Today's parents need a guide to colleges and universities where their children can find a strong Catholic presence on campus. In these days, with so many young people falling away from the practice of their faith during college, it is vital for them to find support for their faith during the college years. College is a time of growing and exploring intellectually and experientially. With a strong Catholic presence on campus, students can critically examine and deepen their faith. Catholicism has much to offer especially communion with God, who is love and mercy and the source of all hope, community, wisdom, and a stabilizing guide in life. As both a practicing Catholic and professional college planner, Katherine O'Brien MA CCPS, founder of Celtic College Consultants, has compiled a college guide to meet the needs of practicing Catholics. In Every Catholic's Guide to College she documents the American colleges and universities that have certain supports for Catholic student life on their campus. The Guide includes detailed information about the best US colleges and universities for practicing Catholics, based on the availability of strong support for living and growing in faith on campus. Support includes the presence of a top ranked Newman Center or a Catholic dorm or FOCUS or St. Paul's outreach Catholic missionaries or being listed in the Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College. Each college's entry includes basic admissions criteria and financial aid information in addition to information on the academic programs offered and the research centers and institutes associated with the university. (ON JULY 1, 2018, AN UPDATED EDITION HAS BEEN RELEASED.) Making the Guide easy to use, the colleges and universities are listed in alphabetical order. An index listing the schools by state and another, longer index listing the schools by sport and division (NCAA Division 1, 2, 3, or NAIA) are located at the back of the book. For each institution, the following information is listed: -Address, website, phone number -Number of undergraduate students, percentage male and female -In-state and Out-of-state costs, and % of financial need met, on average, for undergraduates -Athletic Division -Middle 50% range of SAT and ACT scores. If the CLT is accepted, it is noted. -The kinds of degrees, colleges within the universities, undergraduate majors (for most schools), and research centers and institutes hosted by the institution While Every Catholic's Guide to College gives fairly complete information for hopeful undergraduates, aspiring graduate students will also benefit from using the Guide. Both undergraduate and graduate applicants interested in research and/or special topics within their field of study will be significantly aided by the inclusion of lists of research centers and institutes hosted by the colleges and universities. The Guide will serve Catholic families as a great starting point as they search for the best colleges for their children. What People Are Saying about Every Catholic's Guide to College "College should be a time of deepening spiritual and intellectual engagement with one's Catholic faith, yet studies tell us that more Catholics in the U.S. lose their faith during college than at any other time. Katherine O'Brien's new guidebook couldn't come at a better time. "Every Catholic's Guide to Colleges" provides the comprehensive information Catholic students and their parents need to make an informed decision about where to prepare young Catholics for fruitful lives in this world -- and the next." Christopher Currie Director of Institutional Advancement St. Jerome Academy Hyattsville, MD "Katherine, I am so grateful that you have done this work. I hope that it blesses many people discerning college." Fr. Mike Schmitz Chaplain for Newman Catholic Campus Ministries University of Minnesota, Duluth & Director of the Office of Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth
About the Author: Since 2004, Katherine O'Brien, founder of Celtic College Consultants, has empowered teens for their futures. Working with college bound teens across the country, she noticed the need for a compilation of colleges with strong support for Catholic students. An active, practicing Catholic, Ms.O'Brien combined her two areas of expertise to create this first ever college guide for Catholic families. Ms. O'Brien holds a BS in Industrial Engineering & Management Sciences from Northwestern University and an MA in Theology & Christian Ministry from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is also the mother of nine and homeschooled her six surviving children for most of their K-12 educations. After 20 years in the San Diego, Ms. O'Brien and her family relocated to the Midwest in early 2016. Ms. O'Brien is a Benedictine Oblate attached to St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, PA. She has written numerous articles and has spoken widely to youth and their parents on topics pertaining to college preparation. In her private college consulting practice, Katherine helps her clients develop their skills and talents and build authentic confidence. She guides them to create a plan to achieve their goals and accompanies the college bound teens through the college prep, selection, funding, and application processes. After working with Katherine, her clients hit the ground running when they get to campus, know what they want, how to advocate for themselves, and have abundant funding. Additionally, Ms. O'Brien guides her client families to maximize their need based aid and scholarships so the family's net cost is the least possible.For more information regarding Katherine's private college preparation counseling practice, please see http: //www.CelticCollegeConsultants.com. Also by Katherine O'Brien, MA CCPS: The Ultimate Guide to Top Quality College Planning: Insider Secrets that save you Time & Money Finally Revealed (available through Amazon) Many of Katherine's college prep articles on various topics can be found at http: //collegeprepanswers.blogspot.com/