The first colleges founded in the colonies were religious-based institutions. Today over 500 colleges and universities have some sort of religious affiliation representing approximately one-third of all four-year institutions. Among 50-50 colleges, 41% of institutions have a religious affiliations.
Of the 182 50-50 colleges with religious affiliations, Roman Catholic is the most common. The 73 Roman Catholic institutions represent 16% of all 50-50 schools. This is higher than the nine percent among non-50-50 schools.
Pell Grants
At Roman Catholic schools, an average of 25.5% of freshman receive Pell Grants compared to 30.6% of those of other religious affiliations. Both public and private institutions without any religious affiliation average 29% of freshman receiving Pell Grants. The average percentage of freshman receiving Pell Grants is higher among non 50-50 schools, 45%, than 50-50 schools, 29%.
Graduation Rates
Religious affiliation doesn’t seem to make much of a difference in graduation rates among 50-50 school. The graduation rate for Roman Catholic 50-50 schools is 62.3%. This is slightly higher than those with other religious affiliations, 58.8%, and those without any affiliation, 61.7%. However, among non 50-50 schools, private schools without any religious affiliation had a noticeably higher graduation rate than those with religious affiliations.
Endowment per Student
One area with a big difference based on religious affiliation is the average endowment per students. Non-religious affiliated private 50-50 colleges have an average of $72,019 and Roman Catholic schools average $35,175. Colleges with a religious affiliation other than Roman Catholic have an average endowment per student of $56,234.
The table below lists all 50-50 schools with religious affiliations.
50-50 Highlights: Colleges with Religious Affiliations
