@Hapworth My parents met at Knox College way before CTCL was a thing. They both ended up getting PhDs and becoming college professors. Both were the type of students who could benefit from attending a LAC, but for different reasons. My mom needed a scholarship, was a stellar high school student, and grew up near Knox. My dad had a patchy academic record with evidence that he could excel under the right circumstances.
In any case, I think Pope’s legacy was teasing out what factors allow the CTCL schools to take students without perfect grades and scores and allow them to become very successful college graduates. He zeroed in on individual relationships with professors and opportunities to participate in research projects/internships.