<p>anyones kids go to any of these schools? just curious what the experience was/is like- D is looking at one for next year- local in our city with a GREAT reputation.</p>
<p>DS#1 looked almost exclusively at these schools (or similar ones). Is now a very happy junior at one on the list. When I saw him over parents weekend, we had a semi-serious discussion about how things were going, if this was a good choice for him. “100%. I’ve learned SO much in every single class I’ve taken here.” I’m trying to gently persuade DS#2 to put some of them on his list, but he seems more interested in a larger environment. I must say, I’m really hooked on LACs.</p>
<p>I think you’ll find a lot of CTCL supporters on CC.</p>
<p>Great- that’s what i hear- my issue is that D’s boyfriend is there- she wants to go to small school- he just happens to go there-HAHA!! But she does have a good head on her shoulders and will do fine-I’ve told her over and over it’s best not to follow a boy but she will have to make that mistake I guess. she will have a wonderful education and knows if she doesn’t keep up grades-she will leave.</p>
<p>My son is applying to one of the schools on that list and there are other excellent schools on it. </p>
<p>About going where the boyfriend is - I would encourage her not to if she was my kid - good head or not.</p>
<p>I have heard mixed things, from excellent to very disappointing. Remember that the book is pretty old now and things change; for example, some of the schools described as great options for B students no longer accept them. It is a useful resource, but not a bible. Take a look, too, at the Colleges of Distinction website for other good small schools.</p>
<p>Why not just post about the particular school you have in mind?</p>
<p>The boyfriend issue is very tough–if they break up at a small school, she will still see him often.</p>
<p>Yabe, just curious. About what school have you heard disappointing comments?</p>
<p>I have always heard great things about many of them -this one included- it has alot of support from alumnae that live here in city and I happen to know alot of alum from this school. I pray that it will be the right decision and that she gets an excellent education.</p>
<p>It was a great starting point for us with my younger daughter as I had little knowledge of small liberal arts colleges. From my point of view though I had to research each one as there are a lot of religious based schools and many in the south, neither of which are good matches for my daughter.</p>
<p>Just a no one school is for everyone. No one group of schools is for everyone and I would not recommended that a kid who wanted the huge campus / big football schools look into smaller LAC’s.</p>
<p>For many students CTCL are wonderful choices. But they are by no means the only great choices in smaller LAC’s. So once you start to realize what you want from a LAC, branch out from there. You need not worry mentioning schools by name here on CC…</p>
<p>It is a good guide- albeit can make schools sound too good to be true IMO, ( and my oldest attended one, where she was so happy, she still lives in same general area).
I attended a CTCL tour & found the representatives to be very helpful and willing & able to take a lot more time chatting and answering questions, than at large college board sponsored events. ( Including Loren Pope, who died a couple years ago… at 98)</p>
<p>Many of the schools, I understand to be a good bit more competitive now, however, I feel that if you visit one & it really " clicks", and the student is able to illustrate that in essays etc., those will be taken into consideration just as much as GPA & test scores.</p>
<p>My daughter attends a CTCL. She’s doing ok there, but I hate everything about the place. But that’s just me. If you wanted to buy what they are selling, you might think it was dandy.</p>
<p>Look, there are about a bazillion moderately selective small colleges out there, and Loren Pope picked a handful that happened to appeal to her. She did pretty well with her book, and it remains great pr for the schools on the list. But the bottom line is, if (like most of the people on this board) you obsess about the concept of “fit” (which I think is nonsense in terms of making a decision about where to go, but that’s just me again) you’re just going to have to visit as many as you can that fit your criteria and check out the vibe. But I don’t think that Loren Pope has or had any special insight into what makes a good LAC.</p>
<p>EMM1-
“fit” may not be the be-all and end-all–I agree with you there, but it can sure beat a coin toss! (At least it did when our son was deciding among his acceptances.)</p>
<p>Disclosure: son did not attend a CTCL school. Just commenting on “fit.”</p>
<p>Like I said–just me. I do believe in Non-fit (Mormon Republicans at Reed, Out GLBT people at Brigham Young).</p>
<p>* do believe in Non-fit (Mormon Republicans at Reed, Out GLBT people at Brigham Young).*</p>
<p>Personally, IMO, life is too short to try and force yourself to spend all your energy swimming against the tide.</p>
<p>I would agree that I wouldn’t necessarily automatically dismiss those choices for consideration under those circumstances, when there are so many other choices that can support a balanced undergraduate education, why choose something for reasons that seem combative?</p>
<p>( BTW Loren Pope was male- he looked a lot like Orville Redenbacher, in his later years, could have just been the bow tie 
He also was a long time education editor for the NYT and college advisor)
[A</a> Eulogy for Loren Pope and his House](<a href=“http://historicsites.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2008/09/29/loren-pope-house-preservation/]A”>http://historicsites.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2008/09/29/loren-pope-house-preservation/)</p>
<p>EMM1 it would be my assumption that the choices in your post #13 would be because of something else: academics, a sport, FA, whatever. And I’d be with you. Maybe the choice would be specifically because the environment was so different and that was a desirable experience.</p>
<p>In our son’s case, fit was the tie breaker (though the atmosphere was very far from the home town), and that’s just us!</p>
<p>EMM1, I wanted to point out that Loren Pope is male.</p>
<p>My d attended a CTCL school and loved it. The description was pretty close to the reality. We probably wouldn’t have looked at the school it it wasn’t for the book. We looked at 2 others mentioned in the book and while they were good schools they weren’t the right fit. And I do think fit is important. This d fit well into a small liberal school, her sister fit better in a jumbo state school. There is something for everyone.</p>
<p>S1: Sports plus prestige (a valuable asset; ask me next year at this time whether it was valuable enough).</p>
<p>S2: The best student of the bunch. Shot very high and was bitterly disappointed in the outcome–full tuition scholarship at flagship state U. Loves it, doing great, and now tells everybody if you can’t go to Harvard, go the the cheapest place.</p>
<p>D (twin sister of S2): The one at the CTCL. Let’s just say family dynamics and leave it at that.</p>
<p>You don’t have to agree with Loren Pope’s choices, but his books ask all the right questions, especially his earlier book “Looking Beyond the Ivy League”. </p>
<p>We came up with our own list of schools, which we thought might have made Pope’s list if he had continued to tour and assess colleges, but he stopped touring when he got into his 90’s.</p>
<p>I agree with 2bizee that what is important to take from Pope’s book isn’t necessarily the specific schools he discusses, but the concept of what a small LAC has to offer and that “name recognition” is not a measure of the quality of education a student will receive. We toured quite a few of the schools in the MW and NE part of the country that he discusses. D has applied to 3 schools he recommended and to 2 other small schools he didn’t mention, but that are similar except that one is a Masters University and one a Baccaleurate College. (and also applied to 3 SUNY colleges)</p>