I recently visited the Catholic University of America and liked it. However I was wondering how it is for non-Catholic students? I am not religious and consider myself pretty liberal, what are most students like? Are students accepting of students with other religious affiliation or LGBT- affiliation? What are the students like in general?
I currently attend a Catholic high school so taking theology courses or having to attend a few masses isn’t a big deal for me, I’m asking more about the social aspect.
Thanks so much in advance, I appreciate any insight to help me decide!
CUA is considered one of the more conservative Catholic schools, so I agree that if you felt comfortable on your visit, it’s probably OK. It might be worth doing an overnight if you can, so that you can meet more kids who don’t work for the admissions office.
I know quite a few students who are not Catholic who went to CU. They were in graduate programs mostly but did not encounter any issues. It is beautiful campus but (or and, depending) there are a lot of religious symbols but faculty are from all over and of all different religions and backgrounds so I can’t imagine that there will be too many issues in terms of classes. Dorms, could not tell you.
Echoing lots that’s been said here. Yes there are faculty from lots of backgrounds and students. But mainly people are self-selecting to be at a seriously Catholic institution. It’s a good school, quiet and set apart from the active part of DC, so much so that you’ll need a car. There is a subway, that will take you basically into the center of DC but if you want to go east to west, that’s more of a problem. If you’re at Georgetown or GW you need a car less or not at all. Catholic is more conservative and I would ask seriously about the views on LGBT issues. Policies can be up and down about this there, at least a decade and a half ago they were. The students wanted to stage Angels in America. Presumably they’d gotten permission ahead of time or they wouldn’t have bothered starting rehearsal, probably. At the last minute were forced off campus for the performance. Things may have changed in this regard over the years. Likewise the religious stuff. Professors are guaranteed that they have intellectual freedom regarding religious stuff, but then the school will sort of randomly put up crucifixes in every room overnight, seemingly. Like: Bink! Now there’s a religious symbol in a room that when you started here didn’t have one! Oh boy! And there are nuns and things walking around. Also services around the area like what you’d find around other campuses (snack places and cafes, nightlife) are basically nonexistant. Students are accepting and pleasant people, generally, but again I found some students saying things (back then) like: If so and so was doing what they were supposed to do they wouldn’t have gotten AIDs. That sort of thing. In other words the religious bias, that AIDs was a punishment for bad behavior presumably from god, informed and overwhelmed the science of the facts, that lots of random people, got AIDS, like kids born with HIV or blood transfusions. In other words: nice people, veyr nice, incredibly kind and gentle, and accepting, but subject unwittingly to the biases of their religious upbringing.
Catholic U is the Vatican’s outpost in the US through the United States Conference of Bishops. I think it is the only school structured this way. I would doubt any LGBT groups are recognized on campus.
Academically it is no different than other schools which would offer a semi-secular, more open and more jubilous environment like Providence, Scranton, St. Mike’s, Bonaventure, St. Anselm, Loyola Maryland and Siena, to name a few.
Definitely contact some actual LGBT people attending the school. Don’t go of off second-hand knowledge for issues like this; people often like to think their school/group is more accepting than it actually is.
If you’re not aware of what this means, the Newman list contains Catholic colleges that are “committed to a faithful Catholic education”. The schools on the list tend to more closely follow Catholic teachings to the letter, and therefore be more conservative.
Catholic is a great school, but I would have concerns about what is available as far as LGBT culture. The only group I saw on their website for LGBT was a counseling group for LGBT and straight student discussion. They did have an LGBT group on campus at one time, but disbanded the organization.
D was accepted there, is Catholic and has gone to Catholic schools her entire life. However, she is also very liberal, and we had definite concerns that the atmosphere at Catholic would lean too much towards the aspects of Catholicism that trouble her. She is now at a Jesuit institution and is extremely happy (and has had several openly gay and married professors, which probably wouldn’t happen at CUA, as official Catholic teachings are that homosexual individuals must remain celibate).
I applied to CUA, so I’ve read a lot about the student atmosphere. I would prefer a diverse school, so I share your concerns.
It’s 75% white, and many students complain about the lack of diversity.
I’m not sure if you’re LGBT, but the campus doesn’t seem to be the most accepting. While these students probably won’t be targeted, I don’t think they’ll be supported.
@newjerseygirl98 I’m not LGBT but I am supportive of it and I also prefer a more diverse, accepting student body. However I visited Catholic and really liked the school – I’m thinking I may need to do an overnight visit to get a true feel for the students.
@phantomhorse CU’s first year retention rate and graduation rates are solidly at the bottom compared to peer schools. It would be worthwhile to think through why this is the case.
@phantomhorse D is at Loyola Maryland. Coming from a Southern state, she was very happy to find herself in a state and on a campus that was much more open and accepting. Our parish and our Catholic schools had been more tolerant than many, so she was concerned about the campus climate.
My son was accepted, and we have visited three times. We are Catholic but about as liberal as can be. We had concerns too about perhaps the too-conservative vibe, We have had three great visits where everyone seemed very friendly and other than the occasional crucifixes in halls, did not feel that it was overtly religious.
I too am concerned about how a (very) liberal Catholic, public high school student would fare socially…not being brought up in the system might be culture shock. We both (mom and daughter) liked the school much more than we thought and it might be an interesting undergraduate dynamic academically, but socially I would hate for her to be left out because of her individual opinions and beliefs. I think an overnight Thursday - Saturday visit might shed some light on the subject.
@lake4 - that is something my daughter will be considering as well as she makes her final decision. Catholic is one of her top schools. She has recently spoken with the brother of a good friend about his experience at Catholic. The brother is a senior now and speaks highly of his time at the school. He came from the same public school that my daughter attends and he does not describe himself as overly religious, even though he is Catholic (as are we). He feels there is a broad spectrum of students and many like minded students at the school. Other than the theology classes, he did not describe the experience or social life as overly or overtly religious.