College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Aquinas College

MISmall private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1237 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places the college in the 16th percentile overall among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Aquinas College is a private nonprofit university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Business and Psychology are the largest degree families. Affordability is the strongest , at above average, while access is below the levels seen at many peers.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes that gap more to a remainder it cannot explain than to the factors it measures.

Return is modestly below average. Pell recipients complete at a rate below the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is below the levels seen at many peers.

What the lowest-income families pay sits well below the published cost. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study. The largest program is not the best-paid, but it pays nearly as much.

Aquinas College at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
89.9%
Six-year completion[2]
65.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$51,578

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$13,594
Median student debt[4]
$23,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$24,361

Aquinas College rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Aquinas College is a private nonprofit university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with an undergraduate enrollment of 1,083. In the Azimuth ranking of 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions, the college sits in the lower portion of the field, with its composite in the 16th percentile.

The four pillars that make up that standing are not evenly matched, and the gaps between them are large. The college admits 89.9% of applicants, a rate that runs above the 75.7% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Among those who enroll full time, 78.3% return for a second year and 65.4% finish within six years. Both figures sit ahead of the peer medians of 74.2% and 54.9%.

An estimated 18.1% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, having begun their studies elsewhere. Affordability is the pillar that stands apart, at the 65th percentile, while access is the weakest, at the 6th percentile.

Return and mobility sit closer to each other, at the 25th and 24th percentiles respectively. The spread between the strongest and weakest pillars is wide, with affordability the clear outlier.

Affordability is the clearest relative strength in the profile, though the other pillars sit lower in Azimuth’s national comparison. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, affordability is in the 65th percentile, the strongest pillar.

Return is in the 25th percentile and mobility is in the 24th percentile. Access is the weakest pillar, at the 6th percentile.

Among enrolled students who submitted SAT scores, the middle 50% ran from 910 to 1,140. For the ACT, the middle 50% of submitted scores stretched from 20 to 26.

Both ranges come from students who chose to submit test results. 23.9% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, a standard financial-access measure.

Azimuth ranks Aquinas College #1,382 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 55.3%, a rate that sits 10.1 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (65.4%).

That gap between the two rates is the central fact the access pillar records. Azimuth ranks the university #1,120 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $8,899 less than the model expects for similar students, the earnings result that sits alongside the mobility ranking.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Aquinas College rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,237

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 24
Access & reach
National percentile: 6
Affordability
National percentile: 65
Return on investment
National percentile: 25

01 / Aquinas College briefing

Aquinas College cost & financial aid[6][7]

At Aquinas College, the average net price is $16,626, placing the college's aid-recipient cost below the comparable-institution benchmark. The published cost of attendance is $51,652, an average across living arrangements.

Tuition and fees are $40,218, and room and board are $11,680. , what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is reduced by $35,026 from the published price.

At comparable institutions of the same type and size, the peer median net price is $22,347, and Aquinas is below it by $5,721. Azimuth places affordability at the 65th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The lower-than-peer net price and above-midpoint affordability standing point in the same direction for aid recipients.

The published cost of attendance at Aquinas College is $51,652 (an average across living arrangements). Azimuth ranks the university #502 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $10,725, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $13,594, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $21,093. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $10,368.

Aid covers about 68% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The average net price across all aid recipients is $16,626, which is $5,721 below the $22,347 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $23,000 in federal student loans. That is $2,000 below the $25,000 peer median.

91.2% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $24,361.

If repaid over ten years, the median student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $261 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$13,594

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Aquinas College

Borrowing is common at Aquinas College: 91.2% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, though the debt picture sits below comparable institutions. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $23,000, excluding Parent PLUS and private loans.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $25,000, placing Aquinas College $2,000 below that benchmark. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $24,361.

At Aquinas College, lower borrowing sits beside an earnings picture that warrants care. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $51,578 four years after completion.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that figure falls in the 22nd percentile. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, point in the same direction.

Graduates earn about $8,899 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places this measure in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The downside earnings scenario is $45,184, the typical scenario is $51,578, and the upside scenario is $76,360. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $23,000, $2,000 below the $25,000 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $261 a month if repaid over ten years. Lower debt and below-expected earnings pull the investment picture in different directions.

