U.S. NEWS RANKS
THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE
AMONG TOP LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES
SANTA PAULA, CA-August 21, 2009-Thomas Aquinas College is once
again ranked in the top tier among the nation's liberal arts colleges
in the 26th edition of U.S. News & World Report's annual college
guide, "America's Best Colleges 2010," which was released
on August 20, 2009. The Catholic college, founded in 1971, is ranked
#68 out of 112 schools in Tier 1.
Thomas Aquinas College was ranked also first in the country in
the category of "Highest Proportion of Classes under 20 Students,"
in recognition of the fact that 100% of its classes have fewer than
20 students. Moreover, the college was ranked by U.S. News as #13
in the country among liberal arts colleges for the relatively low
debt that its graduates incur in the course of four years at the
school.
Jonathan Daly, Director of Admissions, was pleased by the U.S. News'
rankings. "It is good to see we have maintained our high rankings
in the U.S. News college guide. Of particular note is that our placement
among the top 15 for 'least debt incurred by students' dovetails
with our standing as one of only 13 colleges in the country on The
Princeton Review's 2010 'Financial Aid Honor Roll.' These rankings
confirm that Thomas Aquinas College is a truly viable option for
college-bound students during this economically challenging time."
"Yet, it is worth noting," he continues, "that as
good as these rankings are, it is hard to quantify the great good
that is accomplished in the minds and souls of our students through
the college's rigorous academic curriculum and its unswerving fidelity
to the teaching Church. No college ranking system can measure that!"
Orientation for freshmen at the 4-year, Catholic, co-educational
school began on August 20. Returning students will arrive throughout
the weekend from across the United States and from countries as
diverse as Argentina, South Africa, Canada, and Australia. On August
24, the college will hold its annual convocation day, beginning
with a Mass of the Holy Spirit in the school's new Chapel of Our
Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, to be offered by Archbishop J. Michael
Miller of Vancouver, British Columbia. A formal matriculation ceremony
will follow at which new faculty member Dr. Michael Augros will
take the oath of fidelity, and 101 freshmen will sign the College's
official registry. Classes will commence on Monday evening, August
24.
ABOUT THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE:
Ranked the #5 "Best Value" in the country for 2008 among
all private institutions in the United States by The Princeton Review,
Thomas Aquinas College is a four-year, Catholic liberal arts college
with a fully-integrated curriculum composed exclusively of the Great
Books, the seminal works in the major disciplines by the great thinkers
who have helped shape Western civilization. There are no textbooks,
no lectures and no electives. Instead, under the guidance of faculty
members and using only the Socratic method of dialogue in classes
of no more than 20, students read and discuss the original works
of authors such as Euclid, Dante, Galileo, Descartes, the American
Founding Fathers, Adam Smith, Shakespeare, Copernicus, Kepler, Newton,
Einstein, Aristotle, Plato, St. Augustine, and of course, St. Thomas
Aquinas. Graduates consistently excel in the many world-class institutions
at which they pursue graduate degrees in fields such as law, medicine,
business, theology and education. They have distinguished themselves
serving as lawyers, doctors, business owners, priests, military
service men and women, educators, journalists and college presidents.
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