McPherson College vs Thomas Aquinas College

McPherson College and Thomas Aquinas College, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. McPherson College, a private liberal arts college in McPherson, Kansas, boasts an acceptance rate of 80%, while Thomas Aquinas College, a private Catholic liberal arts college in Santa Paula, California, has a more selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 60%. McPherson College's student body is more diverse, with 30% of students identifying as minorities compared to Thomas Aquinas College's 10%. Both colleges offer a variety of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at McPherson College including Business, Education, and Psychology, and popular majors at Thomas Aquinas College including Philosophy, Theology, and English. To help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these differences and more, including graduation rates, tuition costs, and campus life.

	McPherson College	Thomas Aquinas College
Overview
Location	McPherson, Kansas	Santa Paula, California
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Rural: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	66.0%	89.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation	Anabaptists	Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	84.6%	83.1%
Application fees
SAT range	N/A	1180 - 1370
ACT range	N/A	25 - 30
Students submitting SAT score		34.0%
Students submitting ACT score		19.0%
Total number of applicants	884	261
Total number of admissions given out	748	217
Admitted students who chose to enroll	271	131
Yield rate	36.2%	60.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$50,234	$48,062
Average net price	$24,693	$22,631
Tuition	$31,396	$26,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $3,850 Meal plan: $5,082	$9,400
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $20,222	71.0% Average amount $13,973
Students receiving federal student loan	81.0% Average amount $5,328	69.0% Average amount $3,590
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $12,570	5.0% Average amount $7,167

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	830 Men 67.1% Women 32.9%	497 Men 49.7% Women 50.3%
Graduate students	12 Men 25.0% Women 75.0%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	7.0%	5.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Rural: Distant
Dormitory capacity	662	659
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Biological and Biomedical Sciences Education Health Professions	Liberal Arts
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	52.6%	85.9%
Dropout rate	47.4%	3.8%
Transferred out	N/A	9.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,087 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,145 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,202 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,750 Year 2: $30,047 Year 3: $34,459

Compare Similar Colleges

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McPherson College vs Thomas Aquinas College

McPherson College

Thomas Aquinas College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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