article in NY Times about Loren Pope

Parents Forum
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<p>Well since my name was brought up- and since there has been talk about the CTCL schools and lack of diversity- I'll admit that is what put me off about the CTCL schools too. For my 2 Brooklyn born/urban/Jewish kids- I didn't think my kids would feel comfortable in many of these small-rural settings either. </p>

<p>At least colleges of distinction (isn't almost every letter we get from colleges, a marketing ploy??) had schools that seemed a bit larger, (urban and rural environments) with more diversity. Coincidentally my alma mater SUNY Oswego and my d's current school SUNY Cortland are both colleges of distinction.<br>
I appreciate having a well crafted listing of schools from any source (paid or unpaid). There are way too many college guides geared to the SAME type of student and list the SAME schools. Any guide that lists the lesser known schools is ok by me!! It's up to the "consumer" to decide whether the offering is worthwhile.</p>

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<p>* my 2 Brooklyn born/urban/Jewish kids- I didn't think my kids would feel comfortable in many of these small-rural settings either. *</p>

<p>Im sure you have seen on CC kids from west coast/suburban/rural areas encouraged to go east to college whether that be rural or urban for the "new experience".
While I do know a few Jewish kids who chose schools with a population that attracted those that they knew they would have at least their religion in common ( WUSTL and Brandeis), you don't have to have obvious commonalities to feel that youve made a connection.
At the schools that have distinct personalities ( for lack of one I am more familiar with- Reed) for example, students who are drawn to the "quirkiness" the intensity and the rumours of bug eating contests, will find that they have a lot in common with their peers, no matter what part of the country they come from.
;)</p>

<p>I agree that there are many offerings to help those who are the size that the "designer/status/wellknown" colleges will attract, those students who are NMS, and win the Westinghouse award.
Their parents may even feel as some of Ds peers did, that it was worth paying a counselor to help with the process.</p>

<p>In our area- for a long time- we thought it would be great if D went to the state flagship, which just happened to be in our city ;)
(with about 4,500 freshmen every year)
Then we thought that the public lib arts college about 150 miles away would be the thing-
( about 4,500 in the whole school)</p>

<p>But it wasn't until I read Popes book ( as there are not alot of books that enlighten students and parents of the wider choices in college) that I started really trying to think about what sort of things we could be looking at, rather than majors offered and tuition cost.</p>

<p>I also have found other sources, which I find to be interesting and accurate enough for my purposes- like student review and Petersons-and</a> this was always one of my favorites because it made some sense to me.</p>

<p>As a family that didn't have any experience with colleges,( except for visiting our daughter in the hospital at the UW for her first 8 weeks of life),
guides that help families to develop their own criteria, are invaluable IMO.
Even if you still end up with a list that sounds like it will be made up of students who play lacrosse and sail, your own criteria can help find schools that have similar features, that can be less competitive and more affordable.</p>

<p>Rather than a school thats "like Brown". whatever that means.</p>