<p>I am just starting to research colleges and this one was recommended by a guidance counselor. My student is not Catholic, so I am wondering how important it is to be Catholic at this school. </p>
<p>For those of you who are applying, or already attend, are most of the students Catholic and how big a part does religion play in the school? Would a non-Catholic feel out of place here?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>My D. is Catholic and that is one of the main reasons she wants to go to Loyola. That being said, I cannot imagine any of the kids making her feel out of place. I teach in a Catholic high school, and there are a good number of kids that are not Catholic. None of the kids would even think of making a non-Catholic feel awkward or unwanted for his or her beliefs. </p>
<p>The best way to see if your child would like Loyola is to visit. Good luck. :)</p>
<p>Agree with the advice to visit. Loyola wasn’t really on my son’s radar until we received some literature from the school. We poured over the website, visited last summer and he loved the school. We are Catholic, but my sense is that Loyola is very open to all faiths, what they really stress are core values of academic excellence, integrity, community, etc. I found this document by searching “non Catholic” on their website. Good luck with your college research.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.loyola.edu/campusministry/forms/What%20If%20Im%20Not%20Catholic.pdf[/url]”>http://www.loyola.edu/campusministry/forms/What%20If%20Im%20Not%20Catholic.pdf</a></p>
<p>Pamom–</p>
<p>Probably most of the kids there are Cath, but don’t forget that there are lots of degrees of involvement & intensity regarding their religion among Catholic families, and also don’t forget that these are college students aged 18 -22 who are no longer being yanked out of bed by their parents on Sunday morning to go to church!</p>
<p>Many of them have attended Cath schools, so they will have some experiences & memories in common with each other (such as Ash Wed liturgies), but they aren’t going to be unpleasant or snobbish about religion and they aren’t going to attempt to convert your child. </p>
<p>My daughter was recently accepted early action at Loyola. She has attended public h.s. so she too (if she attends) will be an “outsider” vis a vis the Cath. school background. We are Catholic but she has not had the level of religious instruction these other kids will have had. I don’t think it will cause any problems for her, unless she decides to major in theology (not likely) and then she will have to play catch up!</p>
<p>There is another thread in the Parents’ forum about whether a Jewish student would be comfortable at or should attend any Catholic college. You might want to read that. As you might guess, the range of opinions is all over the place. The consensus was that such a child would be very welcome & experience no difficulties from other students about being Jewish, but would have trouble finding good dating material. It being a parents’ forum, “good dating material” is defined as young men/women whom the parents find acceptable as potential mates, ie, are they Jewish? ; – ) </p>
<p>Also, there was a cultural loneliness question, such as at Rosh Hashanah. </p>
<p>If your family is Protestant or vaguely Christian but not much on attending church, your child will notice attention being given to holidays and seasons such as Advent & Lent, lots of liturgies going on near Easter, etc., but no one would make him uncomfortable about not taking part and no one will do that to uninterested Catholics either. </p>
<p>I suggest you visit the school & look at the academics, campus, etc and your child make arrangements to sit in on a class.</p>
<p>Thanks all for your comments. My D identifies as Christian (protestant) though she is not a regular churchgoer and attends a Quaker school where all religions are welcomed. Quakers espouse the values of: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Service. I believe as a student she has internalized many of these values, though we are not Quakers ourselves.</p>
<p>My D has really enjoys being involved in community service at her school and I thought she might enjoy continuing that in college, but there are not too many Quaker colleges and none of them are geographically convenient. So it occurred to me that other schools with a religious affiliation might offer that community service focus as well as instilling values that are based on more than material success.</p>
<p>Finding marriage material is not an issue BTW!</p>
<p>My son is a sophomore at Loyola. Religious background is irrelevant. (He’s a Lutheran who went to Catholic high school but, other than a Jesuit priest walking around campus with a Greyhound, there is very little Catholic influence at Loyola).</p>
My daughter has been accepted to Loyola Md. She comes from a Jewish background whose grandparents are holocaust survivors. . While we do not attend temple on a regular basis, we do observe the high holidays and traditionals. She’s graduating from a public school and has a fully diverse set of friends. My concern is how she would ,or not fit in, going to a Catholic college? I’d appreciate the opinions of other parents and students with the same concerns. Thanks
My son graduated from Loyola two years ago and doing very well in the work world. I attended a Jesuit high school and Ivy college. I really like the Jesuits and find them to be very open and engaged with different faiths. Loyola will not push Catholicism on any student. Last year, at another Jesuit school, Pope Francis (a Jesuit) made a surprise stop at Saint Joseph’s University to bless a statue,“Synagoga and Ecclesia in Our Time”, which was dedicated by the Philadelphia Catholic and Jewish communities. Pope Francis’ good friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka also greeted the pope on the campus. The rabbi met Francis before he became pope and the two wrote a book together in 2010 about their interfaith dialogue.
There is a small Hillel Club on campus and a synagogue 1/8 mile from Campion Towers on Cold Spring Lane.
I believe you daughter would definitely fit in. My son loved his time at Loyola. He was in the Honors Program and received an outstanding education. Good look to you and your daughter with your college decision.