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.
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.
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).
State: PennsylvaniaROTCClear all

74 schools · Sorted by Best match (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

    Millersville University of Pennsylvania

    Millersville, PA · Public · 4-year · 6,732 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsFair
  • Catholic Life Score

    Indiana University of Pennsylvania

    Indiana, PA · Public · 4-year · 9,246 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsFair
  • Catholic Life Score

    Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

    Slippery Rock, PA · Public · 4-year · 8,350 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsFair
  • Catholic Life Score

    East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

    East Stroudsburg, PA · Public · 4-year · 5,460 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsLimited
  • Catholic Life Score

    Widener University

    Chester, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 5,610 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

    Kutztown, PA · Public · 4-year · 7,416 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsFair
  • Catholic Life Score

    Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania

    Bloomsburg, PA · Public · 4-year · 11,088 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsFair
  • Catholic Life Score

    Robert Morris University

    Moon Township, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 4,737 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College

    Erie, PA · Public · 4-year · 3,323 students
    Catholic lifeLimitedAcademicsFair
  • Not yet rated

    Haverford College

    Haverford, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,424 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

    Lafayette College

    Easton, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,764 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

    Dickinson College

    Carlisle, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,217 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent
  • Not yet rated

    Susquehanna University

    Selinsgrove, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,247 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Messiah University

    Mechanicsburg, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 3,344 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Washington & Jefferson College

    Washington, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,162 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Moravian University

    Bethlehem, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,658 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Bryn Athyn College of the New Church

    Bryn Athyn, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 285 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Misericordia University

    Dallas, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,107 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

    Gannon University

    Erie, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 4,548 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

    Lycoming College

    Williamsport, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 1,063 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Pennsylvania College of Technology

    Williamsport, PA · Public · 4-year · 4,307 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsStrong
  • Not yet rated

    Point Park University

    Pittsburgh, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 3,299 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsFair
  • Not yet rated

    Wilkes University

    Wilkes-Barre, PA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 5,198 students
    Catholic lifeNot ratedAcademicsFair

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