<p>I think there was a thead that discussed these schools in the past 6 months or so, I just can't remember. </p>
<p>DD2014 is putting together a list of schools and we now realize the importance of casting a wide net(thank God for CC)... so what are your thoughts about the schools on CTCL(.)org? How does one know if the lesser known schools are going to provide a quality education? I tried to find Guilford College on the "college list" here on CC but its not there... any reason why? I would love your thoughts/opinions.. the good, the bad and the ugly. </p>
<p>You might want to start with this thread: Did One of the COLLEGES THAT CHANGE LIVES Change YOUR Life (or Your Child’s)</p>
<p>I’m sorry – I should know how to link to it, but I don’t. It shouldn’t be hard to search for. You could also do a search for CTCL, and you should come up with not only that thread but a couple of threads about colleges for B students, which will talk about the CTCLs and similar schools. Have fun.</p>
<p>Most of those colleges do have forums out here, and you can glean something by reading all the backposts in those forums. I would also recommend getting a copy of the “Fiske Guide to Colleges” and reviewing that for each school. If you want to dig deeper, the Common Data Set is available on the website for each school (almost all, occasionally a college doesn’t post it, but it is there for most of them). Just search “Common Data Set <college name=”">". That is a treasure trove of info on the applicant pool and the school itself. The numbers don’t usually lie…</college></p>
<p>There is, of course, no substitute for actually visiting the school to get a true flavor. And I would definitely have my kid sit in on a class.</p>
<p>Some of these schools I would send my kid to, and some I would not. Some of it is fit, some of it is size or location, some is that I think my kids have stats that are quite high for the applicant pool of that particular college and would not be happy (I know a kid at one CTCL school as a freshman this year that is transferring because the classes are too easy, in her opinion). I don’t really want to list our preferences, because for your kid it might be a totally different story. And some kids have had good experiences at the schools that wouldn’t be a fit for us. Your milage may vary really applies here.</p>
<p>DS is at a CTCL, and is thriving. We have friends at several of them as well. They tend to have strong teacher interaction, and are small-DS school is less than 900 people. Based on comparing classes with friends at our local flagships, his classes are much more rigorous and writing-intensive. As for quality, the alumni at his school have had a lot of success. </p>
<p>There are plenty of schools not listed among CTCL that are also wonderful. I say cast a wide net and visit a few places.</p>
<p>The book about those colleges was one of the first ones I read when DD was starting the search. It gave me lots of ideas about what should/could be considered when looking at colleges.</p>
<p>Guilford College had a high number of students who did not graduate - at least when we looked in 2009 ish. I’m not sure if it’s a reporting snafu, or if there is an explanation. Do they transfer? Looked like not too hard to get in, but hard to get out.</p>
<p>As I have posted many, many times - please be aware that CTCL.org is a college admissions advocacy group made up of college counselors. It is not an accreditation organization nor does it evaluate the merit or abilities of the CTCL member schools. The quality of the schools varies greatly, including at least one college that barely still exists. </p>
<p>“CTCL is dedicated to the advancement and support of a student-centered college search process.
CTCL works to dispel publicly held myths about college choice – by hosting information sessions nationwide and coordinating outreach efforts with high school counselors."</p>
<p>As I said in another thread, it seems to me that CTCL is an attempt for the member schools (mostly good-to-excellent LAC’s) to affiliate in such a way to collectively raise their profile…although, at the end of the day, the best way to raise your profile is to have the endowment/scholarship money to attract a better pool of applicants over time. For example, the University of Richmond (where my son was deferred ED) has been rocketing up the rankings…their applicant pool has never been stronger, they had a miniscule 31% admit rate last year, and you can bet that their $1.9 BILLION endowment fund (which is larger than many state universities and allows them to be fully need-blind in admissions) has a lot to do with that. </p>
<p>Several of the schools on the CTCL list have very strong applicant pool profiles…although it is interesting that many of them are also admitting 60 to 70% of their applicants (if not more). For now, these schools are still able to keep their applicant profiles strong…but as the price of college continues to rise, it will be increasingly important for these schools to attract quality candidates - especially if they are not higher-profile household names.</p>
<p>My sense is that there are some CTCL schools that are quite solid (like a Denison, Rhodes or Reed, for example), and others that - at least based on objective criteria like class profiles, acceptance rates or size of endowment fund - are not in the same class. In another thread, a poster’s daughter was trying to compare getting into a higher-profile LAC without aid (Dickinson) versus getting $20K/year from a CTCL school (Allegheny). While Dickinson is a more widely-recognized name (and a school that - based on objective stats - has a stronger academic profile), getting $80K from Allegheny makes it a much tougher call. At the end of the day, the tradeoff is getting a solid education at a lower cost, but will Allegheny provide the student the graduate profile, alumni network, graduate school cred or field of study marketability that a Dickinson would provide?</p>
<p>Tough call.</p>
<p>If there is one thing that I have learned in going through this process with my son, it is that there are a LOT of good schools out there…but there are tradeoffs. If you like the LAC model, there are many good schools that are affiliated with CTCL, but - to be fair - we are not talking about the Ivies or the Claremont Colleges here…I think that it is reasonable to expect someone to make a distinction between a Denison graduate and a Juniata graduate. However, if the school fit is good, and (importantly) the finances make sense, a CTCL school can be a really good value. However, I would not go into the process assuming that being affiliated with CTCL will mean much of anything as it relates to grad school acceptance or employment status/desirability…at least IMO.</p>
<p>When my daughter was a freshman, I went to a presentation/college fair by Colleges that Change Lives. I thought there was a lot of very good advice, but my daughter, who goes to a test-in public high school in NYC with 5500 students, wants a larger school, and she’s the student.</p>
<p>I agree, the CTCL is primarily a marketing tool for the schools (and a great one at that). There are some fine schools in the CTCL group, but it is critical to look at each school individually. The CTCL schools are small LACs so that environment is not right for everyone. In the end your child’s life will be changed by finding a school that is the right fit both academically and socially regardless of if it is on the CTCL list or not.</p>
<p>I did a search of Guilford College and you are right, the graduation rate is very low. If memory serves me, its 47.4%/4 year rate. The 5 year rate is 55.6%.</p>
<p>I wonder what the issues are that contribute to such low graduation rates? Not that this will be a school that will be on the top of dd’s list, just curious.</p>
<p>Not being able to maintain the required GPA to keep a merit award of $20k, $15k, etc could contribute to a low 4 year graduation rate, depression and other mental health issues, student flunks out, parent loses job, or maybe student decides to transfer. I had read in USNWR rankings one year that about 30% transfer after their freshman year, whether or not that is still a valid percentage, I do not know. “Freshmen Retention” percentage can also be something to look at.</p>
<p>Look for a freshmen retention rate of 80% and higher I would say. And unfortunately the freshmen retention rate/grad rates go down predictably as selectivity and cost decline. Guess that’s obvious. I was always searching for the exception. One thing to watch re: merit aid tied to maintaining a certain GPA. The college knows their own grade distribution, in different majors, in required classes. They have that information, we do not. I think too often a student disappoints the parents by not maintaining a certain GPA and a scholarship is lost. The parents then insist the student transfer to a less expensive school - sad. Sounds like you are looking for small LAC’s. Earlham in Indiana?
Small, Quaker. I could advise better on publics -in most states- and some publics are small.</p>
<p>Are you in Ct? And if so, what is she looking for that is not in your area? -to give some guidance. So many small schools in New England- most , I know I wouldn’t be familiar with. My D is OOS at UConn</p>