<p>Don't listen to most of these people throwing out random Christian colleges they know nothing about. To be frank: Universities like Biola and Wheaton may or may not be a good fit. Evangelical Protestantism ardently rejects many of the core a priori assumptions of Catholic theology. Protestant theology is very strongly solo scriptura (the original manuscripts of scripture are the only source of truth) and Roman Catholic theology is extremely ecumenical (Christian counsels, the church, and the pope are equal sources of truth). </p>
<p>If you hold very deeply to many of the non biblical portions of the Catholic faith that are derived from the eccumenical tradition then you will find the atmosphere at Wheaton and Biola to be rather challenging. The theology of both schools would put you in a position where, strictly speaking, 100% adherence to Catholic Theology would be considered heretical (the reverse is true of an evangelical who denies the innate authority of mother church). If, on the other hand, you find you have a more evangelical (Jesuit like) perspective but are a proud member of the Catholic church none-the-less then I think you would be a very welcome member to both communities, particularly Biola which has a large share of Anglicans and Episcopalians in its make up and even Orthodox Catholics (although very very few RC)</p>
<p>Another college to consider would be Thomas Aquinas, which I feel would be a very strong match for you. </p>
<p>Loyola Marymount, Loyola of Chicago, Notre Dame, Georgetown, and Boston College also come to mind although these schools will all have a much larger population interested in partying than that which is interested in growing in their Catholic Faith. Do not attend these schools with expectations of a large group of devout Catholic Students with which to interact. </p>
<p>Please feel free to send me a private message to discuss further.</p>
<p>You're conservative and a teetotaler...have you considered the service academies? They show up on Princeton Review's list of conservative schools pretty consistently, if I remember correctly, they are unlikely to have a lot of binge drinking/wild partying, and I am sure that there are plenty of Catholics/Christians at them, since these are major US faiths after all (in fact, I would be very much surprised if they didn't have sizable Christian majorities).</p>
<p>If you like the east coast you should check out Providence College in RI: way more conservative than its "big brother" Boston College, the majority of the students drink like fish but you can make plenty of friends who don't, RI is the biggest Catholic state in the country per capita, and there's a very active College Republicans chapter.</p>
<p>Here's a totally different suggestion: find colleges that you like for other reasons, and then find out what kind of Catholic organization is present on campus. At almost any large university, and most smaller ones too, there will be a good-sized Catholic group full of people like you. There will be plenty of people who don't party all that much, and you'll have a broader experience. I don't think you are really looking for a Protestant/Evangelical religiously focused school if you are Catholic. You might want to look at Catholic universities, including those that aren't all that religiously focused. Again, I would suggest that what you really want is a critical mass (no pun intended) of practicing Catholics.</p>
<p>The tough part is he likes the non-drinking aspect of, say, a strict evangelical Christian college, but that a fair number of strict evangelical Christians will be worried about the souls of those who are not like-minded.</p>
<p>CoffeeAddict, I would suggest you look at the Jesuit colleges. Drinking is not "forbidden" but these are generally not Animal House party schools - read what you can about the ones you are considering, and then visit. There are a lot of great Jesuit colleges.
The Jesuit colleges are Catholic schools but, as far as I know, all have many non-Catholic students. I am not Catholic but would be very happy sending either of my kids to a Jesuit school. </p>
<p>yeah, BOB JONES is def. not what I'm looking for...thats like getting thrown in the lions den cuz im catholic. Thanks for all the replies so far. All the suggestions are good. I guess I'd prob. stay away from protestant colleges unless they have a huge catholic presence like Grove City, but I was just wondering if there were any others... and I do like Providence too. I'm sure I'll have a beer or two before I'm 21 but im the kinda person who doesn't like to break the law and I just don't like the whole hook up scene that often goes along w/ it because of my Catholic/Christian morals...</p>
<p>anyone else know about Baylor?..someone said it might me a good fit even though its Baptist b/c of a Catholic presence..</p>
<p>And I'm sure I could find my niche at any Catholic school, i feel more reassured now thanks to all of you. :)</p>
<p>People have already mentioned this, but Notre Dame could be a really good fit for you. You can PM me or check the ND forum if you have any specific questions.</p>
<p>No, No, No. Look for schools with religious diversity. Dont go somewhere where everyone is like you cuz you wont grow, and dont go somewhere where no one is like you. College is a time where you should grow as a person. Don't shelter yourself even more than you've already been sheltered. Maybe schools like BC and Georgetown would be good. No, they aren't very conservative but I'm sure you'll find plenty of people like you there so that you can feel comfortable, and plenty who aren't like you so that you can learn and grow. Open your eyes.</p>
<p>Holy Cross is a small (2800) Jesuit Catholic LAC that is the top Catholic LAC per USNWR and it is pretty conservative and there are lots there that are not partiers at all but lots that do as well.</p>
<p>thanks everyone, and jsmall: I've grown up around a lot of religious diversity and have studied different religions and taken comparative religion courses and such because i find theology and related topics very interesting, but I truly believe in Catholocism now that I have studied in depth many other religions, including other christian religions, and understand not only what each one believes but WHY, so i feel i have already grown so much from experience and would now most likely want to go somewhere where i can further grow in my actual Catholic faith, which can obviously happen in Catholic colleges but may be able to happen at others even if they are different denominations, but thanks for the consideration. I do know what you mean and where you are coming from. I really think I will apply to Notre Dame, Holy Cross, Boston College, and/or Georgetown. Does anyone have any suggestions for more match/safety schools that fit the bill?</p>
<p>Some schools I am considering as more safties/matches are:</p>
<p>Pepperdine
Santa Clara
Catholic University of America
Fordham
Villanova
Loyola Chicago
Holy Cross
BC
Davidson College (Protestant)
Saint Joseph's U (Philadelphia)
Creighton
Xavier
U of St Thomas (Minnesota)
Hillsdale
Salve Regina
Providence
Saint Ambrose U (Iowa)
Grove City College
WHEATON- unsure about Wheaton b/c of the whole firing Catholic teacher and other stories of anti-Catholicism there...anyone have any input?
Westmont
BAYLOR- unsure b/c its Baptist but have heard of Catholic presence...input?</p>
<p>I have a lot of regional diversity in my list but all these schools seem wonderful and have everything I could possibly want. I need help eliminating some. Any thoughts on any of the colleges would be appreciated! Thanks :)</p>
<p>i could be totally off base here, but from what i gather you are looking for a christian, more specifically catholic, school where you will not be doing lots of drinking / partying. i have three siblings who have already gone through college, and i showed 2 of them your list, and they agreed (based on what their friends who went there said) that nearly all of them have a lot of partying going on and really no focus on the religious aspect of the school -- more specifically Catholic U, Fordham, Villanova, Holy Cross, BC, PC, Notre Dame, and Salve Regina -- with that in mind, they also said they were sure there was a niche at every school where you would be able to find like-minded people and stay away from partying, but it will just be more difficult to find those people...all of this is to say that those are great schools, and i think you will make of them what you want to...</p>