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.

Filters

Search & sort
Compass Score lists Catholic colleges first, then the other schools by the same score. The other sorts order every school by a different measure.
Ratings
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).
Major1
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).
Study abroadMajor: Criminal justiceClear all

769 schools · Sorted by Compass Score (Catholic first)

Other colleges with strong Catholic life

Rated on Catholic life on campus, not the full faith scorecard. Their Catholic Life Scores are not comparable with the Compass Scores of Catholic colleges.

  • Catholic Life Score

    The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga

    Chattanooga, TN · Public · 4-year · 11,380 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsFair
  • Catholic Life Score

    Georgia State University

    Atlanta, GA · Public · 4-year · 34,974 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsLimited
  • Catholic Life Score

    Eastern New Mexico University

    Portales, NM · Public · 4-year · 5,386 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsLimited
  • Catholic Life Score

    Saginaw Valley State University

    University Center, MI · Public · 4-year · 6,889 students
    Catholic lifeLimitedAcademicsFair
  • Not yet rated

    Clark University

    Worcester, MA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 4,124 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    The College of New Jersey

    Ewing, NJ · Public · 4-year · 7,652 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Michigan State University

    East Lansing, MI · Public · 4-year · 51,316 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Indiana University-Bloomington

    Bloomington, IN · Public · 4-year · 47,527 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Thomas Jefferson University

    Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 8,315 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Messiah University

    Mechanicsburg, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 3,344 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Point Loma Nazarene University

    San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 4,494 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Springfield College

    Springfield, MA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,785 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Elizabethtown College

    Elizabethtown, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,152 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Regis College

    Weston, MA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,842 students
    CatholicCatholic college: federal data lists a Roman Catholic affiliation (or it has been verified as Catholic), so it gets the full four-pillar faith scorecard.FaithNot ratedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Salve Regina University

    Newport, RI · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,836 students
    CatholicCatholic college: federal data lists a Roman Catholic affiliation (or it has been verified as Catholic), so it gets the full four-pillar faith scorecard.FaithNot ratedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Juniata College

    Huntingdon, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,292 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Northwest University

    Kirkland, WA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 999 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    University of Evansville

    Evansville, IN · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,109 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Simpson College

    Indianola, IA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,163 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus

    Norman, OK · Public · 4-year · 29,145 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Lipscomb University

    Nashville, TN · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 5,047 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Cedarville University

    Cedarville, OH · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 5,374 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Houghton University

    Houghton, NY · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,014 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Westminster University

    Salt Lake City, UT · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,214 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Goucher College

    Baltimore, MD · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,500 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong

Don’t see a school? Suggest it.

Sort by

0 school selectedCompare

What would it cost your family?

Pick your family’s yearly income. Each college then shows what families like yours paid on average after grants and scholarships (federal data).

Reach, Target or Likely?

Enter an SAT or ACT to sort every college in this search.