“Colleges That Change Lives”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These schools share and work to instill similar VALUES.
That may be something hardcore status-seekers don't "get."

For example, at the parent orientation for my child's college (a CTCL), they posted the traits they want to see in their graduates. One of them was kindness.

I was happy to see that and wonder how many big name, competitive (cut throat?), ivy league schools share that goal.

I feel that the CTCL's embrace the values that our family espoused, so I am happy to pay them tuition to educate my child well while providing a nurturing community.

If "kindness" is a primary trait that CTCL schools want to see in their graduates, then virtually every Catholic school in America belongs on the CTCL list.

Face it, you're just looking to justify your kid having to go second tier. Really, it's ok. Embrace it. Don't be defensive about it.

why are you so bitter? honestly , you sound like a miserable person...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went to Reed. Intense and wonderful academics. Subsequent T14 law school was a breeze in comparison. Have nothing to compare it to, as I never went elsewhere, but definitely saw some kids from some very fancy undergrads who seemed like they were struggling to adjust to the intensity of law school.

People are a little weird, but that suited me fine.

I looked Reed up in the Fiske guide after seeing this thread. I was appalled by the low graduation rate!

80% ... it's the same as VA Tech and JMU and better than George Mason.

And costs way more money than those schools!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went to Reed. Intense and wonderful academics. Subsequent T14 law school was a breeze in comparison. Have nothing to compare it to, as I never went elsewhere, but definitely saw some kids from some very fancy undergrads who seemed like they were struggling to adjust to the intensity of law school.

People are a little weird, but that suited me fine.

I looked Reed up in the Fiske guide after seeing this thread. I was appalled by the low graduation rate!

80% ... it's the same as VA Tech and JMU and better than George Mason.

And costs way more money than those schools![/quote]

Not when you look at what most people actually end up paying. Our kid chose W&M over a CTCL school and it will cost us about 10-15k/yr more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went to Reed. Intense and wonderful academics. Subsequent T14 law school was a breeze in comparison. Have nothing to compare it to, as I never went elsewhere, but definitely saw some kids from some very fancy undergrads who seemed like they were struggling to adjust to the intensity of law school.

People are a little weird, but that suited me fine.

I looked Reed up in the Fiske guide after seeing this thread. I was appalled by the low graduation rate!

80% ... it's the same as VA Tech and JMU and better than George Mason.

And costs way more money than those schools![/quote]

Not when you look at what most people actually end up paying. Our kid chose W&M over a CTCL school and it will cost us about 10-15k/yr more.

I can't believe that. Too many of us are donut hole families and don't qualify for financial aid. Reed is $80K a year. W&M is $34K. We received no offers of financial or merit aid.

[Anonymous]

over half of Reed students receive financial aid with the average aid package being $45K/year.

[Anonymous]

This has been a disappointing thread because of the one poster that frankly seems a little unhinged.

I have a DS at a CTCL school - Denison. Is it first tier - no - but then again my son didn’t have the stats and I didn’t have the money (to utilize ED) and he’s very happy - gets to go away to school - price is not much different than our state flagship and for where he is in his life a small LAC is perfect. The fact that Denison gave him some help to make it affordable is all the more reason to celebrate the model.

So if your child would do better at a LAC and your budget is for the State flagship then the CTCL schools are a great alternative. And if you are high stats then there is also merit to be had in the Top 30-50 LACs. Lafayette has a 24k/yr scholarship that helps and I know Oberlin as well as Kenyon will give you merit.

Don’t listen to the a$$hole in this thread. There are plenty of good schools out there and if the CTCL branding helps make folks aware of that fact well then I say well done.

And if you asked my DS he’d tell you he’s got a pretty sweet deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:over half of Reed students receive financial aid with the average aid package being $45K/year.

And there's the magic word "average". And it refers to only financial aid. HALF of the other students are paying $80K unless some merit was awarded. We didn't qualify for Financial aid and the merit money has dried up at all the Ivies and elites that DS was applying to. So no financial aid and no merit aid = donut hole family. It's still a lot cheap to go in-state and save the bucks for grad school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CTCL are second tier schools. No thanks.

