Non-Catholic Attending Catholic High School?

[Anonymous]

OP here. He is a football player.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DD will be starting at the of the area Catholic girl high schools in the fall. We're Catholic but I can't say there is a "Catholic" aspect to the application process but more of an expectation that you understand that it is a Catholic school. The schools emphasize their Catholicism differently. Some are very attentive to the obligatory or ritualistic, e.g., penance. Others are more about putting faith into action, e.g., community service. Find out who emphasizes what and then match it with your level of comfort.

Those are called Sacraments, and they are kind of a big deal to Roman Catholics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son will be applying this fall to several Catholic high schools. We are not Catholic and my son has never been to church. He's hoping for a better education and better athletic opportunities. We support exposure to religious education. Can anyone shed some insight on how the interview process will work for a non-practicing student? What might interview questions look like and what is the best way to respond?

SJC parent here. There is no interview process per se, although your son will meet the admissions staff when he does his shadow day.

It's hard to get a fix on it, but I'd say SJC is close to majority non-Catholic. It is very different than Catholic K-8 parochial, which is almost 100% Catholic. As a student, he will take 4 years of religion, prayer before just about all classes, games, etc., and Mass once per month. If that much Catholicism is a problem, you won't be a fit. But there are Jewish, Muslim, and atheist (!) kids there, and I think they do their best to not have anyone feel left out. The staff only has about 3 brothers that teach - the rest are all lay people. The mission and campus ministry program is obviously very Catholic, but all that is optional.

Thank you for posting this. I had no idea! During Mass, how is Communion handled? Do they allow anyone to take the cup or do they restrict it to Catholics who've been to confession?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son will be applying this fall to several Catholic high schools. We are not Catholic and my son has never been to church. He's hoping for a better education and better athletic opportunities. We support exposure to religious education. Can anyone shed some insight on how the interview process will work for a non-practicing student? What might interview questions look like and what is the best way to respond?

SJC parent here. There is no interview process per se, although your son will meet the admissions staff when he does his shadow day.

It's hard to get a fix on it, but I'd say SJC is close to majority non-Catholic. It is very different than Catholic K-8 parochial, which is almost 100% Catholic. As a student, he will take 4 years of religion, prayer before just about all classes, games, etc., and Mass once per month. If that much Catholicism is a problem, you won't be a fit. But there are Jewish, Muslim, and atheist (!) kids there, and I think they do their best to not have anyone feel left out. The staff only has about 3 brothers that teach - the rest are all lay people. The mission and campus ministry program is obviously very Catholic, but all that is optional.

SJC is about 30% African American. Catholicism is not very prevalent among African Americans, only about 5% nationally. So chances are that a very large portion of the African American students are not Catholic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son will be applying this fall to several Catholic high schools. We are not Catholic and my son has never been to church. He's hoping for a better education and better athletic opportunities. We support exposure to religious education. Can anyone shed some insight on how the interview process will work for a non-practicing student? What might interview questions look like and what is the best way to respond?

SJC parent here. There is no interview process per se, although your son will meet the admissions staff when he does his shadow day.

It's hard to get a fix on it, but I'd say SJC is close to majority non-Catholic. It is very different than Catholic K-8 parochial, which is almost 100% Catholic. As a student, he will take 4 years of religion, prayer before just about all classes, games, etc., and Mass once per month. If that much Catholicism is a problem, you won't be a fit. But there are Jewish, Muslim, and atheist (!) kids there, and I think they do their best to not have anyone feel left out. The staff only has about 3 brothers that teach - the rest are all lay people. The mission and campus ministry program is obviously very Catholic, but all that is optional.

Thank you for posting this. I had no idea! During Mass, how is Communion handled? Do they allow anyone to take the cup or do they restrict it to Catholics who've been to confession?

I don't think there is any organized Confessions as in parochial school - I will ask my DC this evening. Maybe during retreats. No one checks a list during Communion to see if you've been to Confession recently - at SJC or any place else. That is a personal responsibility. Non-Catholics do not take Communion, at SJC or anyplace else, but I believe they go up and are blessed. There is a small chapel that can seat maybe 75 people where a daily Mass is said before school, not a requirement in any way.

[Anonymous]

My son goes to a "very" Catholic, Catholic school. Even there, the student body is about 75% Catholic and 25% other religions.

We are not Catholic and it hasn't been an issue at all. In the interview, the school did ask us what Church we attended, but other than that, there was no discussion about religion by the admissions folks. We did ask them questions about it, though. We just wanted to be sure that our son would fit in and feel accepted. If you are spiritual but not attending any church, you would probably not have a problem with it. However, if you are atheist, I don't think that you'd enjoy the overall experience.

My son had mentioned that he may consider converting to Catholicism when he is an adult. I told him that I would support any decision that he made in regard to his religion. The school is not pushing that in any way, but he is exposed to Catholic thought and doctrine in most of his classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son goes to a "very" Catholic, Catholic school. Even there, the student body is about 75% Catholic and 25% other religions.

