Catholic School CompassTrue north for Catholic families.

Every accredited U.S. college

Colleges

Catholic colleges receive the full four-pillar faith scorecard. All other colleges are rated on Catholic life on campus: campus ministry, Mass and confession, and student groups. Four-year colleges also get an Academic Excellence score from federal data.

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Best match lists Catholic colleges first, by Compass Score. The other sorts order every school by that one measure.
Ratings1
Compass ScoreCompass Score: 75% faith and 25% Academic Excellence, for every school that has both. Choose the lowest grade to show.
Faith or Catholic lifeFaith: the average of the four faith pillars. Other colleges are graded on Catholic life on campus instead.
Academic ExcellenceAcademic Excellence: a score from federal data on graduation, retention, test scores, faculty ratio, and spending. It never uses rankings or surveys.
Only schools marked Compass Recommended: a Faith or Catholic life score of 80 or higher, and a Compass Score of 80 or higher where academics are rated.
Only Honor Roll schools: Catholic schools with a Faith score of 85 or higher, and campus ministries at other colleges with a Catholic life score of 85 or higher.
Only the eight Ivy League universities. None of them is Catholic; their pages rate Catholic life on campus.
Researched only: hides schools whose faith or Catholic life has not been checked against official sources.
Faith pillars
Sacramental lifeHow readily students can attend Mass, go to confession, pray before the Blessed Sacrament, and find a priest.
Theology and core curriculumWhat every undergraduate must study in theology and philosophy, and how the core draws on the Catholic intellectual tradition.
Campus culture and residence lifeThe reach of campus ministry, retreats and student faith groups, and the residence-hall policies many families ask about.
Service and Catholic social teachingService programs, how Catholic social teaching enters the curriculum, and both pro-life and justice work tied to the mission.
Location
Distance (miles)
A broad region of the country, as the guide groups the states. Territories are listed separately.
School
Catholic or otherAll: every college. Catholic: Catholic colleges with the full faith scorecard. Other: colleges rated on Catholic life on campus, not the full faith scorecard.
Public or privatePublic: run by a state or local government. Private: nonprofit or for-profit, including Catholic colleges.
Level4-year: bachelor's degree programs. 2-year: associate degree programs.
Total enrollment: small is under 2,000 students, medium 2,000 to 9,999, large 10,000 to 24,999, and very large 25,000 or more.
Net price: what a typical student pays per year after grants and scholarships, from the federal College Scorecard.
Coed: men and women together. Single-sex: all-male or all-female.
Schools founded or run by a religious order, such as the Jesuits or Dominicans, from the guide's order data.
Campus life1
College sports level from federal data: NCAA Division I (the biggest programs), Division II, Division III, or NAIA.
Where the campus is, from federal data: in a city, a suburb, a town, or a rural area.
Mass every weekday on or next to campus, checked against the college's own schedule.
A Catholic parish church within a mile of campus.
The college offers Army, Navy or Air Force ROTC, on campus or with a nearby college (federal data).
The college offers study abroad (federal data).
Admissions and outcomes
How many applicants are admitted (federal data). Most: 65% or more. Selective: 25% to 64%. Highly selective: under 25%.
Your SAT or ACT, to sort colleges Target, Likely and Reach. Signed in, it is kept on your account (private to you); otherwise only in this browser.
Reach, Target or LikelyA rough guide from admitted students' scores and admission rates, not a prediction. Target: your score is in the college's middle range. Likely: above it, or the college admits most applicants. Reach: below it, or the college admits fewer than 1 in 5.
Small classes: 12 or fewer students per faculty member (federal data).
Strong outcomes: 75% or more of students graduate (federal data).
Major
Colleges that offer a bachelor's degree in this major or field, from the federal College Scorecard.
Clear all
CatholicOnly Catholic colleges, which get the full four-pillar faith scorecard.RecommendedOnly schools marked Compass Recommended: a Faith or Catholic life score of 80 or higher, and a Compass Score of 80 or higher where academics are rated.Honor RollOnly Honor Roll schools: Catholic schools with a Faith score of 85 or higher, and campus ministries at other colleges with a Catholic life score of 85 or higher.FaithOnly schools with a Faith score of 85 or higher (grade A). At other colleges, this is their Catholic life score.AcademicsOnly schools with an Academic Excellence score of 85 or higher (grade A), from federal data.Ivy LeagueOnly the eight Ivy League universities. None of them is Catholic; their pages rate Catholic life on campus.Clear
Division I sportsCollege sports level from federal data: NCAA Division I (the biggest programs), Division II, Division III, or NAIA.Daily MassMass every weekday on or next to campus, checked against the college's own schedule.Church nearbyA Catholic parish church within a mile of campus.ROTCThe college offers Army, Navy or Air Force ROTC, on campus or with a nearby college (federal data).Study abroadThe college offers study abroad (federal data).NursingColleges that offer a bachelor's degree in this major or field, from the federal College Scorecard.EngineeringColleges that offer a bachelor's degree in this major or field, from the federal College Scorecard.Under $20kNet price under $20,000 a year: what a typical student pays after grants and scholarships (federal data).Small classesSmall classes: 12 or fewer students per faculty member (federal data).
Academics AStudy abroadClear all

190 schools · Sorted by Best match (Catholic first)

Grade filters include only schools with that grade; “Not enough information” is excluded.

  • Not yet rated

    University of Richmond

    University of Richmond, VA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 3,776 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Colorado College

    Colorado Springs, CO · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,173 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

    Ann Arbor, MI · Public · 4-year · 52,065 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Bates College

    Lewiston, ME · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,753 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Scripps College

    Claremont, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,103 students
    All-femaleAll-female: the school enrolls women only.Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Webb Institute

    Glen Cove, NY · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 105 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Trinity College

    Hartford, CT · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,276 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Mount Holyoke College

    South Hadley, MA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,330 students
    All-femaleAll-female: the school enrolls women only.Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Macalester College

    Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,142 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

    New York, NY · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 983 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Skidmore College

    Saratoga Springs, NY · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,776 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Kenyon College

    Gambier, OH · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,184 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Bryn Mawr College

    Bryn Mawr, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,666 students
    All-femaleAll-female: the school enrolls women only.Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Pitzer College

    Claremont, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,204 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Oberlin College

    Oberlin, OH · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,976 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Yeshiva University

    New York, NY · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 6,826 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Occidental College

    Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,854 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Franklin and Marshall College

    Lancaster, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,911 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Brandeis University

    Waltham, MA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 5,302 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Union College

    Schenectady, NY · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,082 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Muhlenberg College

    Allentown, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,818 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Wheaton College

    Wheaton, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,799 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Denison University

    Granville, OH · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,405 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Rhodes College

    Memphis, TN · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,952 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Art Center College of Design

    Pasadena, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,382 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent

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