Loren Pope
1 Good schools, not great writing
The purpose of this book is to direct students without great grades to schools that will not only accept them, but also give them an outstanding education. It is a wonderful goal, and I am currently attending one of the institutions highlighted in the book, Clark University. The book gave me a great idea of the atmosphere of Clark, what I could expect from the community, and what kind of people would be best suited for Clark. I love it here, and I'm delighted to have found the school via this book.
That being said, this book is, again, intended for students with lower grades. Having worked my (...) off throughout school to get good grades, the numerous snide remarks about honor roll students were incredibly offensive. I read this book because I didn't want to go to a pretentious, showy university that cared more about reputation than education. To have it repeatedly implied that if I get A's, that must be exactly what I want, was not fun. Nevertheless, if you get past the attitude issues, and just look at the schools, this book will introduce you to some amazing institutions.
2 A good book for prospective students, but not perfect
Full disclosure: I attended one of the big famous public institutions the author disparages while my girlfriend attended one of the smaller liberal arts college profiled in the book.
I have some mixed feelings after reading "Colleges..." This book provides a welcomed and much-needed balance against the cacophony from US News and World Report with its emphasis on rankings and selectivity. It gives good profiles of overlooked schools that could very well give certain students a better education than any Ivy ever could. Prospective college students should keep an open mind and consider all schools to find one that will provide an environment to bring out their best--whether it is an Ivy or a "no-name" school. One of the best lines from the book: Judging a college by its selectivity or the quality its student body is like judging a hospital by the quality of the patients it admits.
All that said, this book is not without its drawbacks. In his zeal to spread his message of going against the crowd, Pope overemphasizes the negative aspects of a large university and the positive aspects of the smaller colleges profiled. It might be nice to have a one-on-one interaction with your professor, but is it really necessary when you're just learning basic physics or econ? It might be nice to live in an idyllic, small liberal arts college environment for four years, but how prepared will you be after graduation when you are thrown into the cutthroat real world?
This is a great book for prospective college students. However, I will have to employ the author's own message in addressing his preference for smaller liberal arts schools: Keep an open mind, consider all the possibilities, and find the school that will best fit your own individual needs.
3 Excellent college guide.
Before reading this and Pope's other college guide, I was set on going to a large school like UC - Berkeley. Now I've decided to attend a much smaller liberal arts college, because I think the kind of environment at a small liberal arts college is best for me. I obviously found Pope's book very helpful in my search for the right school.
...however
Pope's constant insults to the Ivy league and state schools are ridiculous!!! There are some people out there that would prefer anonymity in college than close interaction with professors. This book undermines such people. If you would prefer to go to Michigan over a small liberal arts college, there is nothing wrong with that! Furthermore, the Ivy league, for the most part, offers an excellent education that can only be rivaled by a handful of the colleges mentioned in this book!!
4 Excellent but also read other college guides
This is an excellent book about lesser-known yet excellent colleges. It does not include those in the west. DO read this book with a grain of salt, though. The author praises these schools so much that you have to read other college guides in order to get a more balanced view. For example, He rightly praises Hampshire College for its fine film department (Ken Burns is an alum) but he does not tell you how isolated it is or the fact that there are a lot of drugs on campus. So DO read at least four other guides besides this one. Do your homework and compare write-ups in all the guides to get a balanced view. Definitely visit campuses before you decide where to apply or go to. Otherwise this is an excellent book with a great deal of useful information.
5 Eh....Take it with a grain of salt
I'll admit it: I'm personally biased against this book because when it came time for me to start thinking about college, this was pretty much the only book my parents would allow me to consult. I was pressured to apply to schools that I didn't even want to go to just for the fact that they would "change" my life; if a college wasn't in the book, or it didn't fit the general criteria of what Pope considered a "good" school to be, I was told not to even bother to apply. I ended up having to choose "the lesser of three evils" amongst the three colleges I was accepted to.
I can certainly see how these schools would appeal to some students, but take a look at other schools, even the large state universities Pope deplores. Personally, I'm about to transfer to one such large university, and I couldn't be happier.