We are not Catholic and it hasn't been an issue at all. In the interview, the school did ask us what Church we attended, but other than that, there was no discussion about religion by the admissions folks. We did ask them questions about it, though. We just wanted to be sure that our son would fit in and feel accepted. If you are spiritual but not attending any church, you would probably not have a problem with it. However, if you are atheist, I don't think that you'd enjoy the overall experience.

My son had mentioned that he may consider converting to Catholicism when he is an adult. I told him that I would support any decision that he made in regard to his religion. The school is not pushing that in any way, but he is exposed to Catholic thought and doctrine in most of his classes.[b]

If by that you mean they say a prayer to start class, yes. After that, the science. math, etc aren't any different. Catholic doctrine is constrained to Religion class and of course the overall mission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son goes to a "very" Catholic, Catholic school. Even there, the student body is about 75% Catholic and 25% other religions.

We are not Catholic and it hasn't been an issue at all. In the interview, the school did ask us what Church we attended, but other than that, there was no discussion about religion by the admissions folks. We did ask them questions about it, though. We just wanted to be sure that our son would fit in and feel accepted. If you are spiritual but not attending any church, you would probably not have a problem with it. However, if you are atheist, I don't think that you'd enjoy the overall experience.

My son had mentioned that he may consider converting to Catholicism when he is an adult. I told him that I would support any decision that he made in regard to his religion. The school is not pushing that in any way, but he is exposed to Catholic thought and doctrine in most of his classes.[b]

If by that you mean they say a prayer to start class, yes. After that, the science. math, etc aren't any different. Catholic doctrine is constrained to Religion class and of course the overall mission.

That may be the case at your school. Ours is different. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled with the school, the staff, the curriculum, and even the moral and spiritual aspects that the Church brings in to the school. If I didn't like it, I could choose to send my child elsewhere. There is no place I would rather have my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son will be applying this fall to several Catholic high schools. We are not Catholic and my son has never been to church. He's hoping for a better education and better athletic opportunities. We support exposure to religious education. Can anyone shed some insight on how the interview process will work for a non-practicing student? What might interview questions look like and what is the best way to respond?

SJC parent here. There is no interview process per se, although your son will meet the admissions staff when he does his shadow day.

It's hard to get a fix on it, but I'd say SJC is close to majority non-Catholic. It is very different than Catholic K-8 parochial, which is almost 100% Catholic. As a student, he will take 4 years of religion, prayer before just about all classes, games, etc., and Mass once per month. If that much Catholicism is a problem, you won't be a fit. But there are Jewish, Muslim, and atheist (!) kids there, and I think they do their best to not have anyone feel left out. The staff only has about 3 brothers that teach - the rest are all lay people. The mission and campus ministry program is obviously very Catholic, but all that is optional.

SJC is about 30% African American. Catholicism is not very prevalent among African Americans, only about 5% nationally. So chances are that a very large portion of the African American students are not Catholic.

But African Americans are Christian and usually religious in some denomination that is similar. Very different from an atheist or jewish kid going to a Catholic school.

[Anonymous]

If he is an athlete and a good one, they won't care. They would throw the bible out the window to win a championship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he is an athlete and a good one, they won't care. They would throw the bible out the window to win a championship.

People on DCUM really hate Catholics, don't they?

[Anonymous]

DSS is at GP. He comes from a Buddhist background and was only vaguely aware there's even a difference between Catholics and Protestants (I am from a baptist family and quickly sorted him out on this issue). Everyone at GP has been nothing but nice and welcoming to him and to us. Lol
sometimes he has religion questions that I'm totally clueless about though. But overall very good experience so far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He is a football player.

You have great choices on your list and he will be fine. I would suggest you might also check out Saint Albans school. It is not Catholic, it is Episcopal, and there are kids of all faiths. Excellent excellent academic school and a school that is very interested, from what I hear, in building up their football program. But your other schools are better choices if it is important to go to a school that already has a great football program.

[Anonymous]

My son is a non Catholic football player at Prep. He loves his school. During communion he goes to the front with everyone else but he crosses his arms and receives a blessing rather than taking communion. The community is ver friendly. The academics are good. And the teachers are
very caring and encouraging. We are very happy with
His choice of schools. BTW he was admitted to STA but didn't like their sports program. We are happy that although his classes are
More than Adequate to prepare him
For college, Prep is not an academic pressure cooker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not Carholic, and I went to Catholic schools my whole life. In HS, they will have religion class and will be required to attend mass. If it's Gonzaga, they have some faith based retreats and students are very involved in faith based community service.
They won't ask during application process.
I didn't learn that they Bible isn't literally true and that we come from apes until college though. It was quite a shock. They do brainwash a bit,IMO.

Catholics don't believe that the Bible is literally true and Catholics believe in evolution. Kind of one of the biggest differences between some Protestants and Catholics actually. I think you went to an evangelical Christian school. They do seem all alike to atheists, but actually there are quite a few differences. There are plenty of websites/youtube videos on Sola scriptura Protestants vs. Catholics if anyone want to make sure they won't be doing art projects with cavemen riding dinosaurs at Catholic school.