Saint Francis University is 11 miles west of Altoona in Loretto. Loretto's population is less than 1,600, according to a 2009 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau. The college's proximity to Route 22 gives students easy access to Pittsburgh, which is a two-hour drive west.
Mount Aloysius College sits on 193 acres in Cresson. As of 2011, Cresson has fewer than 1,700 residents.
The Religious Sisters of Mercy founded Mount Aloysius College as St. Aloysius Academy in Loretto in 1853. The school moved 44 years later to Cresson, where it became Mount Aloysius Junior College. More changes occurred in the early 1990s, when the school began awarding bachelor's degrees.
Saint Francis University was begun in 1847 by a group of Franciscans from Ireland. These friars established the school outside Loretto, creating the United States' first Franciscan college.
Saint Francis University has 2,300 students, with an average of 22.7 students per class. Almost 40 percent of its 114 full-time faculty members hold tenure. It is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Saint Francis offers a variety of sports for students, including tennis, football, basketball and soccer.
About 1,200 undergraduate and 800 graduate students attend Mount Aloysius College, with an average of 18 students per class. The college promises its students that professors, rather than graduate assistants, teach all courses. Like Saint Francis, Mount Aloysius College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
For the 2009-10 school year, Saint Francis charged $25,554 in tuition and an average of $9,066 in room and board.
Tuition at Mount Aloysius College ranged from $17,240 to $19,400 for the 2010 to 2011 school year, depending on the program. Room and board ranged from $7,660 to $8,460, depending on room arrangements.