Washington Monthly Gives TAC Top Marks for “Contribution to the Public Good”

Complementing its high rankings in the latest editions of various college guides, Thomas Aquinas College has earned a spot among the nation’s top colleges and universities, according to Washington Monthly. For its 2024 list, the magazine rated over 1,400 schools nationwide “based on what they do for the country.” Thomas Aquinas College ranks high among those schools, landing among the magazine’s top 150 liberal arts colleges, as well as in its top 75 schools offering the “Best Bang for the Buck” in the Western United States.

Whereas most college guides rely on “crude and easily manipulated measures of wealth, exclusivity, and prestige,” Washington Monthly’s editors argue that theirs aims for a more noble measure: “contribution to the public good.” The magazine calculates such contributions by considering three equally weighted criteria: social mobility (the extent to which schools recruit and graduate low-income students), service (encouraging students to contribute meaningfully to their communities), and research (professors’ scholarly contributions to their academic fields). “Top-ranked colleges needed to be excellent across the full breadth of our measures,” notes the magazine, “rather than excelling in just one.”

Thomas Aquinas College has a long-established reputation for “social mobility.” Since its founding, the College has refused to turn away otherwise qualified students because of financial need, offering a robust financial aid program that supports more than 70 percent of its student body. By God’s grace, and thanks to the generous benefactors who make this program possible, students graduate from Thomas Aquinas College with, on average, nearly half the student debt their peers accumulate at other private colleges and universities, and considerably less than most graduates of public institutions.

As for service, graduates of the College are eager to contribute their skills and talents to society, pursuing careers in law, medicine, media, public service, or numerous other fields, always with an eye toward serving the public good. Roughly one-third of alumni, eager to share the gifts of their classical liberal education, become teachers. Some 10 percent explore the priesthood or religious life, while many others marry and go on to create fruitful, faithful families that participate in their communities in myriad ways.

“It is heartening to see our alumni recognized for the good they do in the Church and in the world,” says Executive Director of College Relations Chris Weinkopf. “We are grateful that Washington Monthly is evaluating colleges on the basis of their contributions to the public good, and we are delighted to be included on its list.”