A very good man

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/education/28face.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/education/28face.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I completely agree with his views on colleges. I have read most of his books and even found my dream school because of them. I wish more people would think this way.</p>

<p>I think it's strange to say a school is "inferior" because it is "too popular."</p>

<p>true...okay i see your point there. What I got from the article though was that a lot of small colleges are frequently underestimated.</p>

<p>Oh, some small colleges are underestimated. But not all.</p>

<p>The thing is, colleges that are really different in some way, really distinctive that is, are rare. Most LACs are like other LACs. Most large universities like other universities. Only a few have teaching methods or approaches, like requiring physical labor, for instance, that are distinctive.</p>

<p>Loren Pope is so awesome. He was the first guy with the balls to admit that there are numerous LACs that provide better educations than HYPS. At HYPS your professor will have won a nobel, but you'll never see his behind in class because he's on CNN, his TA Juan Pierre with the terrible accent will be leading the discussion.
...I expect to get some hatred for this one.</p>

<p>No hate here Ferris, because there's truth in what you say. The education at my alma mater, Columbia University, was superior in every way. However, One tenured professor I had was out of town occasionally and one week when he missed class I indeed saw him interviewed on a national news program. And yes, his office hours were minimal. LOL. But I admired him alot.</p>

<p>I'll have to read that later</p>

<p>Ferris:</p>

<p>I agree that Pope deserves a lot of credit, but he was not the first or even close to it. I've read a number of college guides over the years, and I'd say that most of them make the point, right up front, that small schools often offer a superior experience to large universities. One of Pope's books was very popular, and that's a good thing.</p>

<p>First of all tarhunt, Pope has been saying this for many many years, probably since before you've been reading college guidebooks. He published his book "The Right College" in 1970. Pope was the first to really popularize this stance, and he has certainly defined it for this generation.</p>

<p>There's definitely some truth to what you said, Ferris, but what about at a school like Swarthmore or Amherst, schools which Pope would see as "too selective." There are definitely plenty of colleges that are overlooked, and I agree with Pope's list completely, but to bash great schools just because they've gotten a little prestige puzzles me.</p>

<p>Missing the point, he's not bashing the prestige - the universities are just as great as the ones he lists. The thing is - many students who choose to go to such schools only go because of prestige/ranking, he's trying to say there is more to college, life, learning, and basically everything besides snobbery - than prestige.</p>

<p>Pope doesn't bash prestigious schools, he just thinks prstige is overrated. If you actually read his books he never bashes Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams, Haverford etc., it's just that his books are aimed primarily at the B and C students that can't get into those schools, which is why the book is called Colleges That Change Lives. Pope focuses on schools to help kids that haven't blossomed academically yet. It's worth noting that I'm going to a LAC next year that's got a top 10 US News ranking, an acceptance rate around 30%, and isn't one of the Colleges That Change Lives. I have nothing against prestige. I just believe that Pope is right, there are many colleges the average CCer hasn't heard of that provide an incredible education without being extremely selective.</p>

<p>Pope doesn't bash prestigious schools, he just thinks prstige is overrated. If you actually read his books he never bashes Swarthmore, Amherst, Williams, Haverford etc., it's just that his books are aimed primarily at the B and C students that can't get into those schools, which is why the book is called Colleges That Change Lives. Pope focuses on schools to help kids that haven't blossomed academically yet. It's worth noting that I'm going to a LAC next year that's got a top 10 US News ranking, an acceptance rate around 30%, and isn't one of the Colleges That Change Lives. I have nothing against prestige. I just believe that Pope is right, there are many colleges the average CCer hasn't heard of that provide an incredible education without being extremely selective.</p>