In Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College, former New York Times education editor Loren Pope assures families about their prospects for college admission and profiles 40 colleges that excel at developing potential, values, initiative and risk-taking in a wide range of students. Based on his years of research as a journalist, as well as his direct interaction with students at hundreds of schools during numerous “stealth” campus visits, Mr. Pope dismisses magazine rankings based on "inputs" like test scores and alumni giving as an appropriate measure of a college's "quality." It significantly more valuable, he advises, to consider the characteristics that are at the heart of a college's ability to enrich and empower students, year after year, generation after generation:

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• learning is collaborative, not competitive
• there is a discussion of values in the classrooms and elsewhere on campus
• there is a sense of community and connection that goes well beyond 4 years of attendance
• students are there to learn, not to just get a degree
• students want to tell the story about how the college has changed them
• admission is holistic and the focus campuswide is on the transformation between orientation and graduation, rather than on the accomplishment of admitted students

Since Colleges That Change Lives was first published in 1996, students, parents, and college counselors alike have praised this sensible message and informed writing.

The Colleges That Change Lives organization continues to champion Mr. Pope's message about the importance of "fit" in the college selection process. The CTCL events provide college-bound students, parents and college counselors the opportunity to learn more about Loren Pope’s methodology and other current research showcasing life-changing college programs.

Colleges That Change Lives by Loren Pope is published by Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Putnam Inc.