August 18, 2006
Clark again lauded among 'Colleges That Change Lives'
Worcester, Mass. - "Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges," has again placed Clark University among only 40 schools in the nation and two in Massachusetts to be featured in the revised and expanded edition of the popular guide.
CTCL is written by former New York Times education editor Loren Pope, the author of "Looking Beyond the Ivy League."
"Every student at a CTCL school is exposed to two elements essential for success: a familial sense of communal enterprise that gets students heavily involved in cooperative rather than competitive learning, and a faculty of scholars who are devoted to undergraduate teaching," Pope writes. He stresses that the college search should be focused on each student's individual learning style and interests rather than on magazine rankings. Pope praises Clark's commitment to undergraduate research, diversity, civic values, social change, and programs that foster student engagement and support life-long learning.
"Higher education being a status industry, the assumption is that selectivity equals rigor. Wrong, wrong, wrong. This is one of the worst myths jinxing college choices," Pope writes. "Eighty years of official records testify that many colleges in this book dramatically outperform their very selective peers in producing the nation's scientists, scholars, and achievers."
About Clark specifically, Pope writes: "Forward-looking Clark has several bright new facets for the new millennium. It already had something rare anywhere, but unique in New England: a four-star academic experience in a major research university that gives B students the chance to do undergraduate research on big-league projects. And several years later, when Clark alumni wind up with Ph.D.s as tenured faculty members at top universities, the point is proven."
First published by Penguin Books in 1996, the book has sold more than 100,000 copies and is considered a classic guide, reminding students about the tremendous potential that exists for them if they find the right college match.
For more information about "Colleges That Change Lives," please visit http://www.ctcl.com/.