Newman Guide Colleges Defy Enrollment Trends in 2026-27

The news is grim for most American colleges: Many are expected to close in the next 15 years, due to declining birthrates and 13 percent fewer high school graduates.

This is impacting the Church, too. In the last decade, 24 Catholic colleges have shut down, many of them having lost sight of their mission to form Catholics in faith and wisdom. But there’s good news at Newman Guide Recommended colleges! The colleges featured in the 2026-27 edition of The Newman Guide, which is available as a print publication or e-book, are attracting thousands of families to Catholic formation in truth, wisdom, and virtue.

The colleges prepare students for careers but go beyond, providing an integrated, faithful education that forms students to serve God in their calling.

Here are some highlights of undergraduate enrollment trends at Newman Guide Recommended colleges in the United States for the 2026-27 academic year. (More will be added as information becomes available.)

Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, Fla., has a record undergraduate enrollment of 1,477 and a record incoming freshmen class of 518 students. Enrollment has grown more than 35 percent over the last decade. Students come from 48 states and 13 countries, with an 82 percent retention rate of students returning for their second year.

Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., has its second largest total enrollment in the last decade, with 1,577 undergraduate students.

Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., has more than 600 freshmen students, which is just the fourth time the college has exceeded that number since its founding. With total undergraduate enrollment at 2,433, the College has grown 16 percent over the last ten years, with an 81 percent retention rate of students returning for their second year.

The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., is one of the largest colleges in The Newman Guide with 3,454 undergraduate students. The new Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing is a quickly growing program, and the University has a 90 percent retention rate of students returning for their second year.

Christendom College in Front Royal, Va., has a record undergraduate enrollment of 560 and has reached capacity. The College has grown 17 percent over the last ten years, with an 83 percent retention rate of students returning for their second year.

Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio, is drawing students from all 50 states and 50 countries to make up its record undergraduate enrollment of 2,752 students. The University has an 82 percent retention rate of students returning for their second year. The University is also growing its online enrollment, with 185 new online undergraduate students this fall.

Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn., has a record undergraduate enrollment of 240, and it has more than doubled in size over the last ten years.

John Paul the Great Catholic University in Escondido, Calif., has 269 undergraduate students, with an 82 percent retention rate of students returning for their second year.

Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, Calif., reached capacity about 20 years ago, which led to the opening of its second campus. The California campus has 379 undergraduates and a record freshman class of 110 students, with a 90 percent retention rate of students returning for their second year.

Thomas Aquinas College in Northfield, Mass., opened in 2019, beginning with 58 undergraduates. The college is slowly growing enrollment, consistent with the hiring of new faculty, and now educates 180 undergraduate students. The retention rate of students returning for their second year is 82 percent.

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack, N.H., maintains a close-knit community with 98 undergraduate students. The male/female ratio is at a healthy 50/50 split. The College also had a record number of applications this last fall: nearly double the average of the past five years. The first-year retention rate is an impressive 99 percent.

University of Dallas in Irving, Tex., has a stable total undergraduate enrollment of approximately 1,400 students, with a retention rate around 80 percent for students returning for their second year.

University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D., has an undergraduate enrollment of 2,338 students. The University has reached residence capacity and is currently building a new residence hall on campus. Undergraduate enrollment has grown nine percent over the last ten years.

University of St. Thomas in Houston, Tex., is one of the largest colleges in The Newman Guide with 3,313 undergraduate students. The University has experienced enormous growth over the last decade, growing more than 82 percent from 1,814 undergraduates in 2016.

Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, has an undergraduate enrollment of 1,472 students, with new student enrollment trending upward over the last five years. Freshmen come from 18 countries.