Colleges That Change Lives - What Has Your Experience Been?

[Anonymous]

I have friends who went to Rhodes College and U of Lynchburg who speak very highly of their experiences and hoped their kids would consider those colleges (their kids preferred the big state school option).

Another went to Agnes Scott (and now works for NASA) and her daughter is there now, doing well.

Also have friends with kids currently happy at or recently graduated from Ursinus, U of Puget Sound, and Clark U.

I don't think there is anything particularly special about this distinct group of schools but appreciate the CTCL org for marketing the benefits that can comes from a small LAC experience. Definitely need to look carefully at schools on the list and and there are other similarly ranked LACs that should also be considered by a student who finds the profiles of these schools appealing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you have to look past the marketing slogan and look at each of these schools on their own. I’ve heard really good things about Wooster and Kalamazoo mentioned above and my DC is taking a close look at Clark which is really strong in an area of interest.

I guess what I’m saying is ignore the CTCL designation and just look individually at the schools based on what they offer.

+1 My DD wanted a small school with a great environmental science program and ended up with a list that included some CTCLs and others with similar characteristics. She was an A-/B+ student. We didn't care about the CTCL label but evaluated a bunch of schools for the specific things she was looking for. It happens that she is going to a CTCL (Juniata) because it has most of what she wanted at a price we can afford.

Juniata is high on our list for similar reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you have to look past the marketing slogan and look at each of these schools on their own. I’ve heard really good things about Wooster and Kalamazoo mentioned above and my DC is taking a close look at Clark which is really strong in an area of interest.

I guess what I’m saying is ignore the CTCL designation and just look individually at the schools based on what they offer.

+1 My DD wanted a small school with a great environmental science program and ended up with a list that included some CTCLs and others with similar characteristics. She was an A-/B+ student. We didn't care about the CTCL label but evaluated a bunch of schools for the specific things she was looking for. It happens that she is going to a CTCL (Juniata) because it has most of what she wanted at a price we can afford.

Juniata is high on our list for similar reasons.

If it's still high on the list later in your process, I recommend doing their "Eagle for a Day" visit. DD was able to sit in on a class, have a long meeting with one of the ES professors, have lunch with two students in her major, plus a 1-on-1 tour and then (because she was very tired after all that!) have a short meeting with admissions. She felt very at home with it and once all acceptances were in, it was clear that it was her favorite.

[Anonymous]

These are great little schools and really are wonderful for some kids. Great affordable education in a small environment. They're not for everyone, but you aren't everyone. Don't be snobby and elitist.

[Anonymous]

“I went to one before the marketing - and it definitely COULD have, if I had been open to the experience. It was a great, small school that really did care about its students and academics. I never felt like just a chair or a number.“

Same. And my family couldn’t have afforded my attending someplace that would have given me as good as an education as I received. I’m forever grateful to the alum who supported my scholarships. And I believe that I became a different person from who I would have been had I gone to a large state university - more confident, more scholarly, a better writer, etc.

[Anonymous]

Lynchburg is a great little school for a student that needs a little extra organizational help. Good merit aid, too.

[Anonymous]

You are all so gullible. Google CTCL and scam or scandal and start reading. https://deltabusinessjournal.com/education-scandal-by-dr-robert-alexander/

[Anonymous]

My big middle of the road state university 100% changed my life. I got out of my ppdunk town, away from small town racism and was challenged, got a good degree, met lifelong friends and changed the trajectory of my life

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are all so gullible. Google CTCL and scam or scandal and start reading. https://deltabusinessjournal.com/education-scandal-by-dr-robert-alexander/

I don't see anything scandalous there.

[Anonymous]

NP. I don’t think CTCL is any more of a scam than a lot of the marketing around top-10 schools and I say that as a graduate of HYS.

There is an anti-CTCL poster her on DCUM who seems literally insane. I genuinely think that she keeps an alert for DCUM posts about CTCL and is like a rabid dog about them. She is so crazy it has made me a much bigger fan of the CTCL designation, actually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are thousands of posts on CTCL, Most people think it's just a clever marketing scheme that the lesser stats SLACs join and then they tour together. I've been to their presentations. The claim is just a marketing title. Each college that pays to belong is different.

“Most people” have never even heard the phrase CTCL. Not everyone is obsessed like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lynchburg is a great little school for a student that needs a little extra organizational help. Good merit aid, too.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. I don’t think CTCL is any more of a scam than a lot of the marketing around top-10 schools and I say that as a graduate of HYS.

There is an anti-CTCL poster her on DCUM who seems literally insane. I genuinely think that she keeps an alert for DCUM posts about CTCL and is like a rabid dog about them. She is so crazy it has made me a much bigger fan of the CTCL designation, actually.

Same! All the CTCL hate made me curious to learn more, and now that I have, I’m interested!

Thank you CTCL-hater!

[Anonymous]

I went to Reed College and while I'm not sure I'd recommend it now, mainly because iits progressive politics and the city of Portland are eating themselves, I can't deny that the alumni network and friends I made there were very formative and still continue to be important thirty years later.

They're not so great at getting me jobs or a book deal, but I have a fantastic friend cohort to grow old with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not my kid, but I attended Kalamazoo and enjoyed my experience. Made lifelong friends and prepared me well for graduate school. DS wanted a large school, so didn’t apply, but I still donate.

+1 Another Kalamazoo College grad here. It was cheaper for me than my in-state flagship with merit aid. I went to med school at UofM after. During my time at K I studied abroad for 6 months and got to work on a global public health initiative, interned at the local hospital most quarters that I was on campus, did an internship in Philadelphia connected to public health, and did a senior thesis project doing research with a pharmaceutical company. I wasn't a particularly unusual self-starter either--these were all supported by the school's typical educational process.
None of my med school colleagues had as wide-ranging experiences.