Serious question: How many “first tier” schools are there? And according to whom?

And, who uses words like "Tier"? What an idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is my issue with the CTCL organization: Its board is made up of mostly of reps from the schools it promotes. Its income consists of membership (marketing) fees from the schools it promotes. As a non-profit organization, its “services” consist of paying one person to go around the country and promote these schools. There is nothing amazingly different about most of these schools from the hundreds of other schools out there. Some are quite good but many are struggling financially and there are many with horrible graduation rates. Schools should be considered on an individual basis, not because they are part of an irrelevant list.

+1. CTCL feeds into the insecurity of parents whose kids can't get into Tier 1.

DC was accepted by several "Tier 1" colleges but decided to attend Beloit, a CTCL school, instead. Just a much better fit overall, excellent merit aid, had a fabulous experience and now in grad school. DC's younger sibling has been attending a "Tier 1" for 2 years now and so far I'd say hands down Beloit is better academically. Better professors. Professors who actually know and care about the students in and outside of the classroom. And plenty of peers who were truly intellectually curious and ambitious without caring about status. Did Beloit change my DC's life? Who knows because DC probably would have been successful almost anywhere. But I do know that at Beloit DC found a subject s/he loves to study, found professors who were excited to share their love of that subject with DC, found professors who opened doors to amazing research opportunities off campus and who gave (and continue to give) 100% support when connecting DC to alums in the same field, applying to jobs and grad school. And none of that is a marketing gimmick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:over half of Reed students receive financial aid with the average aid package being $45K/year.

And there's the magic word "average". And it refers to only financial aid. HALF of the other students are paying $80K unless some merit was awarded. We didn't qualify for Financial aid and the merit money has dried up at all the Ivies and elites that DS was applying to. So no financial aid and no merit aid = donut hole family. It's still a lot cheap to go in-state and save the bucks for grad school

Not necessarily true. My 2 DSs applied to CTLC schools and in-state VA schools. Thanks to the merit aid they were awarded from some of the higher ranked CTLC schools, they cost less than William & Mary and about the same as UVA, where they were also accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Please stop. There are dozens of threads on this. The label is basically a well-thought-out marketing slogan for smaller schools.

People like the above poster should be ignored.

I believe Loren Pope's original idea was a noble one: put together a list of colleges that are under the radar but provide a good quality undergraduate education. I think for the most part his vision still holds.

People who claim it's just a marketing ploy are usually "USN&WR Top 20" or bust parents whao can't seem to grap the fact that you can get a quality education any other place.

And people who claim it’s not a marketing ploy are just trying to make themselves feel better when their kids have to go second tier.

Do you feel better saying such things? You really are an a-hole.

[Anonymous]

My junior has visited two CTCL schools which would be safeties— Wooster and St.Olaf, and loved them. Much more excited about them than higher ranked schools like Grinnell and Macalaster and Kenyon. I was impressed too. And St. Olaf is clocking in with an 88% 6 year grad rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is my issue with the CTCL organization: Its board is made up of mostly of reps from the schools it promotes. Its income consists of membership (marketing) fees from the schools it promotes. As a non-profit organization, its “services” consist of paying one person to go around the country and promote these schools. There is nothing amazingly different about most of these schools from the hundreds of other schools out there. Some are quite good but many are struggling financially and there are many with horrible graduation rates. Schools should be considered on an individual basis, not because they are part of an irrelevant list.

+1. CTCL feeds into the insecurity of parents whose kids can't get into Tier 1.