6 Good, but not essential
I debated between 2 stars and 3 stars, and eventually settled on three with some reservations:
1. This book works great as a supplement to several others, NOT as a stand-alone book. The profiles are good, though a little repetitive. Can it be true that EVERY student Mr. Pope talked to loved his or her college as much as it seems? The other material in this book is not in-depth enough to justify using it as a primary source. Note: The back cover promises a discussion on how to get financial aid, but such a discussion doesn't exist (at least I couldn't find it). Maybe this discussion was buried in some of the profiles that I didn't read -- there was only one short paragraph on financial aid in the general information part of the book. Basically, "don't worry, it's a great investment and these schools will give you as much aid as they possibly can." Thanks, but for some people a good public university may be a better fit and a better investment.
2. Mr. Pope is very upfront with his small-school bias, but I have a hard time believing that small liberal arts schools are best for everybody. He would have you believe this, and it just isn't true. Frankly, if his comment in the book that he "almost never" recommends school with over 5000 students to his clients is true, then I think he is doing a disservice to his clients.
With those caveats in mind, the book does provide solid reasons for why Mr. Pope is so gung-ho on these schools. It's a good book to have to counter-balance the "Get Into An Ivy League School or Die Trying" guides that flood the market.
It's a quick read, so do yourself a favor and buy it (or better yet borrow a copy from a Guidance Office) in order to find some schools you or your children haven't thought of, but use it along with something like "Harvard Schmarvard" by Jay Matthews for a more balanced view.
7 Creative recommendation but obsolete data
This is a sequel to the author's first book: "Looking Beyond the Ivy League." It has the same qualities and flaws as the first book. This list of colleges gives you a great incentive to explore small liberal arts colleges not only back East but all over the country. That is a good thing.
On the other hand, some of his information is out of date. Out of the 40 recommended colleges, I found myself screening out 20 of them because of either low freshman retention rate, low graduation rate, and low percentage of graduates going on to graduate schools. In other words, half of these recommended schools are actually poor college educational performers. This is obviously way too high a failure percentage (50%) to give this book any higher rating than I have.
8 A Must Read for Anyone Thinking About College
This book has really opened up our college search. I was against smaller schools (under 5000) for my son Bill who is on track to be his high school class valedictorian despite some severe learning disabilites he has learned to compensate for. He loves to be challenged mentally and physically. Bill looks forward have stimulating interactions with new faces, wants to take advantage of a study abroad program and wishes to play tennis at the collegiate level. Oh, and he would like it to be somewhere warm preferably Florida.
I strongly encouraged that he go with a division III school. A division III school offers no athletic scholarships but usually offers attractive merit scholarships. They emphasize the students academic growth with a strong competive athletic atmosphere being secondary.
I began my search by going to the NCAA website, looking for participating schools with strong tennis records. Then I checked out the individual schools websites looking for a good personal match. While on the road visiting Rollins and Emory we spent a few hours in a book store. I had sellected a very large stack of books on the college process. Auspiciously Loren Pope's book was one which I pulled off the shelf to look over. It is quite a bit smaller in stature than most books found in the college guide section but has turned out to be by far the most informative, readable book I have spent time with so far. I believe in serendipity. We just happened into the store in Ocala FL, smaller than the store we usually go to at home. I have not seen this title on the shelves at our local store.
I have invested in quite a college resource library which I plan to donate to Bill's High School when we have completed out search, this book is one which I will have to buy additional copy because I can't let go of this one. It has become well worn like the Velveteen Rabbit with my notes throughout. So many of the Division II and III tennis schools I found listed on the NCAA website are listed in this book. I have found myself looking over schools listed throughout the book looking for other matches for other kids we know.
The book immediatley caught my attention with it's "You Don't Know as Much as You Think You Do" section. Loren Pope provides thought provoking commentary on common misconceptions made by college bound students and their families. I doubt there is a very high percentage of families who have been exposed to more than a handful of colleges and what they have to offer. I have totally revised my opinion on the size school and the "Brand Name" education doesn't necessarily equal the quality of higher education desired by my son.
My son thrives on new experiences. This book has educated us on what is out there and what types of things we want to look for and consider when making the ultimate decision. We knew in an abstract way what Bill wanted to get out of college but this book was able to help us define our search.
This book is very readable. Colleges are broken down by region with only 6 to 10 pages of descriptions gained from interviews with staff and students during visits. There are usually several comparisons to different schools within the section. The author has an extensive background and expertise in guiding prospective students.
