Did One of the COLLEGES THAT CHANGE LIVES Change YOUR Life (or Your Child's)?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Two things:</p>

<h1>1. I loved this letter from a parent whose senior just finished the college selection process. It was posted on the NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) forum this morning by Marty O'Connell, the Executive Director of Colleges</a> That Change Lives and proves that choosing and applying to college can actually be fun for some folks. ;)</h1>

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<p>Friends on both sides of the desk, Very often I hear from colleagues who don't understand that CTCL is a non-profit organization dedicated to a student-centered search process and trying to help lower the stress associated with it. When this email arrived from a dad, I thought it would be great to share it, in the face of the angst and/or joy of May 1 : "Hello Marty, First of all, my daughter just decided to attend a college that was not in the CTCL group. However, four of the schools she was seriously considering were part of the group and the entire philosophy of the CTCL mission guided our search from the beginning. As you said at the event in Los Angeles last summer she found her own “College that changes lives”. And I will say that after our visits, we loved every CTCL school we saw. So just wanted to say thank you for the help and support your organization provided throughout my daughter’s college selection process. While many of her friends were stressed and ended up depressed because they didn’t get into their “so called” top choices, my daughter thought the entire process was fun, never felt stressed, and at the end had 5 great schools where she was admitted to choose from. Again, even though she ended up at a school not part of your group, the entire philosophy of finding a good “fit”, no matter how it is supposedly ranked or how it is “perceived” by the mainstream population, etc. was our guiding principle and she walked away from the process not only having selected a school where she is incredibly excited to attend but feeling really good about herself and the entire process. What a difference from many of her classmates. I just made a donation on the website as a token of my appreciation and as one small step to help further the goals of CTCL.Keep up the good work! I share your website with every parent I speak to about the college selection process."

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<h1>2. For those who are already attending one of the Colleges That Change Lives schools (or who did ... or whose child did), do you think that the CTCL label is well deserved? I can think of several CTCL alums in my own orbit whose lives were indeed altered (in a good way) by their college experience. Of course, we will never know if this would have been true at ANY school. Even so, I welcome anecdotes of CTCL schools earning their moniker.</h1>

2

<p>I went to Rhodes (c/o 2000), and it was life changing. Socially, it was a place where I came out of my shell. My closest friends in life are from Rhodes. It was the first time I was forced to encounter people substantially different from myself. Academicaly, it was a place where I found my career path. It was a place where I learned to look a problems from multiple disciplinary lenses. It was a place where I learned to write. It was the first time that I loved school.</p>

3

<p>Thanks, lynxinsider. What a great report on Rhodes! </p>

<p>I’m sure that students and–especially–parents on the CC form would love to hear more about the “career path” you found. (Often I see skepticism that liberal arts colleges lead to the job market Yet other CTCL alums I know have also found career success, some after going on to grad school and some straight from the bachelor’s degree.)</p>

4

<p>Since by its very nature going to college is usually a life-changing experience, I’d be kinda surprised to find any reports of colleges that didn’t change lives, no matter whether they are featured in the book or not.</p>

5

<p>College is usually a life-changing experiences since you’re leaving home and have to manage new situations, etc. However, I think what CTCL is more about changes in terms of academics and/or approaches to life that don’t necessarily happen. </p>

<p>I remember sitting in classes with students who were really only checking off another series of boxes, not much differently than they had in high school. In one class, we had an economics professor from Sweden and I could hear the students behind me snickering about why would anyone care how it was done outside the US. And sitting in an upper-division class of 60 students made it easy for them do. I’m sure they graduated with decent grades and got good jobs and their perspective of the world was pretty much what it was when they entered. </p>

<p>It goes back to being able to get a great education at any school you attend if you work at it. It’s the same for having life changing experiences. Some colleges make sure it happens, others just offer the opportunities.</p>

6

<p>In high school I thought I wanted to build bridges, but the school was more important than the major, so I ended up at Rhodes. Thought I’d do the 3/2 with WUSTL in civil engineering. I took a computer science course my first semester because that sounded like fun, and it was. It wasn’t easy, but it was fun. For my distribution requirements I took Econ 101. It wasn’t fun, but I was really good at it. Luckily I didn’t have to choose between what I liked or what I was good at - I ended up majoring in computer science and business. </p>

<p>While in school I had two internships at FedEx in IT and ran a web development business for fun money. Right out of school I got a programming job at a large mutual fund company due to my business/CS mix and an alumni connection. That company paid for my master’s at Penn State, which ended up being ridiculously easy after having been at Rhodes. I’ve straddled the business and technical realms my whole career, and it’s worked out well for me.</p>

