Thomas Aquinas is the Great Books college—100 students, seminar-based curriculum, no majors, everyone reads Plato through Dostoevsky through Augustine. Located in Ojai, California, it's genuinely countercultural. If the idea of spending four years in intense discussion of ideas, philosophy, and human civilization excites you, this place was made for you. If it doesn't, you'll be miserable.
The intellectual culture is serious and genuinely communal. There's no pretense, no grade-grubbing, no resume-building. Your SAT scores and your high school achievements don't matter; your ability to think and engage does. The faculty are scholar-teachers who care about formation, not credentials.
The location is beautiful, the community is tight, and the intellectual experience is unmatched anywhere else in American higher education. Come here knowing this is a deeply philosophical commitment, not a conventional college choice. For the right student, it's transformative.