I will continue to recommend this book to everyone I get into a college discussion with. It is at the top of my gift giving list.
I hate to say this but this book makes a person think out of the typical college search box.
9 Practical book that all high school juniors should read
I have recommended this book to many people. Lots of college buyers are buying the sizzle, not the steak. Colleges can change your life or you can let college coexist with you. Colleges can open up new horizons and really expand you or you can just be a number. Some places treat the person and the author suggests some of those that develop individuals. You can make a large research university or state university treat you as a person but it will be a constant uphill struggle. Other schools are loaded with professors that really want to develop students, not use them as an excuse to the legislature or the alumni as to how it is educating undergraduates. Most larger schools tolerate undergraduates.
10 Go outside the box
If you think of the usual colleges and ask "is that all?", then this book is for you. Pope's book is very helpful for those who wish to expand their college lists. There's such a ridiculous feeding frenzy in the admissions world and it's mostly focused on about 50 colleges--in a country of 3000 colleges. But don't mistake this for a college admissions how-to book. I suggest Allen's "Trade Secrets" for tips and strategies. And while I'm not a big fan of Princeton Review's "Best Colleges," most high school students love it. So Princeton Review's book seems ot be the best general college guide. After reading through those two books, turn to Pope's book for a tour of the unexpected and unheralded.
11 The Best Kept Secret
As a teacher, I recommend the book "Colleges That Change Lives". But, I'll be short and to the point, as our AP English teachers drum into our students' heads. I find the best kept secret in US colleges to be West Point. It's what I call Ivy League where everybody has a chance. Academics are top tier, and it's a FULL scholarship. To learn what the school is all about, they recommend reading the independently written book "West Point: Character Leadership Education", by Norman Thomas Remick, which is an education, itself, that you can immediately put to use in school. Contact your guidance councillor.
12 square holes for square pegs
My son was so miserable in the public grade school system that he attempted suicide and almost succeeded. For once, I was glad he failed at something. That was our wake-up call, and we found him a private high school that would not force him into some cookie-cutter, state-mandated, one-size-fits-few program. He bloomed, and graduated with good grades as student body president. His headmaster referred us to this book when choosing a college.
I was just glad he was alive, and happy at last. But he chose a challenging school, Marlboro, and has bloomed there, as well. He has never needed things to be easier, he has just needed them to make sense to him. Now he's talking about a career as a teacher -- back at the high school that helped to save his life.
This is a seriously good book for kids who need a different drummer. If your kid needs a better fit, have a look.
13 Vital to the inspired student
This book is a guide to extraordinary colleges for extraordinary students. The schools are for those gifted in more (or other) ways than just getting good grades. The amazing thing is that these schools are also for ANYONE. I believe they all accept over 1/2 those who apply, and in most cases "accepting" doen't just mean matriculation, but acceptence into the community as a respected human being. "Hazing" of any form doesn't fit in most of these communities, because it does not respect the new community member. (USMA is a great school. How welcome would be a person who refused to bear arms? Would they be willing to abandon hazing?)
These colleges help the students develop more than their knowledge. They help them develop their understanding, their wisdom, and their hearts. We forget that there can be much more to a college education than the coursework and the degree, and when we do so we invite things like the cheating scandal that wracked otherwise excellent institution of USMA (West Point).
Guilford and Marlboro are legendary in their ability to help students develop. St. Olaf, Ursinus and Earlham are extraordinary places as well. How many students know of their secrets, or have even heard of them? Far too few. If you know a young person who wants to be more than a cog in the machine, give them this book so that they may be among the few who Know.
14 Hidden and not so hidden gems
This book inspired my daughter to take a closer look at some colleges that were a little off the beaten path.
It also got us thinking about what she really needed in a college as opposed to choosing a school by a rating system using others criteria.
I also would highly recommend the college fair based on this book, as a great opportunity to talk to admission reps from highlighted schools in a much smaller environment than other college fairs.
Another book that helped with the decision for her to attend a college that is not on the top 5o countdown of US NEWS, was a book written by an alum of her college, Donald Asher, called Cool Colleges for the Hyper Intelligent, Self Directed, Late Blooming and just Plain Different.
A quote " You could take from me everything I've learned at Reed, and I could get it back on my own. What they really teach you here is how to learn"
That is what we were looking for.
