Colleges That Change Lives: An In-Depth Exploration

Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL) has significantly impacted how students and families approach the college search. This article explores the book's history, influence, and the unique characteristics of the colleges it highlights. It also provides guidance on making informed college decisions, considering various factors like location, majors, class size, campus community, and career prospects.

The Genesis of Colleges That Change Lives

In 1996, Loren Pope, a retired New York Times education editor and independent college counselor, published Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College. His goal was to encourage a student-centered college search, challenging conventional wisdom about college rankings and prestige. The book resonated with students, parents, and school counselors, advocating for a more personalized approach to college selection.

The CTCL Organization

Two years after the book's publication, the CTCL organization was founded as a non-profit with the blessing of Pope and his publisher. CTCL aims to keep Loren Pope's message alive and support student-centered college decisions. The organization supports the goal of every student finding a college that develops a lifelong love of learning and provides the foundation for a successful and fulfilling life beyond college.

What Makes a College "Change Lives"?

"Colleges that change lives" do more than just impart knowledge, skills, and a degree. These institutions share common traits, focusing on:

Student-Centered Mission: While CTCL member schools have varying perspectives, institutional missions, and pedagogical strategies, they all share a student-centered mission.
Personalized Attention: These colleges prioritize individual growth and development, often featuring small class sizes and close relationships with faculty.
Experiential Learning: Many CTCL schools emphasize hands-on learning experiences, such as internships, research projects, and study abroad programs.
Community Engagement: These colleges foster a strong sense of community, encouraging students to get involved in campus life and contribute to the wider world.

The CTCL List: A Closer Look

The CTCL list showcases smaller, student-centered liberal arts colleges across the United States. As of August 2024, the CTCL includes 44 member colleges and universities that excel at developing students’ potential. These schools are located across the United States. The current CTCL list contains all of the colleges and universities above, except for Marlboro College, which closed in 2020, Birmingham-Southern College, which closed in 2024, and New College of Florida. It also places both branches of St. John's College under one listing. In addition, it restored a few schools that were included in earlier editions of the book: The Evergreen State College, Hampshire College, and Antioch College, which were all included in the 1996, 2000, and 2006 editions, and Bard College, which was in the 1996 edition.

Read also: Pope's NCAA Tournament Goals

Here's a more detailed look at some of the colleges featured on the CTCL list:

Allegheny College

Allegheny College prioritizes experiential learning and civic engagement. The college serves students with “unusual combinations” of interests, skills, and talents. It draws students primarily from its home state and throughout the Northeast. In-state students can apply for the Commitment to Access Program (CAP), which extends full tuition if their family’s income is under $50,000.

Antioch College

With Horace Mann as its first president and Coretta Scott King a graduate, it’s not surprising that Antioch’s mission is to prepare students through self-directed interdisciplinary studies and experiential learning to live lives of intention. The very small school calls itself a college of action.

Austin College

Austin College enrolls a diverse student body with approximately 50% ethnic minority populations from 30 states and 14 countries. 100% of students participate in an applied learning experience, such as an internship, research project, or international experience.

Bard College

Bard College, included in the 1996 edition, emphasizes critical thinking and creative expression.

Beloit College

Beloit touts that it intentionally blurs the lines between curricular and co-curricular, campus and community, career and classroom. It offers grants for summer research, internships, and creative projects. The school sets up job shadowing with alumni and ensures international students can intern or work legally in the country. It even has a fleet of cars for students to borrow for work experiences downtown. Beloit College was founded in 1846 and is the state’s oldest continuously operated college. The college’s career-preparedness programs, known as “Beloit Impact,” link community-based learning and career-readiness programs. While it has a strong presence in Wisconsin and the Midwest, Beloit attracts students from across the United States and worldwide.

Centre College

Centre College was founded in Danville by Presbyterian leaders and officially chartered by the Kentucky Legislature in 1819. It offers small classes with a 10:1 student-teach radio. It allows students to design their own major in consultation with an advisor. Over 45 percent of Centre College students come from out of state, and 6.5 percent come from out of the country.

Clark University

Clark is known for its Model United Nations program, innovative Liberal Education and Effective Practice (LEEP) model, and emphasis on research. Most students are from New England, though it also has students from around the world. It offers over 30 majors, 19 master’s degrees, and nine Ph.D.

Denison University

Denison University, located in Granville near Columbus, Ohio, is a small liberal arts school founded in 1831. The university offers special programs in journalism, research, politics, writing, and a study abroad program included in tuition. Students also have access to four well-resourced centers focused on professional development. Denison Universities attracts students from within the contiguous United States and abroad. More than 17% of the student body are international students.

Eckerd College

Eckerd College was established in 1958 under the name Florida Presbyterian College. Eckerd has an 11:1 student-teacher ratio and emphasizes a combination of study, travel, research, and internships. At the heart of Eckerd’s study-abroad program is the London Study Centre, created in 1970. The study-abroad program offers over 300 destinations and was ranked No. Students travel from about 48 states and 35 countries to attend Eckerd. Eckerd offers over 40 majors and 53 minors to students. It’s something you hear at every commencement ceremony and when our alumni gather. It’s also what noted higher education expert Loren Pope concluded about Eckerd and 39 other colleges around the country.

Emory & Henry College

Emory & Henry College dates back to 1836. The college emphasizes individualized learning and a close-knit campus community characterized by its small class sizes and accessible faculty. The college’s “Voyages” curriculum offers a unique approach to education emphasizing critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and interdisciplinary study. The college has a regional presence with students from Virginia and the Appalachian region, but also attracts students from across the United States.

