Thomas Aquinas College
Private College in Santa Paula, CA. Six-year graduation rate 84%. Median 10-year earnings $55,619.
Ten years after entry, the median Thomas Aquinas College student earns $55,619 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Completion is a strength: 84% of students finish within six years. Graduates carry a median of $18,000 in debt — in line with the national norm.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.32 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 84% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
83% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. Only 272 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. 68% of admitted students actually enroll, which is a high yield by national standards. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 42% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 640–730 | 64 (42%) |
| SAT Math | 580–670 | |
| ACT Composite | 28–33 | 24 (16%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Thomas Aquinas College →Academics
A 84% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 92% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. The 11:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. At 539 undergraduates, expect a small, closely-held student body.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 539 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $24,820 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $19,761 at $0–30k versus $29,757 at $110k+. 66% of students receive grant aid, averaging $17,516 — common but not automatic. 67% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 143 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $19,761 |
| $30–48k | $21,236 |
| $48–75k | $20,118 |
| $75–110k | $23,185 |
| $110k+ | $29,757 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 361 of these 539 students, totalling $1,757,796 — an average of $4,869 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Ventura County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)