15 a good alternative to the more popular guides
Every year, college-bound students and their neurotic parents flock to "U.S. News and World Report," The Princeton Review and Kaplan, and the College Board, seeking insider information on universities that they will most likely not be admitted to. Reality gives way to prestige and even fashion--"this year, Cornell is IN and Brown is OUT," "Cal Tech is SO over," etc. Thankfully, the forgotten colleges that would provide a much better fit for the ambitious rapscallions are given brief but praiseworthy profiles in Loren Pope's book. I do regret that the book is not geared toward the A student, but it's just as well that less-than-stellar high schoolers get a much-needed glimmer of hope in terms of higher educational prospects. There are more than forty such colleges out there, of course, but I would recommend Ms. Pope's book as an excellent starting point in your search for the "perfect" (or as close as you can get) institution. So before you or your children start firing off applications (and fees) to ranked favorites like Carnegie Mellon, Pitt, Tufts, Notre Dame, Boston U, Wake Forest, and other private schools (or public stars like Michigan, UNC, and California), try this book out first.
16 much PR, little reality
I was disappointed in this book. The college reviews read like releases from the colleges' PR offices. Each review consists of a few unctuous anecdotes, plus quotes from administrators (who, naturally, plug their schools as the finest in the country) and a few students, each of whom is totally thrilled with the place. All forty schools are painted rosily; nothing the slightest bit negative is mentioned.
This summer we visited one of Pope's glowingly described colleges (which shall go unnamed -- but suffice it to say, its new library was painted as the most heavenly place imaginable). Maybe the day we picked to visit wasn't one of the school's better days (our tour guide must have represented the school's lowest caliber of students); but a bad day can't be held responsible for the depressing and meager dorm rooms, classrooms, cafeteria and student center. The fantastically described library turned out to be a mediocre let-down, after Pope's build-up.
Of course there's more to a college than its physical plant; but physical plant does matter, and this college seemed an awfully dismal place to spend four years.
17 On second thoughts
It has been 18 months since I wrote the last review. "The Colleges that Change Lives" is mainly for the B and C students. What do you do if you have a child that is an A student? This book does not address this problem. P>There is a lack in this book, which is also common to 99% of college guide books. It does not tell you the moral situations on the campuses. Some schools may be very loose with drugs and sexuality. Some schools may have a rebellious culture. Some schools may have serious drinking and partying problems. Concerned parents may need to dig in many places to find such information.
18 A very important college guide book
This book proved instumental in my son's college search. I highly recommend it for the student that is interested in schools that offer a personalized to education. We found schools that he is applying to from this book. He went to a special college fair that featured the schools highlighted in Pope's book.
19 Evergreen State College Approved
I actually went to the traveling show for this book where I later bought, and had signed by Mr. Pope himself. His personal recomondation out of the 40 was Evergreen State, the college that ironically was only 14 miles away from my home in Shelton Washington. I'm currently going there and couldn't be happier. His book has great descriptions of the 40 colleges, but additional research and visits are necessary. These colloges aren't cookie cutter, and will require a little bit more investigation then Ivy league, or traditional state schools. The colleges are top notch, though Evergreen is the only public, and for a while the only western school on the list. It is now joined by Portland's Reed, and Walla Walla's Whitman. Word of warning, though the colleges are the best of the best, the majority are very expensive, and may not be as willing to give out money as Mr. Pope wrote. The colleges in this book are for those looking to improove, or those that already love to learn. I recomend that you read "Colleges" before any US news or Princeton Review guide, as they will claim these colleges as phonies or krum-bum, and you will be truly missing out.
20 Evergreen State College, good exampl from Loren Pope's book
This book is awesome. Makes me wish I could turn back the clock three years and begin college over again(but since this is my last year of college....oh well). Not only does this book profile 40 colleges that have the RIGHT focus(unlike the University of California Irvine...cough...cough), but it also gives some examples of peoples' personal experiences. If I were to choose again, I'd probably go to Evergreen State. This book is a must buy for any high school senior or college freshman!
21 Good Job
The author did a great job researching and writing this book. After you read it, get the book "WEST POINT", by Norman Thomas Remick, for more complete information on what Andrew Jackson called "the best school in the world". Like "COLLEGES THAT CHANGE LIVES" so adroitly says, you don't have to be a straight A student. They're looking for well rounded students of character to give their full scholarships to.
