A website dedicated to college life, CampusGrotto. com, has ranked Thomas Aquinas College among the “Top 20” colleges and universities in the nation for the quality of its residence halls, “based on students’ rating of dorm comfort.” The ranking comes after the Princeton Review listed the College as having “dorms like palaces” in its 2009 guide.
The honor garners a chuckle from the College’s vice president for finance and administration, Peter L. DeLuca. “We certainly never set out to build ‘palatial’ residence halls, but we have always had student comfort in mind, as well as beauty, which predisposes us to what is true and good,” he says.
Perhaps more notable than aesthetic accolades, however, is that of the 20 colleges and universities to make the “Top Dorms” list, Thomas Aquinas College has the lowest tuition rate, the lowest room-and-board fees, and the lowest total costs for students and their families. “We are committed to keeping the campus beautiful,” explains Director of Admissions Jon Daly, “but we are also committed to keeping our education affordable,” noting that numerous college guides have also praised the College for its generous financial-aid program.
Cost of Tuition Plus Room & Board at “Top 20 Best Dorm” Colleges:
| College | “Best Dorm” Rank | Tuition | Room & Board | Total Cost |
| Thomas Aquinas College | 16 | 22,850 | 7,550 | 30,400 |
| Trinity University | 12 | 30,877 | 9,190 | 40,067 |
| Loyola University Maryland | 2 | 39,350 | 10,650 | 50,000 |
| Pepperdine University | 18 | 39,080 | 11,390 | 50,470 |
| Stanford University | 20 | 38,700 | 11,876 | 50,576 |
| Harvard College | 9 | 38,416 | 12,308 | 50,724 |
| Pomona College | 14 | 38,394 | 12,936 | 51,330 |
| Bryn Mawr College | 6 | 39,360 | 12,420 | 51,780 |
| Smith College | 1 | 38,898 | 13,000 | 51,898 |
| Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering | 3 | 38,425 | 13,500 | 51,925 |
| Wellesley College | 17 | 39,666 | 12,284 | 51,950 |
| Mount Holyoke College | 13 | 40,256 | 11,780 | 52,036 |
| Skidmore College | 15 | 41,184 | 10,986 | 52,170 |
| Williams College | 19 | 41,434 | 10,906 | 52,340 |
| Bowdoin College | 7 | 41,565 | 11,315 | 52,880 |
| Bennington College | 5 | 41,350 | 11,550 | 52,900 |
| Scripps College | 4 | 40,450 | 12,450 | 52,900 |
| George Washington University | 8 | 42,905 | 10,120 | 53,025 |
| Claremont McKenna College | 11 | 40,230 | 13,000 | 53,230 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 10 | 40,374 | 12,941 | 53,315 |
“The education here is not a training for a specialized field, it is an education for the greatest, most glorious part of man — his faculty of reason.”
– David Langley (’15)
Steubenville, Ohio