A Growing Light in the Darkness: Newman Guide Colleges Increase in 2024-25

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Not only do the colleges recommended in The Newman Guide share a common mission of faithful Catholic education, but they also share enormous enrollment growth, with several breaking records this fall. And the number of Newman Guide Recommended colleges is growing, too!

This would be great news for Catholics under any circumstance, but it is especially hopeful when total college enrollment has dropped by nearly 1.5 million students since 2010, and most Catholic colleges continue their tragic secularization. Many Catholic colleges face financial and enrollment challenges, with four closing in 2024—plus the large Staten Island campus of St. John’s University in New York—and three more have signaled closure next year.

Another challenge this year for colleges and especially large Catholic families was the flawed rollout of the new FAFSA. Additionally, the religious freedom of Catholic colleges is under constant threat from the Biden-Harris administration, many states and localities, athletic associations, corporations, and ideological activists.

However, despite this and other challenges, most Newman Guide colleges are attracting students at impressive rates. In fact, three new Newman Guide Recommended colleges opened their doors this year and welcomed students for the first time: the College of St. Joseph the Worker in Steubenville, Ohio, Catholic Institute of Technology in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and Rosary College in Greenville, S.C.

Here are some highlights of undergraduate enrollment at Newman Guide Recommended colleges for the 2024-25 school year (more will be added as the information becomes available):

  • Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, Fla., has a record undergraduate enrollment of 1,326 students and is close to capacity. Undergraduate enrollment has increased 29 percent in the last ten years.
  • Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., has grown its undergraduate enrollment to 1,597. Undergraduate enrollment has increased about 13 percent in the last ten years.
  • Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., has a record undergraduate enrollment of 2,256 students, an increase of 20 percent in the last ten years. This year’s freshman class is their second-largest ever.
  • Campion College in Toongabbie East, New South Wales, has a record incoming class and has increased to 110 undergraduate students.
  • The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., saw a significant increase in undergraduate applications this year—a trend that has continued over the past few years—and undergraduate enrollment increased to 3,177 students.
  • Catholic International University (online) has increased to 123 undergraduate students, growing 19.5 percent over the last ten years.
  • Christendom College in Front Royal, Va., has a record undergraduate enrollment of 554 and has decided to cap further growth. The College has grown 40 percent over the last decade.
  • Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio, has a record incoming class and total undergraduate enrollment of 3,219. In ten consecutive years of growth, Franciscan has expanded approximately 25 percent.
  • Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn., with many of its students online, has a record freshman class and more than 200 undergraduates. That’s about a four-fold increase from ten years ago.
  • ITI Catholic University in Trumau, Austria, has a record incoming class and record undergraduate enrollment at 58 students.
  • John Paul the Great Catholic University in Escondido, Calif., saw a small increase in this year’s incoming class and has grown 68 percent in the last decade to 288 students.
  • Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, Calif., and Northfield, Mass., has a record enrollment of 565 students between the two campuses. The California campus is close to its capacity of 400 students. The New England campus is nearly halfway to capacity with 193 students. Overall, the College has grown 50 percent in the last ten years.
  • Thomas More College in Merrimack, N.H, saw a small increase in enrollment with 98 undergraduate students.
  • University of Dallas in Irving, Tex., welcomed 395 freshmen, the University’s fifth-largest incoming class, and has a total enrollment of 1,385.
  • University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D., has a record freshman class, surpassing last year’s record, and a total enrollment of about 2,400 undergraduate students.
  • University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, has increased to 9,693 undergraduate students, growing about 20 percent in the last ten years.
  • University of St. Thomas in Houston, Tex., has a record incoming class of 683 freshmen and a record undergraduate enrollment of 3,395.
  • Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, welcomed its largest freshman class since 2014 with 508 new undergraduate students and has increased its undergraduate enrollment to 1,555.
  • Wyoming Catholic College in Lander, Wyo., has grown 30 percent in the last decade, from 124 to 178 students.
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