>http://www.sporcle.com/games/jesuit_colleges_results.php)</p>
<p>As others have suggested, the order that the college is associated with is critical. The Jesuits are generally thought to be the most liberal and welcoming. But the Augustinians (Villanova and Merrimack) are right up there with them. The Dominicans and Benedictines tend to be more conservative and their colleges are more strongly Catholic identified.</p>
<p>Franciscans are also fairly conservative (e.g., Franciscan U of Steubenville).</p>
<p>Vincentians are also fairly liberal (e.g., DePaul).</p>
<p>I think that Catholic colleges definitely differ in their ‘feel’. Being Catholic, we even found that some of the schools we visited had a strong Catholic flair. But having said that, at some non-Catholic college tours, they try to dismiss the fact that many students do partipate in weekly services of different faiths, and hence walked past beautiful chapels with nary a mention of them. Villanova had a strong service, fun-loving feel to it, which would have been great for one of my sons, but the other would have been horrified by a priest living in his hallway. Assumption College seemed a bit more ‘heavy’ Catholic though very friendly, than let’s say, Merrimack, which was actually the most upfront about it when asked, saying it is a Catholic college but religion is definitely not pushed on anyone. </p>
<p>When looking at colleges ahead of time, we looked at also student groups, if there were no groups for gay/lesbian/alternative lifestyles, it gave us a clue that perhaps it was not as tolerant as another school might be, this is true for all of the colleges we looked at, not just the Catholic ones. I liked the ‘List’ on Princeton Review that says, ‘Alternative Lifestyles, not an Alternative’, and ‘Gay Community Accepted’. It gave us an idea of schools that might be on the rigid side.</p>
<p>With all the schools preeching diversity, I think it would not be a problem for you. I went to Villanova and saw no disrespect based on religion. They have a church, but nobody takes attendance. Some of the teachers might say a prayer before class. Even the religion classes are more theory based and not meant to try to convert people. Being so close to Philadelphia helps. There are so many religious groups I think you could fit in whatever religion you are.</p>
<p>I went to St. John’s / Queens for grad school. I was aware of the Catholocism / Vincentianism, but never felt out of place as a Protestant.</p>
<p>This is an old thread (though interesting.) :)</p>