Cardinal New Man Society Releases Catholic College Rankings

The Cardinal Newman Society has released the 2012-2013 edition of "The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College" Wednesday.

The Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1993, which 'is dedicated to promoting and defending faithful Catholic education.'

The guide has named 28 colleges, universities and online programs to help catholic students and families 'navigate the college search and the transition from high school to college life.'

It features profiles of all the 28 recommended institutions including information on academics, residence life, student activities and spiritual life. The profiles are 'completely updated after extensive campus visits and/or interviews with faculty, staff, administrators, students and alumni.'

Also, each profile has a 'Quick Facts' box that notes the number of undergraduate students, median SAT scores and high school GPAs of admitted students, the number of majors offered, the percentage of students who are Catholic, and the cost of the college. The profiles also include a letter to parents and students from the college president and information on financial aid opportunities.

In addition, each recommended college has completed a comprehensive questionnaire on academics, student life and institutional governance, and their answers are published online. The questionnaire was developed in response to families' requests for information about everything from accreditation to majors, and from Mass times to student clubs.

Apart from the guide, the society has also released a new companion magazine called "My Faith My Future" specially aimed at Catholic High School students and their parents. Both the guide and the magazine are available free in the New Man Guidewebsite.

The recommended institutions include 22 four-year colleges and universities in the United States, four institutions providing English-language instruction in other countries (Canada, Italy and Australia) and two online programs. Following are the catholic institutions that made it to this year's list:

U.S. Colleges and Universities

Aquinas College (Nashville, Tenn.)

Ave Maria University (Ave Maria, Fla.)

Belmont Abbey College (Belmont, N.C.)

Benedictine College (Atchison, Kan.)

The Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.)

Christendom College (Front Royal, Va.)

The College of Saint Mary Magdalen (Warner, N.H.)

The College of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More (Fort Worth, Tex.)

DeSales University (Center Valley, Penn.)

Franciscan University of Steubenville (Steubenville, Ohio)

Holy Apostles College (Cromwell, Conn.)