22 Fine if you live on the East Coast
There is precious little information about Western Colleges in this book. Aside from tiny Reed College and Evergreen, apparently lives don't get changed west of the Mississipi.
23 AN UNNECESSARY WE-THEY ATTITUDE?
No question about Loren Pope's credentials or about the quality of infomation in this book, but I don't understand the animosity towards Ivy League schools that the book generates. There are plenty of "A" students who would find Harvard an even richer experience than some of the excellent colleges (some the same size as undergraduate Harvard College) that Pope recommends. A student with strong curiosity may well arrive at college-application time--and at college, too--without any clear idea of a major. At an Ivy League college, the number of majors available, because of deep resources, is large. Also, I could not relate to the lack of community and lack of warmth that Pope sees in the Ivy League. I could not help but wonder how much time Pope and some of the critics of the Ivies have actually spent on those campuses--recently. There still exists an unfortunate stereotype, not valid for over 25 years now, that the Ivies are places of privilege, snobbery, and distant professors. There is also a cruel myth that these schools chew up "nice kids," especially from small towns or rural areas, and spit them out.
....
I am suggesting that the We vs. Ivies attitude that Pope and some of his readers are fostering is a disservice to SOME kids, who would get a real bang out of four years at Yale or Dartmouth. The Ivies are not the schools they were 25 years ago; they are even more diverse in student population and potential studies, and they are still characterized by friendly kids and faculty--and world-class facilities. Please do not fall into the traditional ...animosity that might lead you to dismiss them out of hand. Yale might be exactly the dream experience for you or your son or daughter.
24 Excellent resource for a personalized education
I'd have given this one 5 stars but dropped one star in my ratings because I don't feel that it can be used as the SOLE guide to choosing a college. Instead, it is best used along with the more well-known college guides. What this one offers that those DON'T is a look at some schools which help students achieve their personal goals and which accept students who aren't necessarily academic whizzes. Ideally, college should help an individual student rise to his or her greatest potential and be a good fit for that student. A good college should not overwhelm, intimidate or alienate a student. In an effort to offer alternatives for students who don't feel like an Ivy League or larger institution fits their needs, this book suggest plenty of choices for high schoolers who may still be figuring out what they want and need in a college and who might be overwhelmed in larger, less personal institutions.
25 Great resource but do further research
This book is probably one you will not read from cover to cover because a short perusal will lead you to home in a few schools that interest you. For example, geography (e.g. a desire to be relatively close to home) will probably be one of the many limitations on which of the 40 schools you are interested in. To further limit your choices, you may need to do further research. For example if a religiously active student group is important to you, you may have to log onto the web page of organizations such as the Neuman Club (Catholic), Hillel Organization (Jewish) or Campus Christian ministries to see if they are active in the school you are contemplating. In short, this fine book gives you an enormous amount of pertinent information to find a school that is right for you but based on further research and narrowing down, you may ultimately find the one or two that seem just right. Furthermore, different schools that Mr. Pope reviews have different emphases. For example, some have few required courses and through close work with a faculty member, you must take responsibility to design your own program. Student initiative is empasized (for example, Hampshire College). Others may be much more traditional. Therefore, you must know what you are looking for. What all of these schools share in common, however, is a caring faculty that values each individual student and wants to facilitate success in each. The colleges in this book do not require an A average for admission and I'm sure there are many good schools that would rank among these 40 but are excluded because they are more difficult to get into. An example might be Franklin and Marshall which was in an earlier edition of this book. Even if you are an A student, one of these schools might still be the best one for you. This is a fine book if you are looking for a first rate education in a school that is the right fit for you. This book is not for you if you are more concerned with a degree from a prestige institution. My advice, opt for the good education.
26 Never Knew How Bad My College Was Until I Read This Book
I had never realized what a good college experience was supposed to be until I read this book. The close contact with professors who really care about all the students was a concept you don't get at the University of Texas. Both my children have read the book and are making plans to visit several of the schools covered. Highly recommended.
