Princeton Review Names College a “Best Value” for 2014

Thomas Aquinas College is one of the nation’s 75 “Best Value” private schools according to The Princeton Review in its just-published book, The Best Value Colleges: 2014 Edition. The College is the only Catholic college in California to be named a “Best Value,” and one of only five Catholic institutions in the country, along with Boston College, the College of the Holy Cross, Georgetown University, and the University of Notre Dame.

“We commend Thomas Aquinas College and all of our ‘Best Value Colleges’ for their outstanding academics,” says Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s Senior VP/Publisher. “Equally impressive are their efforts to be affordable to students with need — either via comparatively low sticker prices, generous financial aid, or both.”

Adds Thomas Aquinas College President Michael F. McLean, “On this feast day of our patron, St. Thomas Aquinas, we are delighted to receive this good news. We strive to make the education we offer both excellent and affordable. Being among the Princeton Review’s 75 ‘Best Value Colleges’ is great encouragement for our parents, faculty, and benefactors, all of whom do so much to provide a genuinely Catholic liberal education to our students.”

In its profile of Thomas Aquinas College, The Princeton Review quotes extensively from students at the College who were surveyed for the book. Among their comments:

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  Thomas Aquinas College is a school that “takes learning seriously for its own sake, not just as preparation for a job.”
• The College has “a strong Catholic identity” and “a rigorous curriculum,” where “professors … lead you to truth without forcing it on you.”
• “You get all kinds of people here — but one thing they have in common is a desire to search for the truth.”

USA Today, The Princeton Review’s publishing partner for this project since 2009, has posted the 2013 list and an exclusive database of “Best Value Colleges” on its website. There, users can find detailed stats and facts about each college and sort the list several ways including by state, tuition, enrollment, and average freshman grant.

The Princeton Review selected its “Best Value Colleges” schools based on institutional data and student opinion surveys collected from the 650 colleges and universities that it regards as the nation’s academically best undergraduate institutions. The selection process analyzed more than 30 data points broadly covering academics, cost, and financial aid.

USA Today, the Princeton Review’s publishing partner for this project since 2009, has also posted the Company’s 2014 list and a database of “Best Value Colleges” information. There, users can find detailed statistics and facts about each college and sort the list several ways including by state, tuition, enrollment, and average freshman grant.