We at Ivy Coach are in the business of dispelling misconceptions around the college admissions process. And many of these misconceptions boil down to one common-sense principle: if it’s in the application, it’s factored into the admissions decision-making process. Full stop. This is true of the colleges that claim to be “need-blind” and yet ask applicants whether they intend to apply for financial aid. It’s true of the colleges that claim they don’t give a major boost to the children of alumni, and yet straight up ask applicants whether they can claim legacy status and, if so, through which relatives. And yes, the same goes for an applicant’s stated religious affiliation. 

Yes, Some Colleges Track Religion on The Common App.

But let’s back up. What we’re not saying is that colleges that ask about religious affiliation on The Common App. will discriminate against students of a given faith. Thankfully, the days of Ivy League Jewish quotas are well in the past. While colleges do tend to discriminate against Asian and Asian American applicants and consistently under-enroll students from underrepresented minority groups, they’re not necessarily using a student’s stated religious affiliation to their disadvantage. 

However, some colleges most certainly do give a boost to certain applicants who claim a specific religion on The Common App. Not all colleges, not all religions, but in some cases, such as for a college with a specific religious affiliation, stating that you’re a member of that particular religion will certainly give your application a second look! 

Which Colleges Ask About Religion on The Common App.?

Here are the colleges that tracked religion on The Common App. for the 2025-2026 admissions cycle (though do keep in mind that students can also write about their faith in their admissions essays, notably in the culture/background prompt on many college supplements):

College / University	2026 US News Rank (“Best National Universities”)	College Asks About Religion on Common App.? (Y/N)
Princeton University	#1	N
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	#2	Y
Harvard University	#3	N
Stanford University	#4	N
Yale University	#4	N
University of Chicago	#6	N
Duke University	#7	N
Johns Hopkins University	#7	N
Northwestern University	#7	N
University of Pennsylvania	#7	N
California Institute of Technology	#11	N
Cornell University	#12	N
Brown University	#13	N
Dartmouth College	#13	Y
Columbia University	#15	N
University of California, Berkeley	#15	N
Rice University	#17	Y
University of California, Los Angeles	#17	N
Vanderbilt University	#17	N
Carnegie Mellon University	#20	N
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor	#20	N
University of Notre Dame	#20	Y
Washington University in St. Louis	#20	N
Emory University	#24	Y
Georgetown University	#24	Y
University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill	#26	N
University of Virginia	#26	N
University of Southern California	#28	Y
University of California, San Diego	#29	N
University of Florida	#30	N
The University of Texas at Austin	#30	N
Georgia Institute of Technology	#32	N
New York University	#32	N
University of California, Davis	#32	N
University of California, Irvine	#32	N
Boston College	#36	Y
Tufts University	#36	Y
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	#36	N
University of Wisconsin–Madison	#36	N
University of California, Santa Barbara	#40	N
The Ohio State University	#41	N
Boston University	#42	N
Rutgers University–New Brunswick	#42	N
University of Maryland, College Park	#42	N
University of Washington	#42	N
Lehigh University	#46	N
Northeastern University	#46	N
Purdue University–Main Campus	#46	N
University of Georgia	#46	N
University of Rochester	#46	Y

Among schools that ask about religious affiliation on The Common App., the majority use this data to enroll a diverse array of faiths in their incoming classes. After all, enrolling a diverse group of students in every sense of the word is the responsibility of any admissions office that’s worth its salt. So if you’re a member of a relatively niche religion that doesn’t see huge representation on college campuses, this information could very well work in your favor. 

However, the real winners of this process are those students whose faith aligns with the religious affiliation of the school to which they’re applying. The University of Notre Dame (Catholicism), Georgetown University (Catholicism), and Boston College (Catholicism) are all examples of schools on the list above that weigh a Catholic applicant’s faith in their favor.

State Your Faith Proudly on Your College Application!

While we are in the business of dispelling misconceptions, we are not fear mongers. We would never encourage a college applicant to conceal their faith to try to get into an elite college. Even at the Catholic schools noted above, an applicant who claims a non-Catholic faith on their application will still receive consideration, as even schools with an official religious affiliation still take it upon themselves to enroll a diversity of faiths. So wear yours (or your lack thereof) proudly on your college application! You could be rewarded for it.