High Praise from College Guides
College Lauded for Academic Excellence and Genuine Catholic Character
(Fall 2007 Newsletter)
The start of each academic year heralds the release of numerous
college guide rankings. This year, Thomas Aquinas College has once
again received outstanding reviews and rankings by some of the country's
most prestigious organizations, including The Princeton Review and
U.S. News & World Report (U.S.News). It is also featured
in the Cardinal Newman Society's inaugural issue of The Newman
Guide to Choosing a Catholic College.
The Princeton Review
 In
the Princeton Review's 2008 edition of America's Best Value Colleges,
which profiles only 168 of the 366 colleges and universities that
appear in its companion publication, Best 366 Colleges, Thomas
Aquinas College is ranked the "#5 Best Value" of all private
schools in the country. According to The Princeton Review, this
guide showcases "schools that…offer solid academics and
enroll good students who are happy with the education they are receiving,
and, additionally-and more importantly-do not have to mortgage their
futures because their school is charging them way too much."
The Princeton Review's 2008 edition of The Best 366 Colleges
features only about 15% of the country's four-year colleges and
universities. It offers a profile of each school and ranks the top
20 colleges in 62 categories. Rankings in these categories were
determined by a survey of 120,000 students attending its 366 "best
colleges." The 80-question survey asked students to rate their
schools on several topics and report on their campus experiences
at them.
Thomas Aquinas College ranked in the top 20 in 17 of these categories,
including:
- Best Classroom Experience (#3)
- Professors Make Themselves Accessible (#4)
- Happiest Students (#10)
- Best Quality of Life (#14)
- Class Discussions Encouraged (#14)
- Students Pray on a Regular Basis (#2)
- Most Beautiful Campus (#17)
Says Robert Franek, Princeton Review's Vice President for Publishing,
"We chose schools for this book primarily for their outstanding
academics. We evaluated them based on institutional data we collect
about the schools, feedback from students attending them, and our
visits to schools over the years. We also consider the opinions
of independent college counselors, students, and parents we hear
from year-long."
In its profile of Thomas Aquinas College, The Princeton Review
says, "Thomas Aquinas' unique curriculum helps distinguish
the small college within the field of higher education, and many
interested students cite the school's academic philosophy as one
of its chief attractors. TAC professors demand that their students
demonstrate intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm."
The profile also quotes extensively from Thomas Aquinas College
student surveys. Says one student, "'This is a Catholic college,
and it's proud of its Catholic identity.' Another, who walked away
from more than three years of mechanical engineering training at
another university after reading the college's founding document,
comments, 'The typical student [here] has a zeal for seeking the
truth.'"
U.S. News & World Report
 U.S.
News & World Report (U.S. News) has again ranked Thomas
Aquinas College in the top tier of the nation's liberal arts colleges
in the 2008 edition of its annual college guide, "America's
Best Colleges." At 83rd out of 106 schools in this top tier,
Thomas Aquinas College is one of only three Catholic institutions
in the country to be ranked among the top 90 in thes first tier,
along with College of the Holy Cross (MA) and St. John's University
(MN). It is also one of only seven liberal arts colleges in California
to have been ranked among the best, along with Pomona, Claremont
McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Scripps, Occidental, Pitzer, and Westmont.
U.S. News also placed the College in the top 25 liberal
arts colleges in the country for the relatively low debt that its
graduates incur in the course of four years at the school.
Moreover, in the category of "Highest Proportion of Classes
under 20 Students," Thomas Aquinas College tied for first place
with the American Jewish University in having 100% of its classes
with fewer than 20 students. It was the only Catholic institution
in the country to be singled out for recognition by U.S. News
in this category.
The Cardinal Newman Society
 It
should be noted that as gratifying as high rankings in secular college
guides may be, they do not capture the heart of Thomas Aquinas College.
Untold good is accomplished in the minds and souls of Thomas Aquinas
College students through the authentically Catholic liberal education
the College offers, its rigorous curriculum, close-knit community,
vibrant spiritual life, and its unswerving fidelity to the Magisterium
of the Church.
These qualities are examined in the Cardinal Newman Society's
inaugural issue of its college guide, Choosing a Catholic College.
Its evaluation attends not only to the College's rigorous curriculum
and strong community life, but also to its defining characteristic-a
thoroughly Catholic character both inside the classroom and out.
This new guide features reviews of 20 recommended colleges that
are grouped into three categories: "'Joyfully Catholic,' 'Born
from the Crisis' and 'Fighting the Tide.' The first group is characterized
by a Catholic identity that permeates all areas of campus life;
the second includes institutions founded or expanded in the last
few years; and the third group represents older colleges and universities
that have succeeded in renewing and strengthening their Catholic
identity."
Thomas Aquinas College appears in the guide's first category,
"Joyfully Catholic:"
While there are several solid Catholic colleges that successfully
reflect the Catholic intellectual tradition, Thomas Aquinas College
is unique. It is the leading Catholic example of a Great Books
approach….There is an impressive intellectual rigor at TAC
that is matched by a commitment to orthodox Catholicism….This
combination has attracted a wide following around the country,
and TAC's reputation has become international.
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Fall 2007
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