BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

Thomas Aquinas College

Santa Paula, California·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·thomasaquinas.edu
6-yr Graduation
84%
+38.0pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
566
peer median 566
Avg net price
$25,032
+$2.4k vs Baccalaureate
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AboutAdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsCampus safetyFacultyPeersDocumentsAlumni

About

Thomas Aquinas College is a private Catholic liberal arts college located in California and Massachusetts, founded in 1971. The college has a student body of over 500 and focuses on an integrated curriculum based on the Great Books and Socratic discussions.

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

IPEDS
Applied
272
272 candidates competed
Admitted
226
83.1% acceptance rate
Enrolled
153
67.7% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
84%+38.0pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
83%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
84%
Full-time retention
92%

Pell equity

1.0pp gap
Pell recipients
85%
Non-Pell
84%

Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates — a notably small equity gap.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 1 Title IV programs, 1 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail.

Total programs
1
Passing
1
100.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

1programs
  • Passing1 · 100.0%
  • No Data0 · 0.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
1
No data
0

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

1
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Bachelor Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+43.4%
$49,898 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

1
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Bachelor Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
36%
$18,000 debt · $49,898 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

American Academy for Liberal Education

Accredited since 2002Next review Dec 2012
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

WASC Senior College and University Commission

Accredited since 1980Next review Feb 2026
PreaccreditedInstitutional accreditor

WASC Senior College and University Commission

Accredited since 1976Next review Oct 2017

Action history · 3

  1. Feb 2018Renewal of Accreditation
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  2. Feb 2018Renewal of Accreditation
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  3. Jan 2014Grant Substantive Change: Final Branch Approval
    WASC Senior College and University Commission

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$16,761
$30–48k$18,508
$48–75k$19,464
$75–110k$25,048
$110k+$28,063

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$25,032
+$2,362vs Baccalaureate median $22,670
Federal loans
65.7%
In-state tuition
$28,700
Out-of-state
$28,700

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 202 students received $1.0M in Pell grants, alongside $2.2M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
202
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$1.0M
$1,001,724 total
Direct Loans
$2.2M
452 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
’20
0k
’21
0k
’22
0k
’23
0k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.2M
278 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$619K
154 loan awards
Parent PLUS$368K
20 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 82 borrowers who entered repayment, 0 (0.0%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.0%
-2.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
82
Defaulted
0
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
0.0%
2017
1.2%
2018
0.9%
2019
0.0%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Thomas Aquinas College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs1
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

107 total completions
01Liberal Arts
107100.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
566
12-mo unduplicated
541
Undergraduate
541
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
50%269
Women
50%272

Race / ethnicity composition

White
62.2%
Hispanic
19.7%
Non-resident
6.5%
Two or more
5.6%
Unknown
3.7%
Asian
2.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
1.94
1 offenses · 516 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.001 yr ago1.94Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
1
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
1

By location

1total
  • On campus1

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
0
Stalking
0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs00
Liquor00

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
11.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
50

Thomas Aquinas College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Thomas Aquinas College selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectThomas Aquinas College
84%—566$25,032Baccalaureate
Allen University
13%72.5%610$11,081Baccalaureate
American Jewish University
44%96.0%424—Baccalaureate
Beacon College
58%43.5%531$36,576Baccalaureate
Bethel College-North Newton
37%93.5%509$24,392Baccalaureate
Bryn Athyn College of the New Church
65%82.9%255$19,600Baccalaureate
College of the Atlantic
68%70.2%358$24,028Baccalaureate
Lyon College
47%62.8%659$22,670Baccalaureate
Magdalen College
53%44.4%—$15,922Baccalaureate
McPherson College
34%76.8%878$24,837Baccalaureate
Randolph College
46%93.7%816$18,436Baccalaureate
Rust College
12%48.7%467$8,751Baccalaureate
St. Andrews University
27%64.8%676$33,756Baccalaureate
St. John's College
71%55.2%583$27,934Baccalaureate
Talladega College
31%85.4%760$13,461Baccalaureate
Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
63%89.6%97$21,511Baccalaureate
Trinity International University-Florida
———$5,455Baccalaureate
Wells College
41%69.6%—$22,921Baccalaureate
Wesleyan College
45%59.1%531$14,528Baccalaureate
Westmont College
70%77.0%1,310$32,926Baccalaureate
Peer group median46%71.4%566$22,670

Institutions like Thomas Aquinas College

Explore the federal data for institutions in Thomas Aquinas College's comparison group.

IPEDS

Reports & documents (1)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Notable alumni of Thomas Aquinas College (6)

A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

  • John Berg
    Religion
  • Andrzej Komorowski
  • Peter Kwasniewski
  • Mary Neumayr
  • Paul J. O'Reilly
  • Pia de Solenni

Frequently asked questions about Thomas Aquinas College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Thomas Aquinas College.

What is the graduation rate at Thomas Aquinas College?

Thomas Aquinas College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 84% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Thomas Aquinas College?

Thomas Aquinas College reports a total enrollment of 566 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Thomas Aquinas College?

The average net price at Thomas Aquinas College is $25,032 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Thomas Aquinas College?

Thomas Aquinas College's yield rate is 67.7%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Thomas Aquinas College located?

Thomas Aquinas College is located in Santa Paula, California 93060.

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