Trinity University, a liberal arts college of about 2600 student, in San Antonio, Texas, has an admit rate of 28%. That puts them in the same room as the likes of Skidmore, Scripps, Oberlin, Lehigh, Macalester, Bucknell, Smith, and Case Western. What Trinity lacks that these other institutions seem to have is a national reputation. And a student body that draws from all 50 states. I attended a counselor program at Trinity University, and was very impressed with what I saw and heard. The president, Vanessa Beasley, came from Vanderbilt University 2 years ago, and she has made it a priority to get Trinity University on the map. They would love to recruit more students from out of state; currently, they only make up 21% of the student population. The bar is high for admission; the average unweighted GPA of admitted students is 3.7-4.0, and rigor matters a lot. The average SAT scores of admitted students who submitted them is 1350-1480, and average ACT 30-34.

For students who are academically qualified, here are some reasons to consider adding Trinity to their list: First of all, the Wall Street Journal ranked Trinity #7 in undergraduate teaching, just after Stanford. I met the faculty, and I believe it. All classrooms have a maximum of 24 seats, and faculty get photo rosters of their students, so they know their names within a week. I love that! Another important thing to note is the $1.7 billion endowment. That's impressive. And they've just built a new Center for Science and Innovation as well as a new $40 million humanities building, which they're very proud of - it speaks to their commitment to the liberal arts in a world where some institutions are offering more pre-professional majors and laying off English and Philosophy faculty. Another great thing I love is that many students can fly to San Antonio non-stop from their home city; I flew non-stop from Boston. To me, this is important. Another tidbit: there's a 3-year residency requirement - this is truly a residential college.

Here's one of my favorite things: Trinity University, similar to Whitman and College of Wooster, will give an Early Decision applicants a financial aid/merit pre-read that they will guarantee. I love the transparency of that - no applying ED without knowing what it will cost. Speaking of cost, the all-in price is $68K, and merit scholarships range from $12-33K.

Here are the two things I heard during my visit that impressed me most. The first is from the president, Dr. Beasley: "We want students with different opinions; we want people to disagree. They need to learn to do that. They don't come to us with those skills." The other is, "We don't teach students what to think; we teach students how to think."

With a free application and no supplemental essay, it's easy to apply. I think Trinity University has earned the right to move from a regional college to an institution with a national presence. And I think they've found a leader who can get it done.