Thank you, @LKnomad, I actually inquired about this on another thread and was not given this fuller information. Hence the unequivocal nature of my prior post. My only concern regarding Loren Pope’s work in general, some of which I’ve read, is that colleges that are extremely selective are dismissed almost out-of-hand. Some of these colleges may change lives too.
@merc81 this should give you more info.
http://www.ctcl.org/about/ctcl
@merc81 one more in response to your comment. This is also from the website…
"The member colleges and universities—from 24 states and with enrollments ranging from 350 to 4,000—have been recognized in various editions of the book Colleges That Change Lives. That said, this is not meant to be an “all inclusive list” of liberal arts colleges but rather an example of colleges with characteristics and outcomes that lead to life-changing possibilities for their students.
To find a college that changes lives, look for these distinguishing attributes:
Low student-to-faculty ratios that foster collaboration, engaged learning, and personal attention. Classes are taught by professors, not TAs.
Faculty are dedicated and passionate about teaching, advising, and mentoring undergraduate students.
A commitment to undergraduate education that focuses on the liberal arts and sciences. Opportunities for undergraduate research are prevalent.
A living and learning environment that is primarily residential and emphasizes the benefits of community, personal growth, participation, and involvement.
Smaller student enrollments that allow students to be known and recognized as individuals.
Out-of-classroom learning opportunities that provide students with an added perspective about themselves, their interests, and the global community. Participation in internships, study abroad, service to others, and special interest activities is common and expected.
Holistic admission policies including “test-optional” applications for admission. These schools take into consideration everything about an applicant—not just their numbers on an application.
Alumni networks that help graduates with professional and career development opportunities as well as foster lifelong friendships based on an involved and engaged undergraduate student experience.
An ideal living and learning environment where students can meet and exceed their own expectations for personal intellectual growth."
There are a lot of colleges that fit this bill.
I ordered the book and received it today. I have only flipped through, but so far it doesn’t seem to contain much more information than the website does. I was hoping for a little more. Do you think the better-known, more selective LACs would fit the description? I’m talking more about the student climate, the diversity - not just racial and ethnic but also “type,” you know, jocks and nerds and hipsters and artists all living together and singing Kumbaya in harmony 
- that sort of thing?
I like the idea behind the book, and we’ve liked a number of the member colleges we’ve visited, but I didn’t love the book itself – I found it too didactic. But yes, lots of the more selective LACs offer the same sort of thing. The point, I think, was that you can look beyond the obvious choices – the “top” schools – and find those experience elsewhere as well. Not everywhere, of course, but there are lots of options.
That’s the thing for me, @IBviolamom. I think the colleges within CTCL are a somewhat arbitrary group. Denison (CTCL), as an example, seems similar in significant ways to a NESCAC such as Colby (not CTCL). The only consistent pattern seems to be that CTCL colleges are almost always less selective than their non-CTCL counterparts. I’m certainly not judging colleges by their selectivity – that hasn’t been my point – but some of the inclusion criteria for CTRL does seem buried in the fine print. Beyond that, the de facto exclusion of “most selective” colleges adds to the confusion.
I think that one of the reasons there are fewer selective colleges is in one of the criteria I listed above
“Holistic admission policies including “test-optional” applications for admission. These schools take into consideration everything about an applicant—not just their numbers on an application.”
I am remembering my tour of Pomona College which fits all other aspects of the criteria but the person doing the info session made a very strong point, that statistics come first - specifically GPA, rigor, and SAT/ACT. They still look holistically but not as holistically as most of the list. This may be why some of the more selective colleges are not listed.
In theory, @LKnomad, that type of holistic approach could actually make a “more selective” college more difficult for certain students to get into than a “most selective” school. I’m just not certain that the art of admissions is sufficiently advanced for this to be a real factor, particularly since many most selective colleges describe their own processes as being holistic, and are test optional or test flexible as well.
