Catholic School CompassTrue north for Catholic families.

Every accredited U.S. college

Catholic life at other colleges

Public and private colleges that are not Catholic, rated on Catholic life on campus: campus ministry, Mass and confession, chaplains, and student groups.

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Best match lists Catholic colleges first, by Compass Score. The other sorts order every school by that one 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.
Location1
Distance (miles)
A broad region of the country, as the guide groups the states. Territories are listed separately.
School1
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 life
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).
Other collegesState: IllinoisMajor: Engineering (any)Clear all

24 schools · Sorted by Best match (Catholic first)

  • Catholic Life Score

    Northwestern University

    Evanston, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 23,203 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 Illinois Urbana-Champaign

    Champaign, IL · Public · 4-year · 56,563 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

    Bradley University

    Peoria, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 5,217 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 lifeExcellentAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Northern Illinois University

    Dekalb, IL · Public · 4-year · 15,504 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 lifeExcellentAcademicsFair
  • Catholic Life Score

    University of Illinois Chicago

    Chicago, IL · Public · 4-year · 33,522 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 lifeExcellentAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Eastern Illinois University

    Charleston, IL · Public · 4-year · 8,804 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 lifeExcellentAcademicsLimited
  • Catholic Life Score

    Illinois Institute of Technology

    Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 8,563 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 lifeStrongAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

    Carbondale, IL · Public · 4-year · 11,359 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsFair
  • Catholic Life Score

    Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

    Edwardsville, IL · Public · 4-year · 12,045 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsFair
  • Catholic Life Score

    Western Illinois University

    Macomb, IL · Public · 4-year · 7,073 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsFair
  • Not yet rated

    University of Chicago

    Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 18,339 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Wheaton College

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

    Principia College

    Elsah, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 338 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Augustana College

    Rock Island, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,484 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Monmouth College

    Monmouth, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 727 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    North Central College

    Naperville, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,856 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Illinois College

    Jacksonville, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 958 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsFair
  • Not yet rated

    Millikin University

    Decatur, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,659 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsFair
  • Not yet rated

    North Park University

    Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,624 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsFair
  • Not yet rated

    Olivet Nazarene University

    Bourbonnais, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 3,275 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsFair
  • Not yet rated

    Aurora University

    Aurora, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 5,935 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsFair
  • Not yet rated

    Greenville University

    Greenville, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,053 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    DeVry University-Illinois

    Lisle, IL · Private for-profit · 4-year · 29,346 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited
  • Not yet rated

    East-West University

    Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 528 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsLimited

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