Hi! I am a high school junior and am a devout Catholic. I would like to go to a Catholic university, but there aren’t any near me. I am trying to find a college less than 300 miles away from where I live in Birmingham, Alabama, so I can drive home instead of flying. I don’t have a lot of money for college, but I have a decent ACT score (32), and am retaking it in July. I need strong financial aid as well. I don’t have many Catholic colleges near me, and any colleges that are are less conservative than I would like, e.g. Christian Brothers University and Spring Hil. I would rather have an unaffiliated college with a strong Catholic presence than a Catholic university that tends to not be so orthodox. Does anyone know of any schools that fit this bill? Thanks!
Catholic universities are great but don’t rule out other Universities. Check out universities within your desired range and search out and research their Newman Centers. Newman Centers are the Catholic Churches on a lot of campuses and they have very active members and groups that you can get involved with. I know many students who have enjoyed and strengthened their catholic faith by getting involved with the Newman Center. Good luck on your search.
People looking for orthodox Catholic schools often use the Cardinal Newman Guide:
https://cardinalnewmansociety.org/recommended-colleges/
As you might have guessed, there aren’t a lot of Newman-recommended schools in your area. The closest:
- Aquinas College is a very small Dominican school in Nashville, which is only about 200 miles from Birmingham. They have had financial problems and recently closed many of their programs. It looks like they still offer bachelor's degrees in education, English, and history. https://www.aquinascollege.edu
- Belmont Abbey College is a small Benedictine school in Belmont, NC. It looks to be about 375 miles from Birmingham, which may be too far. http://belmontabbeycollege.edu
https://www.newsmax.com/fastfeatures/christian-colleges/2015/05/07/id/643203/
All of these seem to be farther than 300 miles from Birmingham.
How about either of these?:
Loyola University New Orleans
Xavier University (also in New Orleans)
(Whether they would be conservative enough for you, I don’t know)
http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/catholic-education/higher-education/catholic-colleges-and-universities-in-the-united-states.cfm
With an ACT of 32 with good GPA you could be eligible for the Presidential scholarship at University of Alabama. I recommend if you visit to make sure to take the time to visit the Newman Center and find out about all they have to offer. Getting involved can make a large University feel much smaller and you will make many friends with similar values and dedication to Catholicism.
As a graduate of a Catholic University I can tell you it was awesome but you will find many students will not share your love of the catholic religion.
@tk21769 Both of those are Jesuit colleges, something I have heard to stay away from when looking for conservative colleges.
@bhs1978 Most of my family on my Dad’s side went to Alabama and they have a great Catholic presence, even Nick Saban is Catholic and built a student center for the Newman center there. I do qualify for free tuition, but unfortunately the high room and board costs would allow me to go there unless I got academic elite, which doesn’t seem probable based on what I’ve heard. I need pretty much a full ride or something close to it, or else I might just have to commute to UAB, where I have free tuition. I love UAB, but also want to go away. sigh
There are some threads on CC that list requirements for some full tuition and full ride scholarships such as this one
Search for schools that will help you get what you need and then research their Newman Centers. Catholic colleges can be very generous with money but full rides including room and board can be tougher to get.
Jesuit schools probably have the least Catholic presence of the Catholic schools. If you’re willing to consider Jesuit schools, you might as well expand your options and consider secular schools as well. Most will have some Catholic center or student group on campus.
How about Ave Maria in Florida? It’s not too far from Alabama and it’s in the Newman Guide. Or, far away, but Franciscan University in Steubenville Ohio?
@WildestDream: I agree with you.
Ave Maria and Steubenville are both over 700 mi. from Birmingham.
@WildestDream Yes, I don’t really want to go to a Jesuit school especially if there are better options out there.
@apraxiamom I have researched both schools, and Ave Maria I heard that the food was disgusting but I am interested in Steubenville, but it’s just not practical in terms of distance. That being said, however, I think I am still going to apply. If I get a really good financial package it may be worth it.
@bhs1978 How do you research a college’s Newman Center? What things would you look for that signal strong Catholic programs and community?
Really at this point I think I am just going to have to find a school with a good Catholic community. If anyone knows any near Birmingham with stellar financial aid, please let me know!
@naturecreative My son will be going to Steubenville in the fall. Good luck to you, whatever you decide! Regarding Newman Centers, I would check the centers’ Facebook pages to start.
@tk21769 Thanks for the correction. I can’t geography apparently.