27 Next time, Mr. Pope, please make it "new"...not "revised"
Loren Pope's "Colleges That Change Lives" is arguably the best, and certainly one of the most influential, college guide books ever published in the U.S. Over the past five years its stature, along with that of its companion book,"Looking Beyond the Ivy League", has grown to the point that it is a "must read" for any college bound junior or senior, parents, and high school guidance counselors. Meticulously researched and beautifully argued, the message in "Colleges That Change Lives" about the continued developmental growth impact of certain types of liberal arts colleges even manages to supercede the excellent profiles of the specific 40 colleges in highlighted in the book. When my oldest son applied to college several years ago, he focused largely on colleges in the book, and we have all been very pleased with his progress at one of them (Denison). In that sense, the book itself has already helped change many lives.
That being said, the revised edition of the book is somewhat of a disappointment. Yes, three colleges have been changed (the dropped ones are now probably not accepting many students with less than A- averages, hence they no longer fit the strict definition implied by the book's subtitle!). And yes, there is a solid new chapter about ADD and learning disorder issues as they relate to these types of schools. BUT the rest of the updates are superficial, at best. Quotes from students and teachers that appeared in the first edition are still there. Mr. Pope's own insights and conclusions about the colleges are repeated verbatim. One gets the impression that he and/or the editors made some quick phone calls to the schools that Mr. Pope visited so exhaustively for the first edition, then changed a few sentences here and there. In short, virtually all the views, quotes and anecdotes from students, teachers, and even Mr. Pope himself are now literally over five years old. To put that into an obvious perspective, that's longer than an entire four year undergraduate cycle. Surely the changes at some, if not most, of these schools deserve a more up to date assessment at ground level. Yes, it would have taken six months of research to visit all of the schools again in depth, but that is something that Mr. Pope's readers have a right to expect.
Beyond this, perhaps the other perspective missing from this "revised" edition is some discussion on the growing importance of at least some technology knowledge becoming integral to a liberal arts education. By that I'm not referring to a specific, point-in-time, base of technical knowledge (Mr. Pope does a wonderful job arguing why this is generally irrelevant), but rather the importance of developing a technical perspective in the context of "even" a liberal arts education. How are different liberal arts colleges doing on that front? In particular, how are the 40 profiled here doing? We don't know because the question itself was not yet as relevant in the early days of the mid 1990s digital/internet revolution as it is today.
The above criticisms notwithstanding, "Colleges That Change Lives" is still an important book - as much for the perspective it provides as for the general feel of the colleges it covers. Let's just hope that the next edition of Mr. Pope's superb, originally groundbreaking book will not include quotes and perspectives that otherwise by then would be almost a decade old!
28 Much better than Fisk's or USNews College Guides
I used to have herd mentality. I thought schools like Harvard, Yale and Stanford are the best. I moved to Northern California to get close to Stanford and Berkeley. Then, I read "Profscam" and "The Hollow Man" by Charles Sykes and I was greatly disappointed in our higher education (for more information also read "Tenured Radicals" and "Illiberal Education" by other authors). The Fisk's and USNews & World Report college guides mention none of the cancerous problems mentioned in Sykes' books.
The colleges metioned in this book "Colleges that change lives" do not have the problems mentioned in Sykes' books.
Now on the positive side, the 40 colleges profiled in this book are gems. Mr. Pope has done a great service for the parents, students, society and especially our country. He has done excellent research. He personally visited these campuses, some several times. Buy this book. Read it and tell your neighbors about it. Buy a copy for your children's high school counselors.
In this 2nd edition 3 colleges have been removed: Bard, Franklin & Marshall and Grinnell. Three are added: Ursinus, Agnes Scott and Wabash. Also added are 2 sections: one section for Learning Disabled and another for Homeschooler.
We all love our children and want to do our best for them. It is important to find out what their natural gifts and talents are. When they know what they are naturally gifted in they can make intelligent choice about what kind of college profiled in this book they should attend. Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation provides excellent methods in finding out what a person's natural talents are.
All in all, this book deserves 20 stars!!! The best collge guide there is. And never let a small volume fool you. It is packed with gems.
29 Some Colleges You May Not Know
Useful book is not an at-your-fingertips style guide book. Better to read this cover-to-cover or one chapter at a time.
