Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges by Loren Pope Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges
Book Review: Colleges That Change Lives...book review
Summary: 4 Stars
I have not finished the book but it promises to give some very informative information and was recommended to me by a college professor in NC. It just took a very long time to get to me.Book Review: Colleges from a different view
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this book at Earlham College in Richmond, IN and thought it had much to offer from a different point of view. To be sure, the author tends to write fondly about the colleges she reviews. With a son desiring to attend one of the schools in CTCL, a neice attending another, and a friend as a graduate of still another, this was a chance to see what the talk has been about. CTCL is a much different kind of college review book than the large, telephone-directory typical books and merits a read if your student has any interest in those sorts of schools.Book Review: Dissatisfied with the result
Summary: 1 Stars
As a college student who read this book and now study at the first college to which Pope attends, I can say I dislike my school very much. Thanks a lot Loren Pope.Book Review: Essential for students and parents
Summary: 5 Stars
Our son graduated high school in 2002. A friend suggested this book to us and we read it eagerly. We parents were struck by the wisdom of Pope's arguments that big name colleges charge a lot for the prestige of the name, while the colleges in this book just offer great education.
Our son studied the book and came up with four colleges he wanted to look at - and one he was pretty sure was the place for him. After visiting the campuses, that's where he ended up going, and he thinks it was the best thing that could have happened in his life. He would have never found that college without Pope's book.
We recommend the book enthusiastically to anyone we know with a child looking at colleges. They may not be for everyone, but understanding his philosophy of choosing them will make you a more discerning consumer.
Book Review: Every Student Should Read This Book (It's Never Too Late!)
Summary: 5 Stars
I came to this book from a rather unusual position. High school did not suit me very well, and I started taking taking community college classes at the age of fifteen. I graduated high school (GPA 2.7) with an Associate of the Arts (GPA 3.9). As a junior, going to many of the colleges in this book was not particularly viable. Not to mention that going out of state would mean forgoing the freshman scholarships available, locally, to people in my boat.
Even so, this book was invaluable. I was able to use information in this group to locate a small program within a local university that would allow me to build a liberal arts education to my own specifications as part of a relatively tight-knit community of students and alumni. Moreover, I was able to avoid many of the pitfalls of university life by choosing professors and instructors based on their availability to students and shying from unnecessary lecture hall courses. As an upperclassman, many of my classmates were graduate students, and I got a keen sense of the levels of expectation and rapport that is experienced at this level of scholarship. I even took a couple of graduate-level courses, on special permission. It's not impossible for someone with drive to break into the graduate-level world, as an upperclassman in college. Once you make it past that barrier, universities are not such a very bad place to be. The pitfall of this approach is the lack of a cohesive effort to improve writing and social skills, and this is where the small colleges in this book hold real advantage. I would almost certainly have a better portfolio of work, having gone to the small schools in this book. But the advice in this book applies to ALL students in ALL situations. So you're in a large university. Find a small program or sub-college that has the qualities described in this book. They're out there, if you know what to look for! And this book will most certainly tell you.
Having graduated earlier this year, I am re-reading this book with a more profound appreciation of the advice Pope offers his readers. I encourage anyone and everyone who is capable: Shape your own education! Colleges, like high schools, have become gristmills pushing through people who are only present to make themselves more presentable on the job-market. Just as community colleges open their arms to college students, these small colleges are available to those who want a quality education BEFORE attending graduate school. They say that the world is your oyster, but this book will teach you where to position yourself to form the perfect pearl.