“A small Catholic liberal arts college in the Hudson Valley, 15 miles from NYC, with hands-on professional programs and a tight-knit Spartan community.”
St. Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) is a small private Catholic liberal arts college founded in 1952 by the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill to prepare teachers, then opened to lay men and women within fifteen years. Today STAC is independent and lay-governed; it preserves its Catholic and Dominican heritage in mission and tradition rather than through current religious sponsorship. Approximately 2,000 full- and part-time students study on a 76-acre campus in Sparkill, New York, just 15 miles north of Manhattan in the Lower Hudson Valley — close enough to Midtown for an easy day trip, but suburban and walkable, with a free shuttle to the train into the city. Academically the college is organized into four schools — Arts & Social Sciences, Business, Education, and Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) — offering more than 100 undergraduate majors, minors, and specializations and eleven graduate programs in business, education, and criminal justice. Signature undergraduate programs include Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Education (with multiple New York State certification tracks), Communication Arts, Psychology, and pre-health pathways with articulated partnerships in physical therapy, chiropractic, and pharmacy. Class sizes are small, faculty mentorship is hands-on, and most students are commuters from the New York metro area, with a meaningful residential population. STAC competes as the Spartans in NCAA Division II, primarily in the East Coast Conference, fielding 22 varsity teams including a sprint football program in the CSFL. The campus culture is friendly and personal rather than prestige-driven; students choose STAC for accessible admissions, professional programs that lead directly to New York-area jobs, and proximity to the deepest internship market in the country. International applicants find a small, welcoming community with an established F-1 pipeline, but should expect modest financial-aid resources and strong need-aware practices.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Regional Universities North
US News Best Colleges 2026
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceRolling Admission
Applications accepted year-round for fall and spring semesters; decisions typically returned within two weeks of completed file.
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$36,000 – $42,800
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$42,800
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
STAC's largest school, housing the humanities and social sciences with a strong professional bent toward criminal justice, communication, and social work.
Career-focused undergraduate and graduate programs for the New York metro market, including an MBA. Internships in Manhattan are a defining feature.
STAC's founding school. Prepares students for New York State teacher certification across childhood, adolescence, special education, and educational leadership.
Houses biology, mathematics, computer science, and pre-health partnership pathways including physical therapy, chiropractic, pharmacy, and nursing tracks.
4 years
Foundational pathway into law, law enforcement, corrections, private security, and graduate study, with proximity to NYC, Westchester, and federal field offices for internships.
4 years
Career-oriented business degree with a 3+1 BBA-to-MBA option and easy access to NYC firms via the metro-area campus location.
4 years
STAC's heritage program: childhood, adolescence, and special education tracks aligned with New York State initial certification.
4 years
Articulated tracks let qualified students enter graduate physical therapy, pharmacy, or chiropractic programs through partner institutions, advised by STAC's Pre-Health/Pre-Graduate Committee.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $39,450
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