Pope writes in depth about colleges that are not Ivy, not the usual state institutions, not well-known. Plenty of options for alternative curricula and scheduling (like trimester systems, or 'great books' teaching). Some of the schools in the book are already "hot", and some have a narrow scope that would be perfect only for a minority of students. That's the beauty of this book: there is a good variety of schools and systems. Do your own additional research, but use this as a stepping-off point.
Generally, the writer takes care to examine each school on its own merit, and each institution gets its own chapter. Nice to see that the author interviews students at each college, asking questions about food, faculty attitude, social life, recreation, as well as academic matters.
It's a good read, valuable data for your college search process.
Other good references: Fiske Guide, Choosing the Right College (ISI), and the Kaplan Newsweek issue that comes out every summer.
30 Buyer beware
This book has good, accurate descriptions of all the colleges, but unfortunately since it was published this book has made each of the colleges in it get many more applicants. Therefore, they are much harder to get in to than implied. My child had a C average and 1400's on SAT's and did not get into any of these applied to.
31 Best College Guide Out There!!
This book was an excellent guide to the choices when I was a C+ student in high school. Without it, I would not be in my second semester at Earlham College, a Quaker college of 1100 students in Richmond, Indiana. The acedemic experience here has been a thousand times better than my large suburban high school in New Jersey. This book is a true gem in the search for the best college for you. It puts the person before the numbers.
32 Offers great options for kids whose grades aren't great.
A fomer education editor at The New York Times, Loren Pope focuses on small schools -- but don't let their size mislead you. These college gems have top-notch departments in subjects ranging from science to film making, government to geology. This book offers great possibilities for those students who for one reason or another haven't thrived in high school.
33 Excellent unconventional wisdom!
This book was a key factor in college selection for our seventh child to attend college. Without it, she would probably be at a top-name university which is best suited for graduate students, and not the community of learning of a small liberal arts school. What's more, she was offered merit scholarships (not need-based) from 7 of 8 of the schools on Pope's list to which she applied. (The so-called "top" universities give very few merit-based scholarships). She is in her second year at the College of Wooster, and I believe that she is happier and receiving a better college experience than she would have at Duke, where she was also accepted. The only drawbacks are that very few have heard of these schools, and the nearly-universal "conventional wisdom" fails to recognize the important truths that Loren Pope's books explain. His book "Looking Beyond the Ivies," was also helpful. This book may turn your college search upside down!
34 This is the book on colleges we have been waiting for!
Loren Pope has 46 years of experience in writing about colleges. One of the colleges he writes about in this book, The College of Wooster, happens to be my alma mater. When the book came out, Wooster sent a reprint of the relevant chapter to alumni. The description was right on target. I never quite realized what a jewel of a college I had attended. I had thought that my very positive college experience had been luck or perhaps a product of the times. Pope has convinced me that it was neither. The good news is that the sense of community and academic purpose I experienced at Wooster exists at 39 other schools around the country and that, through this book, these schools are about to be discovered by many more students. It should be required reading for students interested in college and their parents.
35 Great source of info on smaller colleges, BUT...
Loren Pope has been involved in college advising for many years. He is very well informed and a careful researcher, as any reader will see in this book. This guide is the first to really do justice to the many outstanding liberal arts colleges we have in the Midwest. Pope does, however, have some very firm opinions on the purpose and nature of college education. According to Pope, a college is a small community of scholars dedicated to teaching undergraduates -- the liberal arts college ideal. Any other type of higher education -- universities, more vocationally oriented institutions -- gets bashed in this book. Pope also places some limits on the range of colleges he is willing to cover -- no single-sex schools for instance. I often recommend this book to students and parents at the private school where I teach, but always with caveats. It is best used in conjunction with more comprehsive gudies -- Fiske or Insider's, for instance.
36 Wonderful!
I'm a high school senior and despite the title I am a straight-A student. This book helped me realize the difference in education from small liberal arts schools and the ivies. I believe these colleges will help prepare me more for life than other well known schools and that everyone looking for a college should check these schools out.
37 A great book if you are concerned about value.
Like many others who have helped
their
children
search for a
college, I was
initially
concerned about the
cost of a
college
education. This book
helped me with
a
perspective based on the
excellent value of
40
small liberal arts
colleges. These
colleges
do an excellent job
of turning out
the kind
of citizens that our
country needs
for the
long term. I'm still
concerned about
cost, but
I now feel that my
children will get
something of
value in return.
