Academics
Thomas Aquinas College is a small, private Roman Catholic-affiliated liberal arts school located in Southern California. Students have a wide spectrum of terms with which to describe their unique education: “difficult, mind blowing, extremely enjoyable, and intensely interesting.” Instead of taking the standard mix of general education requirements, electives, and coursework for majors and minors, TAC has a set curriculum for all first-years, sophomores, juniors, and seniors that is comprised entirely of reading and discussing the great books of Western civilization with the goal of “grappling with the greatest thinkers directly instead of … through a secondary text.” Students say professors are excellent at facilitating discussions, “always accessible outside of their class hours,” and “strong role models and mentors.” With class sizes of “just over a dozen students,” they typically rely on the Socratic Method with little to no lecturing. Students say the combination of curriculum and pedagogy allows them to “find the truth themselves,” hone their critical thinking skills, and, by senior year, grasp essential “core ideas of the highest nature such as relativity, time, space and being.” Some do note that courses could focus more on developing writing skills by assigning “more essays and papers” in addition to the heavy reading. By contrast, some students feel that while a classical education “may not prepare one for a specific job, it prepares one to be a good man [or woman].” One student sums the academic experience up by saying, “You have to work very hard, but … you see [it] pay off instantly in class.”
Student Body
With a student body of about 400 undergrads, “each individual is a relevant member of the community.” TAC students take pride in the “culture of casual kindnesses,” where everyone “is friendly and comfortable with each other” and is “always willing to have a good conversation.” Additionally, students describe their peers as “kind,” “quirky,” “genuine,” and united by “a desire for [pursuing] knowledge for its own sake.” This sense of community is bolstered by a “wide range of backgrounds and cultures,” primarily from a traditional Catholic or Christian background—“most students attend mass daily.” One student sums it up: “There are the athletic students, the studious students, the party-goers, and the introverted students,” although “we joke that . . . everyone falls under the common category of nerd.”
Campus Life
During the week, Thomas Aquinas College students focus on preparing for class and on their work-study jobs, if they’ve taken one on. When they’re looking for a break, they often find it in the college’s intramural sports, which are “open to all students regardless of skill.” Sports like basketball, ultimate frisbee, tennis, soccer, baseball, or volleyball “bring the community together without taking over” campus life. Outside of athletics, students would like more variety in school sponsored extracurricular activities, but this outdoorsy student body has a plethora of options in their backyard. The campus is “a mile walk from the Los Padres National Forest, which is a beautiful location for hiking and mountain biking,” and the local beach in Venture is a popular swimming and surfing destination.
Campus rules “strongly reflect [TAC’s] Catholic identity” and include a dress code and curfew. For some, this conservative culture “does not feel like college life but high school life,” while others say it creates a peaceful environment where it’s easy to prioritize coursework. Instead of traditional campus nightlife there are frequent “small, informal waltz or swing nights.” (Drinking isn’t tolerated on campus, so those looking for such activities must head off campus.) Classes take turns hosting monthly themed dances, which are “often highlights of everyone’s year.” When they’re not busy with this wide array of options, students simply “sit around and talk in the commons,” play board games, read poetry, make music and movies, sing in the choir, knit, and hang out in the coffee shop.
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