<p>In the Common Data Set for many schools, under factors considered in admissions, on a sliding scale from "not" to "very important" , many schools which were founded with a religious affiliation list religion as "considered" (signifying low importance, but still a potential factor). Would it not be more helpful if they gave more detail--for example, whether a Catholic institution means in borderline situations it favors Catholics because it is a Catholic university or whether it favors non-Catholics for diversity?</p>
<p>I think they mean religion is considered as part of diversity, not that they favor a religion over another.</p>
<p>Many Catholic U’s do, in fact, have relationships with Catholic HS’s, and in many instances there are special scholarships for Catholic students. I was raised Catholic (though no longer practice) and attended Catholic school (parents’ choice) so I know from experience. </p>
<p>You would imagine that merely by affinity that a school with a religious affiliation would have a majority student population that subscribes to its mission. Why attend a school whose philosophy runs counter to your own values?</p>
<p>I imagine that at smaller schools where the religion dominates the culture that it is a more important consideration. However, a well-known and larger Catholic institution, such as BC, for example, also attracts a variety of students locally by virtue of its many strong undergrad and grad offerings, such as School of Management, Law School, School of Social Work, etc. </p>
<p>So, to answer your question–it doesn’t hurt-- but for schools with a national reputation, in particular, it’s not the most important consideration in many cases-- schools have seats to fill and will fill them as they see fit.</p>