The Catholic University of America (CUA) vs Notre Dame

Nestled in the heart of Washington, D.C., The Catholic University of America (CUA) and the University of Notre Dame (UND), located in the vibrant city of South Bend, Indiana, stand as two prominent Catholic universities with distinct identities. While both institutions share a commitment to academic excellence and faith-based education, they offer unique experiences shaped by their diverse student bodies, academic strengths, and campus cultures. This side-by-side comparison delves into the key differences between CUA and UND, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates, to help prospective students make informed decisions about their higher education journey.

	The Catholic University of America	University of Notre Dame
Overview
Location	Washington, District of Columbia	Notre Dame, Indiana
Campus setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	88.0%	98.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Catholic	Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	86.0%	15.1%
Application fees	$60	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $75
SAT range	N/A	1410 - 1550
ACT range	N/A	32 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		33.0%
Students submitting ACT score		36.0%
Total number of applicants	5,895	23,642
Total number of admissions given out	5,070	3,562
Admitted students who chose to enroll	691	2,059
Yield rate	13.6%	57.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$74,126	$78,347
Average net price	$35,520	$30,513
Tuition	$51,040	$58,336
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,220 Meal plan: $6,800	$16,304
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	96.0% Average amount $31,915	57.0% Average amount $46,306
Students receiving federal student loan	56.0% Average amount $5,308	30.0% Average amount $4,134
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $22,405	12.0% Average amount $8,564

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,929 Men 44.1% Women 55.9%	8,973 Men 51.6% Women 48.4%
Graduate students	2,130 Men 47.2% Women 52.8%	4,166 Men 56.5% Women 43.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	93.1%
International students	8.3%	12.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	1,985	6,919
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Illinois California Texas Indiana New York

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Public Administration and Social Service Legal Profession Visual & Performing Arts Health Professions	Business Engineering Multidisciplinary Studies Social Sciences Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	11:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	73.7%	95.9%
Dropout rate	26.2%	3.9%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,058 Year 2: $100,690 Year 3: $108,981 Business Administration, Management and Operations (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $73,312 Year 2: $89,092 Year 3: $98,232 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,088 Year 2: $73,769 Year 3: $83,282 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $62,128 Year 2: $64,162 Year 3: $80,941 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $51,938 Year 2: $53,984 Year 3: $77,885 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $65,277 Year 2: $54,035 Year 3: $77,782 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,219 Year 2: $67,101 Year 3: $77,474 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,927 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $74,919 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $71,180 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,697 Year 2: $63,377 Year 3: $66,355	Business Administration, Management and Operations (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $124,439 Year 2: $123,601 Year 3: $135,572 Finance and Financial Management Services (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $89,269 Year 2: $89,674 Year 3: $126,773 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $120,074 Year 2: $108,092 Year 3: $123,182 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $87,638 Year 2: $85,243 Year 3: $110,135 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $80,593 Year 2: $89,968 Year 3: $105,831 Mathematics and Statistics, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,224 Year 2: $80,273 Year 3: $99,815 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $84,618 Year 2: $86,375 Year 3: $95,904 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,178 Year 2: $74,307 Year 3: $92,866 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $73,118 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $87,393 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,070 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $85,821

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The Catholic University of America (CUA) vs Notre Dame

The Catholic University of America

University of Notre Dame

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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