Colleges That Change Lives
In previous blog posts, I described why a college application strategy focused on UC schools and/or private colleges in California is, unfortunately, no longer a guarantee for success. Luckily, this is not the end of the road for aspiring college students from California.
As I will explain in this blog post, there are dozens of private colleges, and even one public college, in other states that offer an excellent undergraduate education just as good as, or better than, that offered by similar private colleges in California, and for prices far below those families have to pay here in California.
The colleges I have in mind, mostly but not exclusively, are the so-called Colleges That Change Lives (in short: CTCLs), a group of originally 40 small colleges that were showcased by Loren Pope in his 1996 book "Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change The Way You Think About Colleges." The current CTCL list includes 44 colleges.
CTCLs are all small liberal arts colleges, most of them located in small towns in the Midwest, Midatlantic, Northeast, South and Southwest, though five are located on the West Coast. Their key features are:
1. Higher acceptance rates: CTCLs, with one notable exception, have acceptance rates above 60%. This is not because they offer an inferior education or have lower academic standards. Rather, it is mostly a function of geography – CTCLs receive less applications than similar colleges located in more popular areas, such as Southern California or the Bay Area (though one CTCL is located in the Bay Area). For the same reason, they also tend to have lower yield rates, the percentage of admittees that actually enrolls once accepted. Thus, CTCLs generally reject far fewer applicants than their better known counterparts at the coasts.
2. Lower cost of attendance: The cost of attendance, i.e., the cost of tuition and fees. plus room and board, at CTCLs is significantly lower than the costs of attending similar colleges located along the West Coast or East Coast. Typically, the difference in sticker price is between $15,000-$25,000. In a few cases, the difference is more than $40,000! In addition, CTCLs are known for their generous need-based aid as well as merit aid. It is not unusual for eligible/qualified students to receive $30,000 or more in financial aid. As a result, the net price of attending a CTCL – i.e., the sticker price minus financial aid – is often well below the cost of attending a first-tier public university, such as a UC school (about $40,000) and sometimes even below the cost of attending a second-tier public university, such as a Cal State school (about $30,000).
3. Student-centered education: CTCLs are focused on one thing only – educating undergraduate students. Because of their small size, typically less than 2,500 students, classes are small, usually less than 20 students and often only around 10 students, and students get to know and have regular, easy access to professors, both inside and outside the classroom. With no graduate students around, undergraduate students at CTCLs usually have early and extensive research and internship opportunities. To ensure academic success, CTCLs also tend to have strong mentorship programs in place.
4. Superior outcomes: Despite their less selective admission standards, a number of CTCLs have produced more Rhodes fellows, Fulbright scholars, or other prestigious postgraduate fellowship or scholarship winners than is the case for some Ivy League schools, if we adjust for the difference in size between the smaller CTCLs and the (much) larger Ivy League schools. The same is true for the number of graduates who have gone on to earn Ph.D.s. CTCL graduates also gain acceptance to medical, law, dental, and graduate schools at much higher rates than graduates from far more prestigious institutions, including UCLA and UC Berkeley.
Despite these common key features, CTCLs are actually quite diverse in nature. Each CTCL has its own unique character, curriculum, strengths, and student body. Some, for example, are extremely academic, on par with the most rigorous Ivy League institutions, whereas others take a more relaxed approach. Most are secular, but some are religious. And so on.
If this sounds promising so far, please look for a future blog post in which I will delve deeper into the ins and outs of CTCLs.