The CTCL book filled an important niche when it came out in 1996 in that it offered great choices for kids who were looking for a school with the features of the top LACs but who didn’t have the grades or scores for those schools or who needed the kind of merit aid not offered by the Ivies or NESCACs. The old Fiske or Peterson’s guides weren’t all that helpful in that regard. Since 1996, however, the same information has become easily researchable on the internet. These days it’s possible to do a search for something like “colleges like Middlebury with a higher acceptance rate” or “great schools with merit aid” and come up with a half dozen sites with solid information including, notably, CC, which didn’t come on line until 5 years after CTCL was published.
A few that should be on the CTCL list: Sewanee, Westminster in UT, U of Redlands, Trinity U in TX,
Speaking from experience, all of the CTCL schools, with the exception of Reed, award excellent merit aid. And while they may not be as selective as the top 20-40, many do have high entering test scores/GPAs because students applying there are self-selecting (for example, Centre, Hendrix, Rhodes).
I don’t think these are exclusively “B student” schools. Plenty of A students (and their parents) are figuring out that a LAC ranked 50-80 provides an equally excellent education as top 40 LACs, at one-third of the cost.
With merit, you will pay in the $20-25k COA range at many CTCL schools vs $60k plus for most top 40 (not talking about need-based aid). That is a huge difference.
IMO the CTCL road show does a better job than the book of conveying the group’s philosophy about looking for a school that’s a good fit for you, don’t get fixated on name brands, you have a lot to offer a school, don’t expect that you’ll know now what you’ll want to do in a few years, etc etc. It’s this message, rather than the specific list of schools, that was really valuable to my D’s in their search.
@merc81 what do you mean by make it more difficult?
@SlitheyTove that is good to hear. We are going to the road show when they hit our area this summer.
@LKnomad, I agree, the road show is well worth attending. My D was sold on CTCL (and similar) LACs after attending the road show - because of what she heard and learned at the road show, she applied to many schools she probably would not otherwise have considered. We really liked many of these schools, wonderful, nurturing, academically strong. And generous!
“what do you mean by make it more difficult?”
Using your example of Pomona, a particular high-stat student who might be accepted there could, in theory, be denied at a CTRL because he would not get awarded as many “points” for his stats, and might not, on the other hand, meet the requirements of a more extensive holistic review. Tying this in to my prior post, I’m not sure the art of admissions has advanced to this point.
You might also consider some test optional colleges.
http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional
@merc81 actually this is a concern of ours. My son is one of the high stats kids and I am torn between worry that he won’t be considered at a lower stat school vs feeling good that he might quality for merit aid at a lower stat school. At what point is a safety no longer a safety because stats are too high?
I totally disagree, CTCL schools are absolutely interested in high stats kids! Has anyone followed the story of curmudgeon’s kid, who was accepted to Yale, I think it was, and offered a full ride at Rhodes? She went to Rhodes. Perfect example. The CTCL schools care just as much about stats – they want to be higher in the USNWR rankings just like everyone else. Centre is just barely in the top 50 of LACs, for example, primarily because of the stats of its students. Its not selectivity - they admit something like 60% of applicants. But their ACTs are something like 28-31, not bad. Same for Denison, I believe. If anything a high stats kid has an excellent shot at a full ride (or close) at pretty much every one of those CTCL schools.
@4kids4colleges That is good to hear. Now if I can just get my kid to consider colleges on the other side of the country! We are on the West Coast. Not too many here.
@LKnomad, I hear you, we are in Colorado. We visited all the PNW CTCL schools, plus many in the South. We eliminated schools in the NE. D applied to many. In the end, she was choosing between Centre (KY), Denison (OH), and Southwestern U (TX, near Austin). She loved them all. Centre and Denison flew her out to visit, all expenses paid. Keep that in mind - you will probably get offers like that. I know Centre and Rhodes have several full ride scholarships available.
D ended up choosing Southwestern. There seem to be quite a few kids there from CA, though it is heavily Texan. I was very impressed with the school. The new President is from Williams College, really seems great. He called my D on Christmas Eve to congratulate her on her acceptance. We ended up with $102k in merit there over 4 years. D’s stats = 3.7 UW and 30 ACT.
Let me know if you have questions about any specific CTCL schools! Good luck!