I have received some great recommendations for my daughter, who seeks a small – medium sized school, with a supportive, collaborative environment, that cares for its students and also may offer good merit aid. I’ve looked up a few of the schools, including Loyola Maryland as an example. My question is whether not being a non-Catholic should be a deterrent to applying to this type of school? My daughter is a good kid, ethical, invested in community service, and recently started going to church, seeking some sort of spiritual structure, and a sense of community. But we have never been a religious family. I would welcome advice on the pros and cons of Jesuit or Catholic schools for someone who is not significantly/officially religious? She is also quite liberal minded. Thank you so much for any advice.
My kid is a Santa Clara University graduate. We are not Catholic. She loved the Jesuit mission of giving back to the communities…woven into many courses. There was a religion requirement but there were about 150 or so courses from which to choose. She took things like Women in Religion, and some ethics course as well.
The Jesuit schools hit her sweet spot in terms of size…about 5000 or so undergrads.
She (and we) felt that the Jesuits really have higher education well thought out and done.
Very ecumenical school(s) and our kid never felt left out or whatever. She fit in just fine…and has BFF from her undergrad years.
I think at a school like Loyola MD it would be more likely that groups of friends will form from similar interests like sports, study abroad, living in the same dorms,majors, etc. There are going to be kids who know each other from high school, either the same school or one nearby (Baltimore still has a lot of single sex catholic high schools and they all know each other), but that can also work FOR your daughter as they are sick of each other and looking for new and interesting friends!
The only caution I’d give is if she doesn’t like a policy, it is unlikely she’ll be able to change it. Doesn’t like religious artifacts all over the place? Not going to change. Doesn’t like the requirement to take 2-3 ‘religion’ courses? Not going to change. (but as Thumper said, there are a LOT of classes to choose from) Doesn’t like church bells waking her up on Sunday mornings? Not going to change.
It’s a beautiful school and because it is so close to other colleges there is a good ‘college’ energy in that area. She’ll find a lot of things to do on and off campus.
Thank you! I don’t think she’ll mind taking a few courses in religion, nor do I think she will mind the church bells! Thank you so much for clarifying those points and for your input.
This was a concern we had a year ago when considering a Jesuit school (Fordham) for our S22 as he is not at all religious. He did end up choosing Fordham and is thriving and the Catholic affiliation has turned out to be a total non-issue. He has already taken the first of the 2 required “theology” courses and it was not a problem at all, basically about the history of religion, not at all trying to convert anyone. Also the school leans liberal overall and has a thriving LGBTQ+ community, including many professors. However, I have heard that some Jesuit schools are not as liberal/open, so I can’t speak to Loyola Maryland directly.
Thank you very much for this!
My son is 100% agnostic, attends U of Dayton, and the religion part has been a total non-factor for him. The so-called “religion” class requirements were met by a philosophy/ethics type class.
There are crosses in a lot of places. There is a church on campus. There are Christmas and Easter themed displays, but in his experience there hasn’t been any push to convince him to convert. It’s more there for those who wish to participate.
A lot of the kids are Catholic, and quite a few attended Catholic K-12 schools. Somewhat surprisingly to him, none of the students really talk about religion at all.
I’d say that at UD (can’t speak for other schools) religion is not an oppressive presence. OTOH, if a student was strongly against any displays of religion, or if the student took offense at bells ringing or crosses being displayed, that student might not be a fit.
FWIW, we also considered Loyola MD and Catholic U of America in DC. We visited Catholic U and loved the campus. Be aware that CU has a much more prominent church with a beautiful dome, and it appeared to be a big draw for local Catholics for Sunday service - we were there on a Sunday and I was surprised (but not dismayed) by how much traffic was on that side of the campus. We didn’t get a chance to visit Loyola.
Good luck in your search!
My agnostic/atheist D is at DePaul which is the largest Catholic university in the country. But as far as I can tell, DePaul is hardly religious and is very liberal (though certainly kids seeking religion/Catholicism can find it there). There is a beautiful cathedral on campus with a 6-year waiting list for weddings! You will also find some religious icons around, but it’s definitely not everywhere. The campus was closed on Good Friday, which was a surprise to us non-religious folk, but was a boon, as we were visiting from the West Coast and D was able to join us for the entire day! DePaul is still committed to their Vincentian service mission however, and kids do go out into the community for service projects. My D was involved with a community garden and cooking project in a low-income neighborhood, for example.
My D was accepted to other Catholic universities (I’m not sure how she ended up applying to so many, since we are not religious, but she was seeking merit also), but they (Gonzaga and Saint Louis University) definitely felt more religious and we got the impression that they are filled with kids from Catholic high schools. Ultimately not the vibe my D was looking for.
