Wooster, Kalamazoo, and Lawrence are the ones that have impressed my DC who has interests in both arts and sciences. Wooster is a bit remote though and Kalamazoo was esp. attractive because it was in a small city and near a large university (Western Michigan University) so felt more lively while still having a very traditional liberal arts campus. DC especially looked at PhD rates for areas of interest as that's the track she wants (and also looked at med school admits because she may be interested in that path too). Denison and Juniata were on the list too but didn't appeal as much. Denison felt too "new" and Juniata too remote (DC's opinions not mine).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CTCL schools aren't worth anything close to sticker price. But if you're good enough to get a lot of merit aid from them, you can get into a much better college that actually has a name. Therein lies the rub.

Lots of people (myself included) experience no “rub.” I got tons of merit aid AND it was my first choice. Strange how you can’t fathom this scenario.

Agreed with NP. My DC might be able to get in to a 'name' school, but we can't afford it without merit aid. DC can get a small liberal arts college experience at a CTCL school. While I do appreciate that the 'name' schools do have a prestige value above non-elite schools, I do think that value is way overstated -- many on this board are caught up with elitism and exclusivity. The rest of us are seeking a school that will be a good fit for their child and that they can afford.

Sometimes I think I'd like to see a college discussion board for the 1%, and then another board for the rest of us.

That said, some CTCL or CTCL-like schools that impressed me are: St. Mary's College of Maryland, Goucher College, Elizabethtown College, Juniata College.

I'm copying my post from another thread, and adding to it.

There's a CTCL in the upper Midwest to suit every inclination. Conservative? Progressive? Artsy? Preppy? Musical? Science focused? Humanities focused? International focused? If you read the descriptions of the CTCLs in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota, you'll probably be very reassured.

Beloit, Lawrence, Kalamazoo and Wooster were among the ones that impressed us most.

By the way, Beloit is in Wisconsin on the Illinois border and is very easy to get to from O'Hare airport. It's also one of the friendliest colleges I've ever seen. Lawrence is near the Green Bay and Appleton airports. You can change planes at O'Hare easily.

I think Beloit should be way more popular than it is. In addition to being very friendly, the students seemed very serious about their work and raved about the faculty interactions. It's also very pretty. The city of Beloit was very small but my whole family liked it.

Lawrence seemed amazing in a different way. While Beloit was artsy, Lawrence was almost off the charts. The music and theater stuff was incredible. It seemed a little more intense academically that Beloit but not too intense. Appleton is a much larger city with much more to do than we expected.

Anonymous wrote:What is CTCL?

https://ctcl.org/about/

What is CTCL?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We never did get to visit Rhodes. One of my son's friends has it at the top of his list and just recently visited. I can't wait to hear what his thoughts are, and I'm happy to share here when I do. The boy's twin brother has committed to Eckerd. (I'm also very excited to hear about his experience next year.) I have a younger son who will probably be interested in these schools.

I know someone with a child who attends Rhodes. They don’t exactly rave about it, and apparently the food is beyond horrible to where it is a pretty big issue for students.

Beyond the food, what does the student dislike about the school? Are they transferring?

My junior might end up at a CTCL so he can play his D3 sport, he’s talking to some coaches now

Anonymous wrote:My kid (at a CTCL) was just notified that she will win an award at this year's convocation (she is not a senior).

I am convinced she keeps benefitting from the small pond phenomenom. Don't discount how powerfully it can propel your kid to success.

This was helpful to our kid too.

To the snarky poster who equates this with making a junior varsity team, you're missing something important. Some things in life aren't competitions, and finding a supportive environment can help some students stay on track.

Maybe this analogy will be helpful. Imagine a high school that offers a very strong math curriculum and very strong basketball coaching. But students only take math if they're on track to take two full years of calculus before they graduate, and students only play basketball if they're on track to get Division I scholarship offers. Even if your kid is good at both math and basketball, you might prefer a different high school. Your kid still might thrive as a math student or basketball player.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The responses with names of schools are more helpful.

School was named earlier in this thread.

Some discretion must be observed, out of respect for our kid's anonymity.

The point of the thread is to review specific schools

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid (at a CTCL) was just notified that she will win an award at this year's convocation (she is not a senior).

I am convinced she keeps benefitting from the small pond phenomenom. Don't discount how powerfully it can propel your kid to success.

What school?

Congratulations for having a kid on the junior varsity team.

There is absolutely no way a secure person would post something like this.

So clearly, you have issues that no USNWR ranking can fix.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid (at a CTCL) was just notified that she will win an award at this year's convocation (she is not a senior).

I am convinced she keeps benefitting from the small pond phenomenom. Don't discount how powerfully it can propel your kid to success.

What school?

Congratulations for having a kid on the junior varsity team.

Why be a jerk? Her student is doing well. How could that be a bad thing? Why is that a threat to you?

Well, I would rather apply to grad school WITH a faculty-nominated award than without one.

So, you can be as snotty as you like. (Though you might want to consider why you chose to denigrate other family's good news.)

Anonymous wrote:The responses with names of schools are more helpful.

School was named earlier in this thread.

Some discretion must be observed, out of respect for our kid's anonymity.

The responses with names of schools are more helpful.

My kid (at a CTCL) was just notified that she will win an award at this year's convocation (she is not a senior).

I am convinced she keeps benefitting from the small pond phenomenom. Don't discount how powerfully it can propel your kid to success.