<p>I am interested in my son applying to several Catholic colleges in the USA next year. Our reasons are not so much religious (although we are Catholic) but most of them are generally good to excellent liberal arts colleges. If I were to rank them in order of academic strength, what do you think is the correct order. If I were to take a stab at this, I would guess the following "league table"</p>
<ol>
<li>Goergetown/Notre Dame (tie)</li>
<li>Boston College</li>
<li>Fordham</li>
<li>Villanova</li>
<li>Loyola Baltimore/Loyola Chicago (tie)</li>
<li>Trinity Washington (yes, I know it is a girls' school)</li>
<li>University of San Francisco</li>
<li>University of San Diego</li>
<li>Holy Cross/Siena College (tie)</li>
</ol>
<p>I would then lump the schools below as being broadly similar: Marquette, Catholic University, Manhattan College, Seton Hall, Fairfield, Mt. St. Mary's MD.</p>
<p>Also, I have heard that some of the above schools with well-known sports programs (Seton Hall, Villanova, Georgetown, BC) are overrated academically due to the publicity that their sports teams generate (particularly Villanova and Seton Hall). However, this probably becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy as the more popular schools start to attract more and better applicants, so they become much more selective.</p>
<p>Is this accurate, or have a missed a few?<br>
Thanks, Jackuk</p>
<p>I don’t know how you put your list together but you have some wildly out of place such as College of the Holy Cross which is the highest ranked Catholic liberal arts college in the USA at #32 in the nation. Siena is ranked at #114.</p>
<p>Will you be paying full freight? At 50k-55k a year for all 4 years?
The COA and paying for it is a major issue these days. </p>
<p>I don’t like to see parents and applicants “drinking the financial aid kool aid” (being delusional about what merit aid or need-based aid they will receive) :)</p>
<p>You left out Santa Clara…which would probably be around Fordham and Villanova in ranking.</p>
<p>Loyola Marymount, Gonzaga, and St. Louis U should be listed as well. </p>
<p>I don’t like to see parents and applicants “drinking the financial aid kool aid” (being delusional about what merit aid or need-based aid they will receive)</p>
<p>I anticipate that we will have to pay full tuition but we have some 529 accounts and other savings. I know that some schools, such as Villanova and Catholic University, do give merit aid, but I want my kids to aim higher than those. He will probably major in economics as part of a liberal arts degree. Thanks.</p>
<p>Eiffel - I am sure that you are right. I don’t much about either school, (other than that Bill Russell attended USF!)</p>
<p>I just checked US News and they have USD as #94 in Nat’l Universities and USF at #117, which I guess is basically in the same ballpark, right? Thanks.</p>
<p>I would say that the only “big” mistake is having Holy Cross so low. I would put it fourth behind BC. You could probably make an argument that Marquette, Seton Hall and Fairfield could be rated higher, but I think that’s “shuffling deck chairs”. </p>
<p>Though I will add, as a BC grad, Notre Dame is ludicrously over-rated. But in an act of kindness I am happy to point out that it is an attractive campus when viewed in one’s rear view mirror ;).</p>
<p>if you believe that sports has created an over-rating, then perhaps the top ones drop in your rating system. Sports is HUGE at ND, larger than at BC or Georgetown. ND’s intramural teams could probably beat some teams at DIII colleges. :)</p>
<p>Your top two are truly national universities. BC is rapidly becoming same, but still has 50-65% of its student body within a ~6 hour drive from Boston. The others are more regional in nature, drawing primarily from their local regions. </p>
<p>Personally, I’d move your 6 & 7 down.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Only at Georgetown and perhaps ND. The others will love to receive an app from an International.</p>
<p>My children are US citizens, although we live in London, so they are treated as US citizens for application purposes, but probably get geographical diversity points for applying from London. (Although maybe not for Georgetown, which seems to get tons of applications from London kids.)</p>
<p>“It does make a difference being an international student vs. American student.” </p>
<p>Yes, because if they needed financial aid to make it work financially, being an international student can limit where you apply. Not all schools will throw money at an international applicant.</p>
<p>Admission % 45<br>
SAT math 620 - 710
SAT CR 590 - 680 </p>
<p>Fordham
Admission % 51<br>
SAT math 580 - 670
SAT CR 580 - 670</p>
<p>Regarding post 4 , I don’t know anything about Santa Clara , but It would appear to be below both Fordham & Villanova based on competitive admission criteria Admit % 58 , Critical Reading:560 - 660 Math: 590 - 690.</p>
<p>Holy Cross is rated way to low , Admit % 35 Critical Reading:590 - 680 Math:600 - 690 , similar to Villanova</p>