Tell them to keep studying. Catholic colleges in the US are Catholic in name only; exceptions are few.
The Evangelical mythology is easy, matches the modern mindset, and fits the anti-Catholic mood in the media. We are a medieval, deeply countercultural institution. Typically, people experiment with evangelical communities and either remain surface Christians or come back home to the Catholic Church.
The opposite is true in my experience.. I have known few Roman Catholics that were not nominal christians.. not all but most. . Most all roman catholics I've known trust and believed in the church, Not God(father, son, holy spirit) except incidentally.. The church to them is translated to mean the clergy.. extreme Mariolotry being the norm..
Not all of them but most all.. Stories(about the catholic experience) from some of them to me verified this condition is prevalent.. not absolute but prevalant..