Parent PLUS loans had a median borrowing amount of $24,361 among parent borrowers. That measure covers parents rather than the students with federal loans.

For the median federal debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $261 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$23,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$24,361

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$261/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$310/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Aquinas College briefing

Aquinas College career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

For graduates, the return data point to earnings below both the model’s expectation and the comparable-school midpoint. Graduates earn about $8,899 less than the model expects for similar students.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, earnings beyond expectations—the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students—stands in the 22nd percentile. Azimuth puts Aquinas College’s return pillar in the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $2,558. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,341.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $51,578 four years after completion, in the 22nd percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $55,915, with Aquinas College $4,337 below it.

Aquinas College’s earnings picture is modest: among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $51,578 four years after completion. The measure covers an earnings cohort of 409 completers, and Azimuth places it in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios based on the program mix are not observed graduate groups: the downside scenario is $45,184, the typical scenario is $51,578, and the upside scenario is $76,360. An estimated 30.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, also point downward. Graduates earn about $8,899 less than the model expects for similar students.

The earnings standing and model comparison describe a similarly restrained picture.

Affordability is Aquinas College’s strongest pillar, but its return figures sit below peer and model reference points. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $51,578 four years after completion, in the 22nd percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $55,915, leaving Aquinas $4,337 below it. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, fall in the 22nd percentile.

Graduates earn about $8,899 less than the model expects for similar students. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $2,558.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,341. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $84.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $45,184 in the downside scenario to $76,360 in the upside scenario. Azimuth ranks Aquinas #1,097 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Below-peer earnings and the model gap point in the same direction. Program results differ across the larger and higher-earning fields.

Accounting has the highest listed median, with 15 degrees awarded and $76,274 in median earnings four years after completion, equal to 1.00x the national median for its field. The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awarded 45 degrees and had median earnings of $74,404, or 1.09x the national field median.

Psychology awarded 42 degrees, with $45,698 in earnings and a 0.90x field benchmark. Kinesiology and Physical Education awarded 24 degrees and recorded $51,806, or 0.95x the national median.

The field comparisons range from above to below their national medians rather than pointing in one direction.

The modeled earnings range at Aquinas College is broad, so the field a graduate completes matters to the result. Scenarios based on the program mix run from $45,184 on the downside to $76,360 on the upside, with $51,578 as the typical earnings scenario; these are scenarios rather than observed groups of graduates.

Among program medians four years after completion, Accounting reaches $76,274, Business Administration and Management reaches $74,404, and Sustainability Studies reaches $60,285. Those field-level figures span much of the modeled range and make the variation concrete.

At Aquinas College, lower price and borrowing figures soften, but do not erase, the concern raised by model-based earnings. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $16,626.

For family-income bands from lowest through highest, the averages are $10,725, $11,222, $13,594, $15,468, and $21,093. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $23,000.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $25,000, and the college is below it by $2,000. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $261 a month if repaid over ten years.

Graduates earn about $8,899 less than the model expects for similar students. Lower price and debt figures point one way, while the model comparison points another.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
-$2,558
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$6,341
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$8,899

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Aquinas College briefing

Aquinas College acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Aquinas College admits a broad share of its reported applicant pool: its admission rate is 89.9%. That rate is above the median of 75.7% for comparable institutions (same type and size), so the school’s recent admission outcome differs from that peer midpoint.

Applicants should place Aquinas College on an application list only after comparing their transcript and submitted scores with its published academic ranges.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
89.9%
Approximate lower endpoint
910
Reported average
1025
Approximate upper endpoint
1140

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Aquinas College briefing

What are the largest majors at Aquinas College?[12]

Aquinas College shows a clear spread in program earnings four years after completion, with business-oriented fields at the higher end and science or health-related fields at more moderate levels. Accounting recorded median earnings of $76,274 and 15 degrees awarded.

Business Administration and Management followed at $74,404, with 45 degrees awarded. Further down the earnings range, Kinesiology and Physical Education had median earnings of $51,806 across 24 degrees awarded, while Biology recorded $51,002 and 12 degrees awarded.

The figures show that the return picture can differ substantially by field, even among programs with published earnings data.