Goucher College

While Goucher accepts the Common Application, it provides an opportunity for students to submit The Goucher Video App to show the admission committee what makes them unique, why they would flourish at Goucher, and how they will fit into our community of learners.

Hampshire College

Hampshire College, included in the 1996, 2000, and 2006 editions, is known for its innovative curriculum and emphasis on student-directed learning.

New College of Florida

New College of Florida, while previously on the list, is no longer included.

Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan’s signature program, The OWU Connection, is designed so that every student completes research, internships, off-campus study, or other hands-on learning experiences to enhance their classroom work.

Reed College

Reed College, founded in 1908, is often called one of the most intellectual colleges in the country. The college has small conference-style classes with a 9:1 student-faculty ratio that encourages mentoring and individual discussions. In 2022, students came to Reed from 44 states and 13 countries.

Rhodes College

Rhodes considers itself a school with the soul of a liberal arts college coupled with a real-world mindset. Founded in 1848, this residential school is located on a beautiful Oxford-like campus with Gothic buildings. Eighty percent of Rhodes students participate in service and complete internships, while 75% study abroad. Rhodes College offers a rigorous approach to liberal arts and sciences. The school has an average class size of 15 and a 9:1 student-faculty ratio. Students can design their own majors to suit their goals, and the college provides advising for careers in healthcare, law, engineering, ministry, and education. Most students come from out of state, with about 30 percent in-state.

Saint Mary’s College of California

Saint Mary’s College of California is a Catholic college operated by the Christian Brothers in Moraga, near San Francisco. The college’s principles reflect the teachings of St. About 87 percent of students are in-state, and about half are ethnic minorities.

St. John’s College

St. John’s College has two campuses - one in Annapolis, Maryland, and the other in Santa Fe, New Mexico. St. John’s is known for its interdisciplinary students based on groundbreaking books spanning 3,000 years. Students come from all over the United States.

St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College was founded in 1874 by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants and is a nationally ranked liberal arts college. The college provides opportunities for integrative study through various interdisciplinary majors and concentrations. St. Olaf attracts students from the Midwest and internationally. In 2021-2022, St. Olaf welcomed students from more than 90 countries.

Southwestern University

Southwestern University was established in 1840 as a Methodist presence in the new Republic of Texas. The school offers an interdisciplinary curriculum incorporating the humanities, fine arts, social sciences, and natural sciences. About 84 percent are in-state, with the rest from 41 other states and 16 countries. The university offers over 35 majors, certification programs in Education, and pre-professional pathways in Pre-Dentistry, Pre-Engineering, Pre-Law, Pre-Medicine, Pre-Ministry, Pre-Physical Therapy, and Pre-Veterinary Medicine.

The Evergreen State College

The Evergreen State College, included in the 1996, 2000, and 2006 editions, is known for its interdisciplinary curriculum and emphasis on environmental studies.

University of Puget Sound

University of Puget Sound both challenges and supports its students as they pursue a rigorous education in the liberal arts or Schools of Music or Business and Leadership.

Wheaton College

Wheaton College was founded as a liberal arts school deeply rooted in a Christian worldview with more than 150 years of dynamic history and culture. Wheaton provides rigorous academics in a Christian community with an 11:1 student-faculty ratio. Wheaton College attracts students from all over the world, with students from over 90 countries. Wheaton offers 43 undergraduate majors, including six in the Conservatory of Music and 18 graduate and Ph.D.

Whitman College

Whitman College is located at the foot of the Blue Mountains in Walla Walla. Whitman offers small classroom sizes with a 9:1 faculty-student ratio and multiple areas of study, including a Center for Global Studies and seven areas of concentration. and internationally, offering over 60 majors.

Willamette University

Willamette University was founded in 1842. The Salem campus is next to the Oregon State Capitol. It offers a selection of undergraduate degrees and professional graduate programs. The school offers over 75 academic programs, about half of the undergrads engage in international study or research.

The "One Course At A Time" Approach

At some of these colleges, the academic year is divided into eight blocks, each of which lasts for three and a half weeks. A student takes one course per block, has a four-day break, and then begins her next course. Similarly, professors teach only one course at a time. At a place where the average class size is seventeen students, that means the professor is focusing on a very small cohort of students. Each professor can build the class schedule best suited to teaching the content instead of molding the content to fit the schedule. Scientists love the time to work in the lab-to learn science by actually doing science. Linguists love the language immersion One Course At A Time offers. Artists love that the clock doesn’t trump the muse. [One] senior spent a semester in Greece on a traditional semester calendar. “The first three months felt so slow. It wasn’t until the fourth month when I felt like we really got into it.

Evaluating the CTCL Criteria

CTCL’s student-centered approach to developing their list of member schools has many strengths. It is hard to disagree with criteria such as focusing on the belief in a student’s potential versus only what they have accomplished to date, demonstrating support for each student’s success once enrolled, and downplaying status as a qualification. Yet, subjective criteria are difficult to prove. It is also difficult to determine if the students surveyed represent the diverse experiences of the student body. Finally, how fluid is the list of schools?

Beyond the Book: Making Informed College Decisions

As you research the CTCL schools and others, remember the schools that will change your life are those that suit your learning profile, academic interests, needs, and aspirations. When trying to determine whether “Colleges That Change Lives” are indeed “good schools,” it’s crucial to understand the book’s primary objective. The book shines a spotlight on colleges that may be less selective but offer education with comparable benefits and outcomes to their more renowned counterparts. Students and parents should explore a range of options, considering their own criteria for what makes a good school. It’s vital to avoid limiting choices to institutions recommended in just one book. Choosing one of the “Colleges That Change Lives” will influence all aspects of a student’s academic and social life. Students and families need a way to compare colleges and decide which should make their list of possibilities.

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