College of the Holy Cross

Worcester, MA · founded 1843 · 3,100 students · liberal arts college · Patriot League

Known for: Holy Cross is known as the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the premier Jesuit liberal arts colleges in the United States, with a strong tradition of academic excellence, service, and producing successful alumni in business, politics, and sports.

Rankings

U.S. News liberal arts: #32
Forbes: #82

Top programmes

Economics
Political Science
Psychology
English
Biology
History

Notable alumni

Clarence Thomas — Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Bob Cousy — NBA Hall of Fame basketball player, Boston Celtics legend
Chris Matthews — Television host and political commentator (Hardball)
Anthony Fauci — Director of NIAID and White House Chief Medical Advisor
Edward P. Jones — Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Known World
Ciara Mageean — Irish Olympic middle-distance runner
Vincent T. 'Bo' Scahill — Former CEO of Friendly's Ice Cream
Ann M. Veneman — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and UNICEF Executive Director

Traditions

100 Days celebration for seniors
Midnight Madness basketball kickoff
Spring Weekend concert and festivities
Gateways Orientation program
Purple Pride athletic events

If College of the Holy Cross were…

As a food: New England clam chowder at a Nantucket yacht club — Traditional, creamy, comforting, and unapologetically WASP-adjacent—Holy Cross serves up a rich, old-school Catholic prep experience with all the trimmings, best enjoyed with a side of privilege and Patriot League athlet
As an athlete: Tom Brady — Polished, competitive, Catholic-raised, and relentlessly successful in a traditional framework, Brady embodies Holy Cross's blend of faith, discipline, and preprofessional drive—these students play to win, whether on the
As a person alive today: Amy Coney Barrett — A devout Catholic with elite credentials, conservative values, and Ivy-adjacent polish, Barrett represents Holy Cross's demographic and ideological center—smart, ambitious, and comfortable operating within established hi
As a historical figure: Robert F. Kennedy — Catholic, idealistic about service, educated in the Northeast prep tradition, and committed to social justice within a framework of faith, RFK captures Holy Cross's Jesuit mission—privilege deployed for the common good,
As a movie or TV show: The Town — Set in Boston's Catholic working-class neighborhoods with characters navigating loyalty, ambition, and moral complexity, The Town reflects Holy Cross's Massachusetts roots, tight-knit community, and students wrestling wi
As a US president: John F. Kennedy — Catholic, charismatic, New England-bred, and embodying the aspirational side of mid-century American establishment, JFK represents Holy Cross's identity—traditional values meeting modern ambition, with a dash of Camelot
As a city: Boston — Historic, Catholic-inflected, preppy, and sports-obsessed, Boston captures Holy Cross's essence—a New England institution that's simultaneously traditional and ambitious, parochial and cosmopolitan, with a chip on its sh
As an element: Silver — Precious but not quite gold, conductive and valuable, with a long history in currency and religious artifacts, silver reflects Holy Cross's position—elite but not Ivy, traditional but effective, and deeply tied to Cathol
As a car: Lexus ES 350 — Jesuit-approved reliable luxury for Worcester's pre-professional strivers—Holy Cross kids want something their parents approve of that still impresses at the country club. Conservative, polished, and headed straight to l

Campus life

Holy Cross offers a tight-knit residential community rooted in Jesuit values of intellectual inquiry, service to others, and cura personalis (care for the whole person). The campus has a strong sense of school spirit, particularly around basketball and football, with active student organizations and service programs. Social life centers on campus events, student clubs, and weekend activities, with a moderate party scene and strong emphasis on community building.

The film, scored

This profile answers “if College of the Holy Cross were a movie or TV show?” with The Town (2010). Set in Boston's Catholic working-class neighborhoods with characters navigating loyalty, ambition, and moral complexity, The Town reflects Holy Cross's Massachusetts roots, tight-knit community, and students wrestling with faith and worldly success. It sits in the 76th percentile on rankquant, which re-centres every critic score on the reviewer who gave it, so a percentile means position against peers rather than a raw star average. The full film & TV catalogue ranks the rest the same way.