DC was accepted by several "Tier 1" colleges but decided to attend Beloit, a CTCL school, instead. Just a much better fit overall, excellent merit aid, had a fabulous experience and now in grad school. DC's younger sibling has been attending a "Tier 1" for 2 years now and so far I'd say hands down Beloit is better academically. Better professors. Professors who actually know and care about the students in and outside of the classroom. And plenty of peers who were truly intellectually curious and ambitious without caring about status. Did Beloit change my DC's life? Who knows because DC probably would have been successful almost anywhere. But I do know that at Beloit DC found a subject s/he loves to study, found professors who were excited to share their love of that subject with DC, found professors who opened doors to amazing research opportunities off campus and who gave (and continue to give) 100% support when connecting DC to alums in the same field, applying to jobs and grad school. And none of that is a marketing gimmick.

I always love statements like this. How would you know? Do you go to school with the kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is my issue with the CTCL organization: Its board is made up of mostly of reps from the schools it promotes. Its income consists of membership (marketing) fees from the schools it promotes. As a non-profit organization, its “services” consist of paying one person to go around the country and promote these schools. There is nothing amazingly different about most of these schools from the hundreds of other schools out there. Some are quite good but many are struggling financially and there are many with horrible graduation rates. Schools should be considered on an individual basis, not because they are part of an irrelevant list.

+1. CTCL feeds into the insecurity of parents whose kids can't get into Tier 1.

DC was accepted by several "Tier 1" colleges but decided to attend Beloit, a CTCL school, instead. Just a much better fit overall, excellent merit aid, had a fabulous experience and now in grad school. DC's younger sibling has been attending a "Tier 1" for 2 years now and so far I'd say hands down Beloit is better academically. Better professors. Professors who actually know and care about the students in and outside of the classroom. And plenty of peers who were truly intellectually curious and ambitious without caring about status. Did Beloit change my DC's life? Who knows because DC probably would have been successful almost anywhere. But I do know that at Beloit DC found a subject s/he loves to study, found professors who were excited to share their love of that subject with DC, found professors who opened doors to amazing research opportunities off campus and who gave (and continue to give) 100% support when connecting DC to alums in the same field, applying to jobs and grad school. And none of that is a marketing gimmick.

I always love statements like this. How would you know? Do you go to school with the kids?

NP but PP, do you get off at being an ahole? People are trying to offer their advice and experiences and I’m assuming you’re the one person belittling them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is my issue with the CTCL organization: Its board is made up of mostly of reps from the schools it promotes. Its income consists of membership (marketing) fees from the schools it promotes. As a non-profit organization, its “services” consist of paying one person to go around the country and promote these schools. There is nothing amazingly different about most of these schools from the hundreds of other schools out there. Some are quite good but many are struggling financially and there are many with horrible graduation rates. Schools should be considered on an individual basis, not because they are part of an irrelevant list.

+1. CTCL feeds into the insecurity of parents whose kids can't get into Tier 1.

DC was accepted by several "Tier 1" colleges but decided to attend Beloit, a CTCL school, instead. Just a much better fit overall, excellent merit aid, had a fabulous experience and now in grad school. DC's younger sibling has been attending a "Tier 1" for 2 years now and so far I'd say hands down Beloit is better academically. Better professors. Professors who actually know and care about the students in and outside of the classroom. And plenty of peers who were truly intellectually curious and ambitious without caring about status. Did Beloit change my DC's life? Who knows because DC probably would have been successful almost anywhere. But I do know that at Beloit DC found a subject s/he loves to study, found professors who were excited to share their love of that subject with DC, found professors who opened doors to amazing research opportunities off campus and who gave (and continue to give) 100% support when connecting DC to alums in the same field, applying to jobs and grad school. And none of that is a marketing gimmick.

I always love statements like this. How would you know? Do you go to school with the kids?

NP but PP, do you get off at being an ahole? People are trying to offer their advice and experiences and I’m assuming you’re the one person belittling them.

Thank you. I am the PP.

Do you think my kids don't talk??? To each other??? To their parents??? My kid at the "Tier 1" repeatedly says his adviser doesn't even know who he is and this kid is a very outgoing, talkative person. And actually, we have sat in on several classes at both of the colleges during parents' weekend over the years and met many of their classmates so when I hear my kids talk about their experiences I have a frame of reference.