<p>Since we seem to see it differently it can’t be too easy. I would rank in the order of HC, Nova, Fordham, but it is as they say “apples and oranges.” But when ranked together by there is a huge difference. The same disparity is seen in Princeton Review rankings (HC: 95, Nova: 90, Fordham:79)</p>
<p>As for peer schools Villanova doesn’t have much competition; Fordham is above Providence and Loyola so comparisons are hard.</p>
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<p>Collegeboard’s data is usually inaccurate and out of date. IPEDS, a federal site, includes required data reporting from the colleges themselves.</p>
<p>BC’s range is 1880-2150; avg. = 2015</p>
<p>'Nova’s range is 1810-2080; avg. = 1945</p>
<p>^ Thanks, good to know. But that’s still only a 70 point difference. The 20 point difference I was talking about was between HC and Nova. Plus Nova and HC take the SAT out of 1600 while BC uses the full 2400.</p>
<p>There is a lot of guessing and general views on which is in what order. Going by the de facto accepted standard, US News and World Report, has schools in different categories. Catholic schols in the National University group (Major research and many PhDs offered) for 2013 are in the following order: Notre Dame (19th) Georgetown (27th) Boston College (31st), Fordham (53rd), Marquette (82nd). This is among the biggest, best state and Ivy League programs in the nation.</p>
<p>In the National Liberal Arts category (BA/BS only) has Holy Cross at 29th</p>
<p>In the Regional category (local schools with some graduate programs), Villanova is 1 in the North as is Creighton 1st in the Midwest. Fairfield is 2nd, Loyola 3rd in the North. Villanova is compared to these schools and not to the schools in the National University group, so really can’t be compared directly and ranked with ND, Georgetown, BC and Fordham. </p>
<p>Apples and Oranges</p>
<p>ND, Georgetown, and Holy Cross all great schools.</p>
<p>Ramray - I still disagree with USNews on this. I just think that Villanove has more in common with BC and Fordham than major differences, e.g., mid-sized East Coast outer-urban/suburban schools that offer a mix of liberal arts and pre-professional degrees. So what if Villanova doesn’t give out many PHDs (which I think is one of the main determinants that makes it a Regional U.</p>
<p>^^^ that is precisely what makes it a regional university and not a national research university.</p>
<p>I would go to Villanova for engineering. Business school is decent. But not much else. JMHO. </p>
<p>Their law school is awful btw.</p>
<p>^^Exactly. 'Nova only offers a PhD in three disciplines: Engineering, Philosophy and Nursing, only one of which is a traditional liberal arts major (Phil).</p>
<p>in contrast, BC offers a dozen doctoral programs in liberal arts fields. Fordham offers eight (by my quick count).</p>
<p>Thanks all. Just to clarify, I get the distinction among Natl Unis, Reg’l Unis and LACs, but I am not really clear how these impact on the typical undergrad education and overall experience. </p>
<p>Therefore, to get back to the OP’s question, what are the best East Coast Catholic colleges? Based on what I have read here, I would rate them as follows:</p>
<p>1) Georgetown</p>
<p>2) BC and Holy Cross (tie)</p>
<p>4) Fordham</p>
<p>5) 'Nova</p>
<p>6) The rest (eg, Siena, Marist, Scranton, Seton Hall) are probably fairly somilar in academic quality.</p>
<p>^ That looks about right.</p>
<p>However, if you want to build the best liberal arts “league table”, you’re not going to do it by limiting yourself to Catholic schools. Holy Cross is the only Catholic LAC that shows up among the US News top 50 liberal arts colleges.</p>
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<p>LACs are small, universities (especially “national” ones, in most cases) are bigger. Sometimes much bigger. </p>
<p>LACs typically are in small town or rural locations. Historically (before the American Civil War), all our institutions of higher learning were LAC-like. After the Civil War, a few new schools (Cornell, Hopkins, Chicago, Stanford) were founded as universities. Some older schools like the Ivies evolved into universities. Schools in small towns and rural locations (especially in New England) tended to stay small and undergraduate focused.</p>
<p>Many of the top-ranked “regional” universities are Catholic schools in urban areas. Many of them must have started up to serve immigrant (largely Catholic) urban populations. Schools like Loyola University of Maryland (in Baltimore) still have a stronger pre-professional orientation than “national” universities and LACs. Loyola Maryland has a high percentage of business majors; the business major isn’t even offered at most LACs or national universities.</p>
<p>“National” LACs and universities draw students from all 50 states, or most of them. At “regional” private universities (and at state universities), the majority of students come from that state or neighboring states.</p>
<p>“National” universities get the lion’s share of federal research funding. They tend to crank out higher volumes of research publications (even on a per capita basis). This can be positive (students get more exposure to cutting-edge research) or negative (undergraduates must compete more for faculty attention).</p>
<p>^ Agree with rankings. Adding Notre Dame:- 1) ND, 2) Georgetown, 3) Holy Cross, Boston College, 4) Fordham. ND has the largest endowment by a large margin while Holy Cross has the 2nd highest endowment per student and HC has the highest alumni giving rate at 55%(higher than most Ivies). Other good Jesuit schools include Marquette and St. Louis U.</p>
<p>Par72, I just left the Midwestern and California Catholic Colleges out of my example as they just have too many differences (e.g, student body composition) to compare them to the East Coast schools, although all are fine schools. Again, apples to oranges!</p>