New Book Ranks Guilford Among Nation's Most Under Appreciated Colleges

Guilford is ranked No. 7 among the nation's 100 under appreciated colleges and universities, according to a book by Washington Post education writer Jay Mathews that will be available for sale this week.

Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College That is Best for You, a 304-page paperback published by Crown Books, has a release date of March 11. Mathews also plans an April 6 Washington Post Magazine story on the 20 under appreciated institutions in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Mathews' book is the product of two years of research during which the author asked high school guidance counselors and teachers who work with college-bound students to recommend colleges that deserve bigger reputations, so-called "lesser-known jewels." From these reports and notes from conversations with students, parents and some national experts, Mathews assembled his list of 100 under appreciated colleges and universities.

In Harvard Schmarvard, Mathews comments that Guilford's faculty watches closely to make sure each student is moving toward a sound academic goal. He quotes a college counselor at the American International School in Egypt as saying "(Guilford) is a favorite of mine for a solid B student or higher who is liberal arts oriented. It is a 'kind' place." He reports that a counselor at Andover (Mass.) High School says Guilford has a "values-based, student-centered" program with strong academics.

Mathews' top 10 under appreciated institutions also includes Elon University, Earlham College (Ind.), Clark University (Mass.), College of Wooster (Ohio), Kalamazoo College (Mich.), Rhodes College (Tenn.), Occidental College (Calif.), Washington College (Md.) and Illinois Wesleyan University.

Loren Pope, the former New York Times education editor, says Mathews' book, "will free teens and parents from that stupid myth that college quality is measured by selectivity or name. (It is) a badly needed public service that lays bare the rankings fraud and the complicity of colleges in it." Pope included Guilford among 40 select colleges in his book Colleges that Change Lives, which was originally published in 1996 and revised in 2000.

Mathews is a graduate of Harvard University and a parent of a student at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. He wrote Class Struggle: What's Wrong (and Right) with America's Best Public High Schools in 1998 and Escalante: The Best Teacher in America in 1988.

 

March 10, 2003