Knox: A College That Changes Lives

As chosen by Loren Pope in his book, "Colleges That Change Lives"

Knox College is one of the colleges featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College, by Loren Pope, former education editor of The New York Times and founder of The College Placement Bureau.

When Pope first set out to share with students, families, and counselors his thoughts about colleges, his goal was to provide insights that would allow people to make more informed choices. Too often college choices are made based on false perceptions, misinformation, or a lack of information—and these uninformed choices have led to higher dropout, transfer, and failure rates in higher education.

After much research, Mr. Pope began championing a small group of less well-known colleges for their life-changing success with students in his book, Looking Beyond the Ivy League. This book is a companion to Colleges That Change Lives and has been praised as the best discussion of the liberal arts. Colleges That Change Lives profiles 40 liberal arts colleges and universities—38 private and two public schools from 24 states and with enrollments ranging from 350 to 4,000.

The Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL) schools are a group of distinctive colleges and universities, each of which is unique in its own right. But, as Pope notes in the book, "These schools share two essential elements: a familial sense of communal enterprise that gets students heavily involved in cooperative rather than competitive learning, and a faculty of scholars devoted to helping young people develop their powers, mentors who often become their valued friends."

The book features profiles of each college's programs and personality; gathers comments from students, professors, and deans; and has data on the success of graduates and the life-long benefits of a liberal arts education for today's student. Here are some highlights from the chapter about Knox:

Quotes about Knox by Pope:

"There is no better college in the country for developing a young mind and character."

"No college offers better entrées to top professional schools…for the budding scientist or scholar, acceptance at graduate school is just as certain."

"This college is educating—not training—people who can think clearly and independently, who have moral compasses, and who can live fully and courageously."

"That look of cloistered tranquility the campus gives truly is deceptive, for it cloaks a vibrant, endlessly searching community, one that will open new worlds and change you."

Quotes by Knox Students:

"Knox transformed me. The change you make at Knox is slow, thought out, and personalized. Each day you are finding out something new about you or those around you….You are an equal with upperclassmen, your professors, administrators, and even the president of the college….I am excited as I leave Knox because I know my experiences here will be carried with me for the rest of my life."

"I came here thinking that I already was the person I wanted to be and am graduating knowing that I am the person I wanted to know. I can now reach outside my comfort zone and examine the world and its problems, critically and analytically. At Knox, students are educated to be the people who make a difference in the world, not the ones who watch people make a difference."

"[At Knox], every student comes from a unique background, has a different story to tell. It is this wealth of exposure that nourishes students hungry to learn, to step outside their comfort zones."

To read the chapter about Knox in Colleges That Change Lives, click here.

CTCL Events
The colleges featured in Colleges That Change Lives travel to more than 30 cities across the United States. To see when the CTCL schools will be in your area, visit the Colleges That Change Lives Web site.