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Answer:
They may, although one should be judicious in choosing to study at such a school or in sending one’s children to such a college. One might think of Harvard or Duke, both prestigious academic institutions with Protestant heritages, although these days they are more secular than they are religious. One might get a scholarship to Harvard Law School or Duke Medical School and profit from the education.
But they should also be ready to deal with the secular milieu that they will face at such schools. On the other hand, there are schools like Wheaton College that are serious about their Protestant Christianity. At such colleges, Catholics will need to be prepared to defend their faith in a different way, i.e., being able to show biblically and otherwise historically that the Catholic Church is the one that Jesus founded.
If one has the money to attend a private school, I’d recommend a good Catholic one over a Protestant college, unless the Protestant one offered something substantially different academically and financially. A student could also get Catholic fellowship through the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), such as at Harvard, or via a good Newman Center or local Catholic parish.
In addition, if a person is not strong in his or her faith and I were a parent, I’d make sure to recommend a school with a solid Catholic atmosphere, be it a formally Catholic university or not. If a child chooses otherwise, you can remind him that he is an adult and thus can take on the financial responsibly for his collegiate choice.
Speaking of FOCUS, it’s active on more than 100 campuses nationwide. In addition, there are solid Newman Centers at various secular universities, including the University of Illinois, Nebraska, and Texas A&M.