7

<p>Thanks again, lynxinsider. I think it’s really helpful for parents and students to see how a liberal arts degree can lead to not only new interests and career paths but also actual employment. </p>

<p>Obviously, the CTCL institutions don’t have a corner on the life-changing market, but these smaller schools do seem to encourage exploration.</p>

8

<p>Gosh. Somebody already mentioned Rhodes…(sound of some old guy shuffling off in his bedroom slippers…). </p>

<p>WTH. I’ll answer anyway. :wink:
Rhodes changed my kid’s life. No doubt. The distribution requirements. The Search sequence. The campus religion of volunteerism. The Honor Code. The outstanding Professors. The outstanding mentors. Her classmates from all over the country. And yeah. The tough grading. The writing requirements and expectations, even for a science geek. </p>

<p>It blew a little ranch-raised girl’s mind wide open. She ended up with a Religious Studies Minor out of nowhere. Took what appeared to me to be random courses in Peruvian Women’s Literature, Chinese Literature, Mohammed, American History with a race relations slant,…</p>

<p>Her high school calc teacher and mentor counseled her against going to a tech-y school. He told her “to go college and throw things against the wall and see what sticks”. And that is what she did. Rhodes demanded, encouraged, and allowed that. </p>

<p>It was hard for her. Her natural gifts are in the sciences and in math. But it was wonderful for her growth as a fully-informed human being. </p>

<p>She felt she could go anywhere from there…and do anything. So far, she’s been right. We’ll see how the rest plays out. ;)</p>

9

<p>I went to Knox before there was CTCL, and yes it did change my life. The common claim that “liberal arts colleges teach you to think” was definitely true for me. The freshman signature course was like critical thinking boot camp, which led to three additional trimesters in philosophy even though I was a chem major. I earned English grammar at Knox by taking Russian (five terms). After graduating I went to graduate school in chemistry where I took classes in philosophy, Russian, computer science, civil engineering, microbiology, and geology. None of these were required for the PhD, but after Knox I found it hard to get comfortable staying in one department. Since getting the PhD I’ve worked in hazardous waste, been a stay-home dad, taught at a major state university, and had three children’s books published by Simon & Schuster. And I’m happy to say my daughter is a freshman at Austin College, another CTCL school, planning to double major in theater and physics.</p>

10

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<p>I think you’ve put your finger on it, Sally. My D is a junior at a CTCL, one which explicitly and intentionally encourages students to develop personally as well as academically.</p>

<p>The venue in which I’ve seen her blossom is an extra-curricular. She’s been participating in and learning the activity since she was 3. At college, she’s now even more involved in the college version. She still participates some, but mostly she recruits, teaches, promotes, fundraises, organizes, presents, and manages, and she’s been elected as the leader for next year. This isn’t something that she’ll make a career of, but the working-with-people skills she’s learning will translate to any workplace. I don’t know that this kind of experience would have been quite so available to her at a larger school. It’s been exciting to watch her grow her confidence and become a true student leader.</p>

<p>lynxinsider, I’ve found it striking how D’s LAC has sharpened her writing skills too. She always had a talent for it, but each year of college, her writing has become more precise, more rhythmic, more evocative, more subtle.</p>

11

<p>I was thrilled to see this thread. Having recently finished the college search with my oldest son, I am excited to report that he will attend one of the CTCL schools this fall: Hiram College.</p>

<p>My son was not the most high-achieving student in high school, but over the last year and a half has become more studious. I relate this change to several excellent teachers who saw in him a very bright but uninspired young man. </p>

<p>Our college search required that we find a school that would continue to provide inspirational teacher/student relationships and accept a student with less than stellar stats.</p>

<p>We found the CTCL book, selected several of those schools, and visited them. Surpisingly, my son was accepted to nearly every school to which he applied. He’s very excited to spend the next 4 years at a school that is invested in helping him explore his options and reach his full potential.</p>

12

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<p>I know another young man who sounds similar. He went to Guilford College and blossomed. In fact, he became their poster boy (literally … he was featured in some of their propaganda). He played a varsity sport and became friendly with the college president who actually wrote one of his graduate school recommendations. He landed his top-choice job after the one-year grad program. </p>

<p>Of course, we have no control group. Perhaps this guy would have thrived at his huge public flagship university, too, or at one of the smaller state colleges, or at any other type of school. </p>

<p>But I’m sure he would give credit to Guilford, specifically, for helping to change his life.</p>

13

<p>I attended Wheaton College, A small Christian LAC in the Chicago suburbs. It’s a place where my faith was challenged intellectually and I learned to think for myself about what I believe. Academically, Wheaton prepared me well for the rigors of law school. But the people are what makes Wheaton stand out the most to me. Some of the most intelligent, put-together, and well-rounded people I’ve met are people I’ve met at Wheaton.</p>

