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 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 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).
Small classesClear all

1,260 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

    Bentley University

    Waltham, MA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 5,264 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    Mercer University

    Macon, GA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 9,124 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    United States Air Force Academy

    USAF Academy, CO · Public · 4-year · 4,124 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    Rollins College

    Winter Park, FL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 3,013 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Adelphi University

    Garden City, NY · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 7,406 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Widener University

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

    Chapman University

    Orange, CA · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 9,961 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    University of Hartford

    West Hartford, CT · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 5,913 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus

    Madison, NJ · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,778 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Western Illinois University

    Macomb, IL · Public · 4-year · 7,073 students
    Catholic lifeStrongAcademicsFair
  • Catholic Life Score

    Cornell University

    Ithaca, NY · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 26,264 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    University of New England

    Biddeford, ME · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 6,473 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Citadel Military College of South Carolina

    Charleston, SC · Public · 4-year · 3,727 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Stevens Institute of Technology

    Hoboken, NJ · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 8,842 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    Colgate University

    Hamilton, NY · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 3,146 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsExcellent
  • Catholic Life Score

    Quinnipiac University

    Hamden, CT · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 8,918 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Roger Williams University

    Bristol, RI · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 4,344 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Augustana College

    Rock Island, IL · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,484 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    Ithaca College

    Ithaca, NY · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 4,828 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsStrong
  • Catholic Life Score

    University of Indianapolis

    Indianapolis, IN · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 5,447 students
    Catholic lifeFairAcademicsFair
  • Catholic Life Score

    Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College

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

    University of Nebraska Medical Center

    Omaha, NE · Public · 4-year · 3,786 students
    Catholic lifeStrong
  • Not yet rated

    University of Chicago

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

    California Institute of Technology

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

    Vassar College

    Poughkeepsie, NY · Private nonprofit · 4-year · 2,456 students
    Catholic life not yet researchedAcademicsExcellent

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.