Business accounts for 22.5% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, making it the largest program family at Aquinas College. Among fields with published earnings, the higher-earning options are not confined to that largest family. The figures show a wide range across fields four years after completion.

The bachelor's degrees at Aquinas College are concentrated in a few professional fields. Business accounts for 22.5% of degrees awarded, with Psychology and Education following at 12.8% and 12.2%.

Across 9 programs with published four-year earnings data, the largest by degrees awarded is Business Administration and Management at 45 degrees awarded, closely followed by Psychology at 42 and Kinesiology and Physical Education at 24. 9.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

The highest-earning program is Accounting, where graduates earn a median of $76,274 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 1.00x against the national median for its field. Business Administration and Management, the largest program, is the second-highest-earning, with a median of $74,404 and a benchmark ratio of 1.09x.

A much smaller program, Sustainability Studies, reports the third-highest earnings at $60,285 from 6 degrees awarded. The pattern is one of a few large, professionally oriented programs that deliver solid earnings, alongside a set of smaller fields with more varied outcomes.

The two largest programs, Business Administration and Management and Psychology, sit on opposite sides of the national earnings benchmark for their fields, with the former above and the latter below. A student's choice of major here carries a clear financial weight, with the highest-earning programs concentrated in business-related fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 45 degrees awarded
$74,404
Psychology, General 42 degrees awarded
$45,698
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 30 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 24 degrees awarded
$51,806
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 15 degrees awarded
$46,148
Accounting and Related Services 15 degrees awarded
$76,274

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Aquinas College briefing

How does Aquinas College serve students from different backgrounds?

The mobility picture is uneven: the first-time full-time cohort has a six-year graduation rate of 65.4%, but Pell recipients complete within six years at 55.3%, below the overall rate by 10.1 percentage points. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 24th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 22nd percentile. Graduates earn about $8,899 less than the model expects for similar students. Completion and modeled earnings point in different directions.

An admission rate of 89.9% sets the entry point for Aquinas College, a private nonprofit university in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Its undergraduate enrollment is 1,083, with 23.9% of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants and an estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group of 18.1%.

Azimuth assigns the college’s access pillar to the 6th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The admission, Pell, and transfer figures provide the context for that low access placement.

06 / Aquinas College briefing

What colleges are similar to Aquinas College?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Aquinas College.

Admissions peerFerris State University91.4% admitted
Comparison with Aquinas College
MeasureAquinas CollegeFerris State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,578$64,721+$13,143 vs Aquinas College
Average annual net price$16,626$8,624-$8,002 vs Aquinas College · lower cost
Admission rate89.9%91.4%
Explore Ferris State University →
Higher-admission alternativeTrinity International University-Illinois100.0% admitted
Comparison with Aquinas College
MeasureAquinas CollegeTrinity International University-Illinois
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,578$51,985+$407 vs Aquinas College
Average annual net price$16,626$2,835-$13,791 vs Aquinas College · lower cost
Admission rate89.9%100.0%
Nearby alternativeThe University of OlivetNearby option · MI
Comparison with Aquinas College
MeasureAquinas CollegeThe University of Olivet
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,578$52,261+$683 vs Aquinas College
Average annual net price$16,626$21,393+$4,767 vs Aquinas College · higher cost
Admission rate89.9%83.3%
Explore The University of Olivet →
Higher-earnings alternativeDavenport University$69,009 earnings
Comparison with Aquinas College
MeasureAquinas CollegeDavenport University
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,578$69,009+$17,431 vs Aquinas College
Average annual net price$16,626$17,707+$1,081 vs Aquinas College · higher cost
Admission rate89.9%97.8%
Lower-cost alternativeIndiana University-South Bend$8,653 average net price
Comparison with Aquinas College
MeasureAquinas CollegeIndiana University-South Bend
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,578$55,103+$3,525 vs Aquinas College
Average annual net price$16,626$8,653-$7,973 vs Aquinas College · lower cost
Admission rate89.9%83.8%
Explore Indiana University-South Bend →
Similar profileHuntington UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Aquinas College
MeasureAquinas CollegeHuntington University
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,578$52,242+$664 vs Aquinas College
Average annual net price$16,626$19,310+$2,684 vs Aquinas College · higher cost
Admission rate89.9%75.6%
Explore Huntington University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings