Here at The Catholic University of America, we appreciate your hard work as you assist students throughout the college search and application process. We value your partnership in this process as we all work to help students navigate this exciting and challenging experience.
We encourage you to bookmark this page and use it as a resource as you work with your students. If you have any suggestions for additional information that might be useful to you and your colleagues, please let us know!
Catholic University offers a comprehensive financial aid program that includes academic scholarships and need-based grants. This helps students significantly defray the costs of tuition, room and board, and other related costs. For the 2021-2022 academic year, we will commit more than $71 million to support undergraduate students with merit and need-based financial assistance.
The average tuition and room-and-board cost after scholarships and grants to first-year students over the last three years is $33,325. It is essential that your students complete the Federal Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be considered for all federal grants and all Catholic University need-based grants. The FAFSA is not required for merit-based scholarships.
2021–2022 Undergraduate Tuition and Room and Board (First-Year Students, Fall 2021 and later)
| Tuition | $51,040 |
| Mandatory Fees | $1,116 |
| Room and Board | $16,020 |
| Direct Cost | $68,176 |
Catholic University is a member of the NCAA Division III, Landmark Conference, New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (football), and Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference.
The CatholicU Cardinals compete in 25 mens' and womens' sports, with a tradition of strong performance both on the field and in the classroom. As a Division III school, we are not able to provide athletic scholarships.
Students interested in playing a varsity sport at CatholicU should complete a recruiting questionnaire which can be found here. Recruited athletes may be selected for an early evaluation of their academic record by our coaching staff. If a student is found academically capable by our admission office, they will receive a conditional offer of admission and a scholarship estimate based on their current performance. Students offered a conditional acceptance must still apply via the Common Application and submit updated grades before the offer is made official.
Questions? Contact Tom Berry at berryt@cua.edu
Acceptance into the Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art is a two-fold process. Students must apply for acceptance into the University, as well as audition for their program of interest or submit a portfolio. Auditions can be done before, after, or concurrently with the application to the University. An application does not necessarily need to be submitted before auditioning, except in the case of Early Admission, but it is highly encouraged.
Students can submit audition and portfolio materials through this Acceptd Platform. Please refer to the Acceptd platform for program specific auditions.
Auditions
As of August 1, 2021, auditions for most programs will be under the following schedule:
In-Person Auditions: The Benjamin T. Rome School, Washington, D.C.
Online Only Submissions:
Online only submissions will be considered from August 1, 2021, through January 15, 2022. More information may be found on the Acceptd Platform under each specific program.
Portfolios
Students interested in applying for a B.A. in Studio Art should submit a portfolio online. A portfolio of 5-10 pieces of their best original work of any type or medium may be submitted. Students with an interest in the B.A. in Art History should upload an exemplary writing sample of 1,500 words or less on a topic related to art, art history, or art criticism.
Students are asked to indicate their intended major in the CatholicU section of the Common App when they apply for admission. Students can apply directly to a specific major or choose one of three exploratory options: Exploratory/Undecided (Arts and Sciences), Business Exploratory, Engineering Exploratory.
The majority of our academic programs have the same admission standards. Because of this, students who have a change of heart about their major selection can easily work with their admission counselor to switch to a different program. We also allow internal transfers across most our programs.
The exception to this is for our Conway School of Nursing. Students considering nursing must apply directly to the nursing major. There are limited spaces in our nursing cohort, and nursing applicants have a more rigorous application review. If a student is not accepted to the nursing program, we do not admit them as an exploratory major.
The Catholic University of America’s Conway School of Nursing will now enroll new students under the “direct-entry” model. Nursing students — who previously had to wait to apply to matriculate into nursing until their sophomore year — will now be automatically admitted into the first-year and first-semester sophomore levels in the Conway School.
This designation marks a new opportunity for incoming nursing students, providing them with the surety of a place in the clinical rotations that begin in the junior year. Students must meet the established academic criteria to move forward, including a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, a cumulative science grade point average of 2.75, and at least a 75% score on the three sections of the HESI Entrance Examination by the end of the fall semester of their sophomore year.
The Committee on Admission at Catholic University does not consider standardized tests as part of the review for admission.
The policy includes the evaluation of candidates for the University Honors Program and for all merit-based scholarships. Merit scholarships are awarded based on each student’s academic performance over the course of the high school career and not on testing ability.
This policy applies to all undergraduate applicants, including home-schooled and international candidates.
Catholic University is a place where students begin to write their stories. The students featured on this page all have their own reasons for choosing CatholicU. As you read some of their stories, you'll start to see the many opportunities available to your students.
Our helpful admission staff is here to answer all your CatholicU admission questions. The counselor assigned to your georgraphic region of the country and world will be your main point of contact throughout the admission process.
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It all starts here: explore our different application options, deadlines, and requirements.
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We offer a range of scholarships that recognize and reward you for outstanding academic performance in high school — as well as exceptional leadership and service in your school, church and community.
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