Thomas Aquinas College: Only Catholic College on The Princeton Review Financial Aid Honor Roll

Students Take 2nd Place in "Most Religious" Category

(SANTA PAULA, Calif.) -August 3, 2010- Thomas Aquinas College is one of the country's best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The 4-year, Catholic, co-educational college is featured in the education services company's new 2011 edition of its annual college guide, The Best 373 Colleges. The Princeton Review, along with USA TODAY, also ranked Thomas Aquinas College in its Top 50 "Best Values" in private education. Schools in this category are cited for their excellent academics, low sticker price and/or generous financial aid. In addition, The Princeton Review and USA TODAY singled out Thomas Aquinas College as one of only 11 schools nationwide to be included on the "Financial Aid Honor Roll." The college received a top score of 99 for its efforts to make an excellent Catholic liberal education economically feasible for those students who qualify for its rigorous program.

Only about 15% of America's 2,500 four-year colleges and two Canadian colleges are profiled inThe Best 373 Colleges,which includes detailed profiles of the institutions with rating scores for all schools in eight categories, plus ranking lists of top 20 schools in 62 categories. Thomas Aquinas College was rated among the Top 20 in 9 of those categories, viz., "Most Religious Students," "Best Classroom Experience," and "Stone-Cold Sober," a reference to the wholesome social life on the campus. Says Robert Franek, Princeton Review's Senior VP / Publishing and author of "The Best 373 Colleges," "We commend Thomas Aquinas College for its outstanding academics, the primary criteria for our selection of schools for the book. Our choices are based on institutional data we collect about schools, our visits to schools over the years, feedback we gather from students attending the schools, and the opinions of our staff and our 28-member National College Counselor Advisory Board."

Jon Daly, Director of Admissions at Thomas Aquinas College, commented that "It is gratifying to see a respected organization like The Princeton Review recognize the excellence of our academic program and the high caliber of our students. As a Catholic institution, we are also deeply proud to be singled out for the generous financial aid we give to those students with demonstrated need. A genuine Catholic education is not meant simply for the wealthy, and we are so grateful to our generous alumni and benefactors who each year make it possible for us to keep our commitment that no qualified applicant ever be turned away simply for financial reasons."

The Princeton Review surveyed approximately 100,000 students on campuses across the country. . Among the comments made about Thomas Aquinas College by one of its students was that the goal of the College is "to discover the truth by studying the greatest minds of Western thought," and students agree that this approach "far outstrips most others because eternal truth is the end goal, not just some credentials for a job later. Not accidentally, this does actually produce more capable, honest, and self-giving individuals."

In a "Survey Says" sidebar in the book's profile on Thomas Aquinas College, The Princeton Review lists topics about which the school's students were in most agreement in their answers to survey questions. The list includes: "Class discussions encouraged," "No one cheats," Students are friendly," Dorms are like palaces," and "Campus feels safe."

The Princeton Review has posted the school profiles and ranking lists in "The Best 373 Colleges" at PrincetonReview.com.