This week representatives from over forty colleges across the country will be in Los Angeles at the annual Colleges That Change Lives college fair and presentation.
Most of the schools in this consortium are on the smaller side (1,000-3,000 undergraduate students). Most are primarily liberal arts colleges and most (but not all!) are private schools. Don’t let this scare you – this does not mean they will be more expensive than public colleges and universities – and many of them are very generous with merit-based aid!
I made this short video about building your college list; I definitely rely on the Colleges That Change Lives as I help students create their list of potential “best match” colleges!
Colleges That Change Lives started in 1996 as a book written by the late Loren Pope, former Education editor for the New York Times. Pope selected forty colleges at which students had the ability to develop close relationships with faculty members, engage in hands-on learning activities including team learning, internships and extended class discussion, and develop a love for learning.
The book spawned a non-profit organization with each of the colleges as members, and the consortium travels around the country together. The book (and the list) was never updated until 2013, when another education writer, at Pope’s family’s request, added four more colleges to the list.
You may recognize some of the names of the colleges in the group (Reed College in Portland is one of the more prominent ones), but you might not recognize many others. The lesson is this: there are great colleges out there that you’ve never heard of! And they could be a great place for your student.
Check out CTCL’s events – they visit cities across the nation each summer!
And if you’d like some hands-on assistance in building the right college list for you – just give us a call!
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