<p>My D just committed to Whitman. She applied to a wide range of schools and was accepted to many. It came down to a choice between three widely different schools, Whitman, UC Berkeley and UChicago. UChicago did not offer very good aid - no merit (although I did not expect any from them) and very poor “need-based.” Berkeley offered no grant aid (again, was not expecting any), but we live in California and so it is relatively affordable (if you can use that term for colleges these days). Whitman offered nice merit aid and increased it 50% with need-based, putting it in the ballpark of Berkeley. My D was not willing to take on big loans to go to UChicago.</p>
<p>After soul searching (and advise) she came to the realization that the small liberal arts environment would be the way to go even though the name recognition and “prestige” might be higher at Berkelely. She is very excited to go to Whitman. It seems like a great place to me from reviews and reading (she visited but I have not). Although there is a significant Greek presence, it seems much mellower than at many other schools and the indies and Greeks mix without problems. It seems very rigorous, but also more laid back than most of other colleges that admit the same GPA/test scores. It has a strong outdoor focus (which suits my D), it has strong community service ties (again, great for my D) and the discussions in and out of classes seem vibrant. </p>
<p>I had heard of CTCL (although I have not read it) and am glad that Whitman is on list. As others have said, CTCL is just one of many sources that can be used to understand and evaluate your choices, but it is a good one. There are lots of great small schools not on the list, but being on it means that the college has some specialness. It makes me feel better about her chances of having a great experience that will help shape her into an even more impressive person than she already is.</p>