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.
Location1
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.
MajorComing soon
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
State: CaliforniaAcademics AClear all

28 schools · Sorted by Best match (Catholic first)

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

  • Compass Score

    Thomas Aquinas College

    Santa Paula, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 539 students
    RecommendedCompass Recommended: a Faith score of 80 or higher, at least three of the four pillars rated, and none below C (55). A school with an Academic Excellence score must also reach 80 on its Compass Score.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.FaithExcellentAcademicsExcellent
  • Compass Score

    Santa Clara University

    Santa Clara, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 9,340 students
    RecommendedCompass Recommended: a Faith score of 80 or higher, at least three of the four pillars rated, and none below C (55). A school with an Academic Excellence score must also reach 80 on its Compass Score.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.FaithStrongAcademicsExcellent
  • Compass Score

    Loyola Marymount University

    Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 10,256 students
    RecommendedCompass Recommended: a Faith score of 80 or higher, at least three of the four pillars rated, and none below C (55). A school with an Academic Excellence score must also reach 80 on its Compass Score.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.FaithStrongAcademicsExcellent
  • Compass Score

    University of San Diego

    San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 9,110 students
    RecommendedCompass Recommended: a Faith score of 80 or higher, at least three of the four pillars rated, and none below C (55). A school with an Academic Excellence score must also reach 80 on its Compass Score.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.FaithStrongAcademicsExcellent

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

    University of Southern California

    Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 47,147 students
    Campus Ministry Honor RollCampus Ministry Honor Roll: a Catholic life score of 85 or higher (grade A) at a college that is not Catholic.Catholic lifeExcellentAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    University of California-Berkeley

    Berkeley, CA · Public · 4-year · 45,699 students
    Campus Ministry Honor RollCampus Ministry Honor Roll: a Catholic life score of 85 or higher (grade A) at a college that is not Catholic.Catholic lifeExcellentAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    Stanford University

    Stanford, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 18,446 students
    Campus Ministry Honor RollCampus Ministry Honor Roll: a Catholic life score of 85 or higher (grade A) at a college that is not Catholic.Catholic lifeExcellentAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    University of California-Irvine

    Irvine, CA · Public · 4-year · 36,582 students
    RecommendedCompass Recommended: a Catholic life score of 80 or higher. A college with an Academic Excellence score must also reach 80 on its Compass Score.Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    University of California-Davis

    Davis, CA · Public · 4-year · 39,707 students
    RecommendedCompass Recommended: a Catholic life score of 80 or higher. A college with an Academic Excellence score must also reach 80 on its Compass Score.Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    University of California-San Diego

    La Jolla, CA · Public · 4-year · 42,376 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    University of California-Los Angeles

    Los Angeles, CA · Public · 4-year · 46,678 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    University of California-Santa Barbara

    Santa Barbara, CA · Public · 4-year · 26,068 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    Chapman University

    Orange, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 9,961 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    California Institute of Technology

    Pasadena, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,463 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Pomona College

    Claremont, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,664 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Claremont McKenna College

    Claremont, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,384 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Harvey Mudd College

    Claremont, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 949 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Soka University of America

    Aliso Viejo, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 476 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

    Pitzer College

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

    Occidental College

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

    San Francisco Conservatory of Music

    San Francisco, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 403 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
  • Not yet rated

    Southern California Institute of Architecture

    Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 457 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Gnomon

    North Hollywood, CA · Private for-profit · 4-year · 555 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent

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