So I think the Catholic thing feels different, depending on which school you’re talking about. I have no knowledge of Loyola Maryland.
My S went to Fordham – another Jesuit university. He had friends of different religions as well as atheists/agnostics who were happy there. The Jesuits are educators first and foremost and do not force religion on anyone. That said, to be comfortable at a Jesuit university I think one should: 1) be respectful of religion; 2) have no issue with seeing some religious symbols on campus (ex. crucifix); and 3) look at the core curriculum and be fine with the idea of taking any required philosophy/theology courses.
I can’t resist.
I just watched an old early episode of “Major Crimes” where a teen asked “how am I supposed to fit into a catholic highschool? (truly fish out of water)” Answer: “Just walk around looking guilty. You’ll be fine.”
On this note, one should consider not only what is on campus but what is not. For example, the hardline stance of the Catholic church on contraception means condoms and birth control are not available through many Catholic schools.
After a Students for Sexual Health referendum on the 2018 Undergraduate Government of Boston College election ballot received 94 percent support from students who voted, Boston College issued a statement to The Heights expressing an unchanged stance on distributing contraceptives on campus.
“As with Notre Dame, Georgetown, Holy Cross and most Catholic colleges and universities, Boston College does not permit the public distribution of condoms on campus,” University Spokesman Jack Dunn said in an email. “We take this position out of respect for our commitments as a Jesuit, Catholic university, and we ask our students to be respectful of these commitments and the code of conduct that governs all BC students.”
Although the university has liberalized certain aspects of its policy in recent years, Georgetown’s Catholic identity still affects policy on contraception. The university only began including birth control coverage in its healthcare plans in 2012, following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Today, coverage is paid for by United Healthcare, the company which underwrites the university healthcare plans.
Furthermore, students cannot be prescribed birth control for contraceptive purposes from the Student Health Center or pick up prescriptions at Georgetown Medstar’s pharmacy. According to official policy, although not guaranteed, the Student Health Center can provide prescriptions for non-contraceptive purposes such as acne or irregular periods.
While over 85 percent of U.S. universities offer free condoms through their respective student health centers, Georgetown prohibits the sale or official distribution of condoms, lubricants, and other items related to sexual health on campus.
While there are certain things perhaps not available ON campus, they usually are available off campus.
And I’m not sure this would make a student fit in…or not.
While SCU health services had restrictions on what they could and couldn’t do, this never made my kid feel unwelcome.
True…but I expect there will be drug stores close to campus so there is a fairly simple work-around.
This is definitely something to think about, but in the case of DePaul they don’t even have a health center on campus so students must go off campus anyway. Luckily it’s in a very urban area where you can find anything you need within a few blocks of campus.
I think the Jesuit schools are great. I’m protestant, and I never had a Catholic roommate at Georgetown… they were Buddhist, athiest, Hindu, and non practicing protestant. Never an issue.
The above note is correct that condoms are not available on campus (there have been off and on again attempts by various clubs to distribute them), there was a CVS right off campus that made them available…
We did have to take two theology classes, but they were very interesting, and I was fortunate enough to have a Jesuit teach them, and they did a great job of presenting all the logical flaws in religion and really challenged your faith – they obviously have a bias, but it was biased towards a questioning that was supposed to strengthen your faith through inquiry, not blind acceptance. It was pretty interesting.
My daughter attended a Jesuit College and her Comparative Religion class was taught by a senior faculty member who was Jewish. One of her favorite teachers.
I’m an alumna of Loyola Maryland’s graduate school and have many wonderful things to say about the school. I am also not a Roman Catholic, but I have a lot of Catholic friends. I found the school to be Catholic friendly but also very open to people of other faiths as well as other Christian denominations. It’s more of a Jesuit values place than a strictly religious place. As long as your daughter is comfortable with the ideals of service to those in need in an urban setting, she’ll be comfortable. It’s not a place for snobs or people who think they are doing the urban poor a favor by working with them. I hope that makes sense. Some people there can be somewhat sensitive to perceived snobbery, so as long as your daughter is sensitive to people from various backgrounds and can listen and defer to other’s experiences and opinions before voicing her own, she’ll love it. I hope this helps. This dynamic is more obvious in some schools within the university than others, but it is everywhere to some degree. I don’t have experience with other Jesuit or Catholic colleges, but I know people who have attended others, and they are each unique. I loved my time at Loyola Maryland. I hope this helps and good luck to your daughter!
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