Application Process

The Application Review

Your high school career is the foundation of our review of your application for admission. We closely evaluate the depth of your curriculum and classroom performance in the context of both your program of study and high school, and in so doing believe we can make effective admission decisions without requiring SAT or ACT scores. Your success in the classroom is the best indicator of your success here at Catholic University.

Your academic preparation matters, of course, but so does much more — including aspects of your character that are less easy to quantify. Your personality, spirit, judgment, and heart are as much a part of you as your grades. Your activities profile, letters of recommendation, and essay play an important role in our evaluation as we enroll a global and welcoming group of undergraduates looking to make an impact in our rigorous and diverse community.

In addition, the School of Engineering, the School of Nursing, and the physical science departments recommend prospective students take additional science and math courses. This includes a mathematics curriculum through pre-calculus, and a minimum of three laboratory sciences.

Successful applicants to Catholic University pursue a combination of college preparatory, Honors, and AP/IB courses that fit their interests and strengths. All students are reviewed within the context of their high school, with course offerings and schedules and class rank taken into account when appropriate.

First-Year Application Options

Whether you apply Early Action, choose an Early Decision deadline, or wait for Regular Decision, it's never too early to start the application process.

Application Deadlines

Early Action

Nov. 1 Deadline

The Early Action deadline is designed for students who have a strong interest in Catholic University and believe that they can present a complete, competitive application during the first semester of their senior year.

Early Action is non-binding: students are free to apply to other institutions and do not have to commit to Catholic University until the May 1 National Candidate Reply Date. Early Action students are notified of both their admission decision and potential merit scholarship awards before January 1; eligible need-based financial assistance is dispersed by February 1.

Early Decision I and Early Decision II

Nov. 1 Deadline — Early Decision I
Feb. 1 Deadline — Early Decision II

Students who have identified Catholic University as their first-choice institution may apply under one of our two binding Early Decision plans.

The Early Decision options are for students who have determined that Catholic is the ideal fit for them, and they demonstrate that commitment by agreeing to attend the institution if admitted. Students who choose to apply Early Decision are recognized by the Committee on Admission as having made this first-choice commitment, which can provide an advantage in the review process.

The deadline for Early Decision I is November 1 with decision notification by January 1; students also have the option of choosing Early Decision II, with a January 15 deadline and decision notification by February 15. Early Decision students can expect to be notified of both their offer of admission along with potential merit scholarship awards and any need-based financial aid awards for which they may be eligible.

Applicants for Early Decision are required to submit the supplemental Early Decision Agreement, which must be signed by the student, a parent/guardian, and the school counselor. Under the terms of the Early Decision Agreement, students who are offered admission are required to withdraw all other applications to other institutions and must submit their non-refundable enrollment deposit by January 15 for Early Decision I, or by March 16 for Early Decision II.

Regular Decision

Feb. 1 Deadline

The Regular Decision deadline is designed for students who believe they can best present a competitive application by including final grades from the first semester of their senior year.

Regular Decision is non-binding: students are free to apply to other institutions and do not have to commit to Catholic University until the May 1 National Candidate Reply Date. Regular Decision students are notified of both their admission decision and potential merit scholarship awards in the first week of March; eligible need-based financial assistance is dispersed by April 1.

Please note: Regardless of the application program, all candidates receive equal consideration for academic merit and need-based financial assistance.

Application Requirements

Regardless of the application option chosen, students must submit the Common Application and all application materials by the appropriate deadline in order to be considered for admission.

The application requirements are:

• A completed Common Application
• The Common Application Essay
• Official High School Transcripts
• Secondary School Report with Counselor Letter
• At least one (1) Teacher Recommendation
• Students applying to the Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art may need to complete an audition as part of the application process. View additional information and instructions.

Home-Schooled Students

Catholic University welcomes applications from home-schooled students. Home-schooled applicants are reviewed in the same manner as a student with more traditional schooling for admission, scholarships, and entrance into the University Honors Program.

Admission Requirements

• A completed Common Application
• Essay (In addition to the essay, an additional statement of why home schooling was chosen for the applicant is encouraged.)
• Official transcripts. A detailed description of curriculum taken each academic year, which should include course titles and descriptions, skill levels completed, and grades received. If curriculum has been supplemented by coursework either at the secondary or postsecondary level, official transcripts from the school(s) or college(s) are required to be submitted. Should you be part of an official home-schooling program, please have transcripts submitted directly.
• Recommendation Letter. Ideally this is written by the primary instructor, which may be a parent or guardian; it is strongly recommended that an additional letter of recommendation be submitted from other instructors or recommenders that can speak of the applicant in an academic or personal context.

If you have any questions about applying as a home-schooled applicant, please feel free to contact us.

Test-Free Admission Policy

The Committee on Admission at Catholic University does not consider standardized tests as part of the review for admission, the University Honors Program, and for all merit scholarships.

For the five years prior to 2021, Catholic University was test-optional, giving students the choice about whether to submit their SAT or ACT scores as part of their application. Over this time, the Committee on Admission has determined that the submission of standardized test scores does not add significant value to the evaluation of each candidate. 

For Catholic University, our five years of test-optional admission reinforced previous studies that demonstrated that the combination of the caliber of each candidate’s program of study and classroom performance is the best predictor of success in our classroom. The evaluation also considers each candidate's extracurricular profile, the required essay and Catholic University statement, academic and personal recommendations, and other pertinent information to select a class with the academic talent and personal qualities that are the best fit for the University. In fact, over the past three entering classes, first-year retention has steadily improved and is at the highest level in more than 20 years (87.6% for the fall 2019 entering cohort).

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.

NOTE:

• Home-schooled students are encouraged to submit detailed course descriptions and/or syllabi to assist the Committee on Admission with the assessment of the depth of their high school curriculum.
• International students whose native language is not English are required to demonstrate English proficiency through the TOEFL or IELTS examinations.

The University will continue to require first-year students to submit SAT or ACT scores after enrollment as part of ongoing academic assessments.

Please note: All application documents must be received by the appropriate deadline in order for an application to be considered complete. Once an admission decision and scholarship recommendation have been made, adjustments are not possible.

Catholic University does not charge a fee to apply for undergraduate admission.