The university of Alabama has a strong Catholic presence. There is a Catholic Church right on campus property. The catholic community outgrew the old building, so a newer much larger church was built. There is also a new student center…The Nick Saban Catholic Student Center. Many of the profs are also Catholic. The dean of the Honors College attends Mass almost every day.
The student center is very active and has weekday activities as well. When my kids were there, there was a dinner once a week. I think that still exists for college kids. They also go on an annual retreat.
If you attend John Carroll Catholic High school in bham (you don’t need to respond to this), then you probably know how much the Bruno family contributed to build and support that school. The Bruno family has also been generous donors to the University of Alabama.
You’d get a large scholarship (full tuition! )at Bama as an instate student with an ACT 32. Have you asked your parents how much they’ll pay each year for college?
How’d you do on the psat? Are you a likely NMSF NMF ?
Google the University name with Newman Center. You can usually find information that way and most have websites. Based on that you can find out what kind of events, and mass times. Many will list a contact person you can call and ask questions. My son is at a large university and goes to church at the Newman Center. Every Sunday night they have a spaghetti dinner following the Sunday evening 5:00 mass. Through this he has met many friends and found ways to get more involved. You can get involved planning liturgies and many have other social events.
I highly recommend that you visit the Newman Center at all campuses you visit. At my daughters university and my sons university they had informational tables set up at orientation where you sign up with your information and they will contact you. They love when students want to get involved.
If you want a conservative school, check out Wheaton College near Chicago. It’s a bit of a hike, and not Catholic, but it’s a school worthy of your stats (I think). It has a very good academic rep. There are plenty of Catholic churches in the Chicago area.
SMU in Dallas, TX has a strong Catholic Campus Ministry. Even though the school is Methodist, there are actually more Catholics on campus. The campus is not “religious” but it leans slightly more conservative than many schools. My daughter had a 32 ACT with strong gpa and EC’s and has combined scholarships for about 1/2 tuition. I do feel a full ride there would be unlikely though.
When we were looking for colleges for my daughter, I would follow the social media accounts of the school’s Newman Center - or Catholic Centers at schools she was interested in. You can start to tell which ones have lots of activities, programs and students involved. If you tour the school, make sure you are on campus on Sunday evening (the most likely time of their student Mass) and talk to the students afterward. Many of them (like SMU and Tulane) have dinners and social activities following Mass at their ministry center / house. The active schools will have things like small groups for freshmen, retreats, frequent social activities, events, parties, FOOD and a house or center where students can gather for fellowship, study, bible study, small groups, etc. - or just to watch a game on a big TV and be with other Catholics.
There are also Catholic Awakening retreats held by or at colleges around the country. This list may help you identify schools that are active enough to have enough members to participate. This retreat is a great way to grow closer to smaller groups of students and typically continue to meet monthly to share/pray/plan the next retreat. It was a big part of my college years (30 years ago) and still going.
http://www.awakeningretreat.info/
It might be out of your desired location footprint, but Salve Regina in RI is a really beautiful Catholic university (maybe the most beautiful) in a overwhelmingly Catholic state. You might get high aid and your geographic diversity is a plus.
Aquinis College in Nashville
Christian Brothers University in Memphis
Further away University of Dayton in Dayton Ohio is a beautiful Catholic College
@mom2collegekids I’ve already talked to my parents, and they said they couldn’t really contribute anything to my college cost. Alabama is like 20,000 even with free tuition, and so it just doesn’t really seem possible, unfortunately. I got a 209 on the PSAT, so becoming an NMF is not possible. What has been your experience with Academic Elite?
@azmomof3 @bhs1978 @apraxiamom Thanks for your advice about looking up the Newman centers. That will really come in handy. Also, @bhs1978, does Christian Brothers University Catholic in name only? I’ve never heard it to be very Catholic.
Would a Christian college have a good Catholic community? I am looking at one, Belmont University in Nashville, though the most they have for financial aid is free tuition. I do like how it is in a big city though. Can colleges give full rides even if they only post free tuition, with need-based money or stacking scholarships? Maybe private scholarships? Also, they require faith-based programs, and I’m not sure if I would like that.
I can’t really go to a college that is more than 300 miles away, I need transportation costs to be as low as possible, and I don’t want the drive home to be more than 4-5 hours, plus colder weather lol. Anything farther I would probably need to take a plane, which is expensive.
If no nearby Catholic or Christian schools are affordable, have you looked at available scholarships at other schools in your area like Southern Miss, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, UAH, UAB, Auburn, Arkansas, Ark State, UL-Laf and -Monroe, etc.?