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To help ease the financial burden on students and their parents in a weak economy, the Thomas Aquinas College Board of Governors has announced a freeze in the cost of tuition and room & board for the 2015-2016 academic year. Tuition will remain at $24,500, and room & board at $7,950, bringing the total cost of attendance — including books and all fees — to $32,450. That amount is well below the average of $37,948 for private institutions in the Western United States, according to The College Board’s Annual Survey of Colleges (2013-2014).

“In the midst of trying economic times, we are determined to make college as viable for our undergraduates as we can,” says Thomas Aquinas College President Michael F. McLean. “We are committed to being good stewards of the funds our benefactors give us for the benefit of our students.”

In order to keep its unique program of Catholic liberal education within the reach of all motivated students and their families, the College additionally maintains a vigorous financial aid program. No student is ever turned away on the basis of financial need, and the College asks its students to take on no more than $18,000 in debt over the course of their four years’ study. Members of the Class of 2013 graduated with an average loan debt of just $15,521 — about half the national average of $29,400. Notably, the loan-default rate for the College’s alumni is 0.0 percent, compared to 8.8 percent nationwide.

The Princeton Review recently named Thomas Aquinas College as one of only 10 colleges in the country on its “Financial Aid Honor Roll,” giving the College the highest possible rating (99) in that category. In addition, U.S. News & World Report ranks the College as No. 26 among the Top 40 national liberal arts colleges on its 2015 Best Values list. Similarly, Kiplinger’s lists the College one of the country’s “Top Values” in higher education.