U.S. News Ranks Thomas Aquinas College in Top 10 “Most Popular” Liberal Arts Schools

January 30, 2012
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U.S. NEWS RANKS THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE
IN TOP 10 “MOST POPULAR” LIBERAL ARTS SCHOOLS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SANTA PAULA—January 30— Thomas Aquinas College is one of The Most Popular Liberal Arts Colleges in the United States, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report. In its 2012 survey, the newsweekly found that 69.1 percent of the applicants admitted to the 4-year, Catholic college go on to enroll as freshmen in the fall — the seventh highest “yield” rate in the country.

“Yield,” the editors observe, is “one of the best indicators of a school’s popularity among students,” testifying to an institution’s desirability among applicants. Thomas Aquinas College is the only Catholic institution to make the Top 10 list of most popular liberal arts colleges. Its yield rate also measures favorably against national universities, exceeding those of institutions such as Yale, MIT, and Princeton.

“This high rate,” says Thomas Aquinas College Director of Admissions Jon Daly, “is evidence that our unique program of Catholic liberal education has broad appeal. The decision about where to spend the next four years of their lives is one that most students do not make lightly. That those of our applicants who are admitted overwhelmingly choose to come here shows a real commitment on their part to classical education taught under the light of faith.”

The college’s ability to attract and admit students who are a good fit for its program is borne out by its retention and graduation rates. Some 92 percent of Thomas Aquinas College freshmen return as sophomores (compared to 76 percent nationwide), and 73 percent complete the program within six years (as opposed to 55.5 percent nationally).

“What no doubt helps with our yield rate,” adds Mr. Daly, “is that roughly half of our incoming freshmen have participated in our High School Summer Program. Having experienced the life of the College firsthand, they know that this is what they want. They are eager to enroll, and once they get here, even more eager to see their way through the four-year program.”

For more information about Thomas Aquinas College, please visit www.thomasaquinas.edu.  For more information about their High School Summer Great Books Program, please visit www.thomasaquinas.edu/admission/high-school-summer-program.
 

About Thomas Aquinas College

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Thomas Aquinas College is a four-year, Catholic liberal arts college with a fully-integrated curriculum composed 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 Discussion 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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