14

<p>I agree with many of the above posters, any college that is the right academic and social fit can and will change your life. You just have to find the right match which may or may not be in the CTCL book.</p>

15

<p>I haven’t posted here in maybe a year but I signed in once again simply to offer an enthusiastic YES. My school was Beloit College and going there was probably the smartest decision I’ve ever made. The friends I made there are truly shaping up to be friends for life and it was a quintessentially American (interpret that as you will) college experience.</p>

<p>Interestingly enough, I eventually wound up transferring to an Ivy (simply to do more specialized work in my major) and it paled in comparison to Beloit as an experience. In fact, the kids there were kind of boring. Too many people there spent too much time talking about high school and trying to re-live/re-create the glories of their high school days. It was kind of sad to watch. Of course, there were a few diamonds in the rough but it was a kind of scary statement about the kind of “leaders” we are producing. </p>

<p>I would gladly recommend any of the CTCLs to any parents out there but with one warning: many of the colleges, due to financial circumstances, are slowly becoming more standardized and “generic” in order to attract certain kinds of students and stay afloat financially. I fear that each of these colleges’ individual characters and personalities are slowly being withered away simply for rise a few slots on the US World and News Report…</p>

16

<p>I’m going to Marlboro in the fall! :slight_smile: I hope that it changes my life.</p>

17

<p>My son is in the process of getting his life changed at St Olaf. He is a sophomore and loves it, has grown in unexpected directions (discovered a love of Latin, been accepted to teach at Explo this summer, made many new friends). He has found professors he admires, respects and will most likely emulate. He will fulfill a passion that began in the 2nd grade by traveling to Greece during Interim next year. He checked out St Olaf after reading CTCL, and it clicked immediately for him.</p>

18

<p>I am a graduate of Beloit and it did change my life. As others have noted, the experience was about learning to think and developing strong research skills. I did a independent study as a senior and the one on one time I got with my professor was invaluable. Plus the experience of living with other interesting intelligent folks was amazing.</p>

<p>When my daughter was looking we really only looked at small liberal arts schools. We used CTCL as a starting point. When we visited Beloit, it felt very comfortable to her and she will be attending there in the fall.</p>

19

<p>After reading about the CTCL schools, we added one to our son’s college search. The college was Ursinus. While he ultimately decided on a different (similar) school, the entire experience at and with everyone at Ursinus was wonderful. We (son, wife and I) were all convinced that attending this particular CTCL school would have led to significant positive change. We were very impressed.</p>

20

<p>Before our son started looking at colleges a friend recommended the CTCL book. Both my husband and I had attended large state flagship universities, so this small liberal arts college idea was new and intriguing. In our college search we traveled near and far, visiting the large and the small, we kept returning to the small. </p>

<p>H and I had spent our first two years of college largely in humungous survey classes, they certainly paled in comparison to the small discussion/writing based classes S sat in on at the liberal arts colleges. The campuses were small and relationships intimate, with fellow students and with faculty. </p>

<p>We spent a day at UC Berkeley, sitting in on an upper level psychology class with 150 other people. The teacher was world renown and the lecture was very well done, however only 3 or 4 questions were answered and there was no discussion. Small study groups met, but were led by graduate assistants. Sure, there are small classes at UCB, but there are also a lot of huge ones. I was concerned about a mild mannered polite young man being thrown into a heartless bureaucracy where he’d have to scrap for classes and attention. People kept saying how beneficial it is to learn those skills, and I’m sure they’re right, but I imagined a lot of valuable time and emotion would be wasted on learning it in a sink or swim situation.</p>

<p>S applied to small liberal arts colleges (including several CTCLs) and 4 UCs. He was accepted to all. He followed his heart and now attends Whitman College, a CTCL school,he’s having an amazing experience and loves it there. There’s no hiding at the back of the room, he works hard in his classes, but has been rewarded with much personal attention and mentoring. His major department is small and very supportive, all the professors know and care about him. Socially, it’s also been great, he’s made really good friends and has a life beyond the classroom. He plays sports, does community service and is active in the outdoor program. He decided early on that the quality of life at college was important to him and he avoided places that felt overly competitive.</p>

<p>The only thing that’s been an adjustment for all of us is the reaction of acquaintances and strangers when they ask where S goes to college, 90% of the time the name Whitman College is met with a blank stare. Initially, I would launch into a lengthy explanation of how he got into UCB but decided to go to a small liberal arts college instead, yada, yada, yada. Now I don’t, I simply say that he goes to a great liberal arts college in Walla Walla, WA, and smile to myself because I know graduate schools know exactly where Whitman is.</p>