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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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 outcomes1
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).
Church nearbySmall classesClear all

628 schools · Sorted by Compass Score (Catholic first)

  • Not yet rated

    Bluffton University

    Bluffton, OH · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 678 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsFair
  • Not yet rated

    York University

    York, NE · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 585 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Escuela de Artes Plasticas y Diseno de Puerto Rico

    San Juan, PR · Public · 4-year · 497 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Caribbean University-Bayamon

    Bayamon, PR · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 929 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Scranton

    Dunmore, PA · Public · 4-year · 838 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Bennett College

    Greensboro, NC · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 195 students
    All-femaleAll-female: the school enrolls women only.Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Baker College

    Owosso, MI · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 3,898 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Trocaire College

    Buffalo, NY · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,104 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 ratedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Wilmington College

    Wilmington, OH · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 964 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Boston Architectural College

    Boston, MA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 787 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Caribbean University-Carolina

    Carolina, PR · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 146 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Naropa University

    Boulder, CO · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,117 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Louisiana Christian University

    Pineville, LA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 950 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Coker University

    Hartsville, SC · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,263 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    University of Baltimore

    Baltimore, MD · Public · 4-year · 3,101 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Washington Adventist University

    Takoma Park, MD · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 695 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology

    Boston, MA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 592 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Brenau University

    Gainesville, GA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,420 students
    All-femaleAll-female: the school enrolls women only.Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Caribbean University-Vega Baja

    Vega Baja, PR · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 215 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Friends University

    Wichita, KS · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,927 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Roosevelt University

    Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 4,015 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Western Wyoming Community College

    Rock Springs, WY · Public · 4-year · 2,464 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Harris-Stowe State University

    Saint Louis, MO · Public · 4-year · 1,098 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Greater Allegheny

    McKeesport, PA · Public · 4-year · 361 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    New England College

    Henniker, NH · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,856 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsLimited

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