<p>Is Santa Clara University very religious? Do they force it on you?</p>
<p>I heard Santa Clara University is very rich, blonde, and catholic, is that true?</p>
<p>thanks :)</p>
<p>I went to the preview day on Sunday and religion was talked about in some of the speeches. I think they said that about 45% of students are catholic (or maybe it was 55%). They also made a point of saying that they don't push catholicism on you or anything, and that they accept all faiths. One speaker listed off a bunch of religions to make a point of their acceptance of all faiths, but he completely ignored agnosticism and atheism, which made me think they are not appreciative of nonreligious worldviews. In my opinion it makes sense, though, given their emphasis on ethics and the incompatibility of ethics with a worldview in which there is no absolute truth. At any rate, that doesn't mean they will try to force religion on agnostics and atheists, and I definitely don't think that's an issue. I also got a chance to hang out with some students completely separate from the preview day, and they too said that Santa Clara will not force religion on you.</p>
<p>I've heard Santa Clara's not as much focused on the catholic aspect as Gonzaga, and it's definitely not as much as Notre Dame. I think as far as religiously affiliated schools go, catholocism is not a <em>huge</em> part of the culture (though obviously it plays some part). </p>
<p>I would guess many of the people are rich, although I got the impression that it wasn't a big deal. I doubt the rich people look down on the less wealthy or anything. Plus, one of the speakers said that they have a substantial amount of first generation college students (20%, I think), so there's got to be a substantial amount of people who aren't real wealthy. </p>
<p>As far as the "blond" aspect goes, it's true that it's in a very well manicured suburban area of California, and the student body is good looking, well groomed, etc. as a whole. At the same time, Santa Clara is a quality, catholic university and the students are going to reflect that as well in their values and attitudes. I can't really say what most of the students are like, but the people I met were nice. It's definitely not hippy-ish.</p>
<p>thanks for that information, it helps :)</p>