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The Princeton Review has released its annual guide, , in which it once again awards Thomas Aquinas ������ý a 99 for academics, its highest possible rating. The ������ý was also one of only 10 institutions in the country — and the only Catholic school — to receive the guide's highest possible rating for financial aid. The Princeton Review, which includes only the top 15 percent of colleges and universities in the United States, lists the ������ý as one of the 121 “Best of the West.”

“We’re pleased to recommend Thomas Aquinas ������ý to users of our site as one of the best schools to earn their undergrad degree. We chose it and the other terrific institutions … mainly for their excellent academic programs,” explains Robert Franek, Princeton Review's Senior VP / Publisher. “We winnowed our list based on institutional data we collected directly from the schools, our visits to schools over the years, and the opinions of our staff, plus college counselors and advisors whose recommendations we invite. We also take into account what students at the schools reported to us about their campus experiences at them on our 80-question student survey for this project.”

Responses from student survey include:

• “Catholic/small-college setting creates an atmosphere of trust and faith that makes it easier to study, to live, and to grow at school.”
• The ������ý “takes learning seriously for its own sake, not just as preparation for a job”
• “strong Catholic identity”
• “rigorous curriculum”
• a “holistic education” that is “demanding on every level”
• students learn to “read and think critically.”

In addition, the Princeton Review gives Thomas Aquinas ������ý a “Quality of Life Rating” of 96, and places it in the “Top 20” of several categories, including:

• Class Discussions Encouraged
• No One Cheats
• Students Are Very Religious
• Dorms are like palaces
• Low Cost of Living
• Very Little Drug Use

“We are pleased, as always, with The Princeton Review’s rankings and those of the various college guides. We consider these a sign of the strength of our unique program of Catholic liberal education, which strives for both academic rigor and fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church,” says President Michael F. McLean. “Our students and faculty continue to demonstrate that a classical education, taught in the light of faith, can yield outstanding results by any reasonable measure.”

Posted: August 2, 2011