<p>I love the idea of the great books education that Thomas Aquinas exemplifies. Religiously however, I would classify myself as an agnostic. My question being, am I going to be welcome at this school? I am also considering St. John's (it's a secular Great Books school) but it is literally twice the price of Thomas Aquinas and they seem to offer a nearly identical program. Also, is religion strongly emphasized in the curriculum or is there room for differing viewpoints like my own? I have no issues if it's a strongly religious environment outside the classroom, but I would be worried if it was extremely narrowminded in terms of religion inside the classroom.
Ok, well any responses are appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>I'm sure you'd do fine at Thomas Aquinas. It's religious but the people there are not dogmatic. If you have an open and accepting mind they will also have open and accepting minds.
I currently attend St. John's College. I encourage you to apply to St. John's even if you think it will be to expensive, you might be surprised at the financial aid package they give you--they are quite generous.
Another Great Books college you might want to consider is Shimer. Shimer is closer to the price of TAC. The program there, while being a great books program, is a little different. I'll let you explore that though: <a href="http://www.shimer.edu%5B/url%5D">www.shimer.edu</a></p>
<p>Thanks for replying. Shimer looks interesting, but the chronological ordering of st. john's and thomas aquinas is more what I'm looking for. my mind just works like that I think. I'm going to apply to st. john's as well. I applied when I graduated from high school, but my application was never completed...i only had one letter of recommendation, and they wouldn't waive the requirement, i don't know if that will make a difference when I apply again, I hope not. have you lived on both campuses? if so, which do you prefer? do you mind if i pick your brain about ST. John's? lol</p>
<p>I've been to both campuses but I've only studied at the Santa Fe campus. I made the choice simply because I love Santa Fe so much--it's so beautiful.
Annapolis has MANY advantages though and I hope to spend at least a year there too.</p>