By Catholic News Service • Posted September 30, 2013

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Avid readers of U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of colleges and universities will find the names of dozens of Catholic schools on their lists.

The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., is the top-ranked national university on the list, placing 18th in the magazine’s annual survey. Georgetown University in Washington was close behind in a three-way tie for the 20th spot, and Boston College placed 31st.

Catholic schools swept the top three spots in U.S. News’ regional rankings in the North region, with Villanova University taking first place, Providence College in Rhode Island in the second spot, and Fairfield University in Connecticut finishing third.

In the region’s top 10, Loyola University Maryland was ranked sixth; the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania tied for eighth. Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was 10th; now an independent college, it was founded by the Marist Brothers.

In the Midwest, Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., topped the list. Two other Catholic schools finished in the top 10: Xavier University, Cincinnati, was fourth, and John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio, was seventh.

Catholic schools finished second, third and fourth in the West region of U.S. News’ rankings. In order, they were Santa Clara University in California, Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, and Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. Seattle University took sixth place in the ratings, and the University of Portland, Ore., finished eighth.

Loyola University New Orleans tied for ninth place in U.S. News’ ranking of schools in the South.

Among liberal arts colleges ranked nationally, the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., was the highest-ranked Catholic school, in a five-way tie for 25th.

Other Catholic universities ranked among national colleges were Marquette University in Milwaukee, in a seven-way tie for 75th place; Loyola University Chicago and St. Louis University, in an eight-way tie for 101st place; University of Dayton in Ohio and University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., in a five-way tie for 112nd place; Catholic University of America in Washington, DePaul University in Chicago and Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, among seven schools tied for 121st place; and Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., in a seven-way tie for 128th place.

A Seton Hall press release Sept. 10 pointed out that the university’s standing in U.S. News’ rankings had risen for the fourth straight year, and that it was also ranked in the magazine’s top 100 “A-Plus Schools for B Students” — students “trapped in the GPA of a B student” and whose “heart is set on a great college.”

The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities likewise noted in a Sept. 10 press release that all 28 of its member schools had been ranked in U.S. News, including Wheeling Jesuit College in West Virginia, which was rated sixth of 118 regional colleges in the South.