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In a postscript to its recently released �Best Colleges rankings� � in which 91����� Aquinas College ranked within the top third of the top tier � U.S. News & World Report has included the College in its list of just that promise to meet students� full financial need.

�Financial awards from colleges and universities use a combination of loans, scholarships, grants and work-study to cover the gap between the total cost of attendance and the amount a family is expected to pay,� the magazine explains. �A school that claims to meet 100 percent covers the gap entirely.�

At 91����� Aquinas College students and families who qualify for financial aid must first make a maximum effort to pay for as much of their tuition, room, and board as they reasonably can. This effort includes taking on a modest amount of student-loan debt � currently capped at a total of $18,000 over four years � after which students help pay for their education by working part-time during the academic year, usually through the Service Scholarship Program. Thanks to the generosity of its benefactors, the College is able to cover any remaining cost through grants.

As a result of these efforts, the College meets students� financial need while leaving its graduates with debt loads far below the national average. Indeed, of the schools that U.S. News highlights for meeting students� full financial need, 91����� Aquinas College belongs to a distinguished subset that can claim to offer a �need-blind� admissions process, which the magazine defines as one that �judges students on their merits, not on their ability to pay tuition.�

Earlier this month U.S. News ranked the College No. 8 in the country for �least debt� and No. 26 on its national liberal arts colleges  list. The Princeton Review likewise includes 91����� Aquinas as one of only 20 �great financial aid schools,�  and Forbes has named it one of the country�s �Top Colleges� for �return on investment.