james28

Ok so here's the basic point of this post: why should I go to Carleton if I get in?
Compared to other liberal arts colleges like Davidson, Bowdoin, and Grinnell, why does Carleton stand out?
I would like to here from current Carleton students as well as anyone else that may help--I just want to get the feel of academics, athletics, social life, residential life, and other random things that interest me include study abroad opportunities, research opporunities, average class size, etc.
Anything you can tell me would be great!
Thanks for all the help!

bingle

D didn't look at Bowdoin (sounded too preppy from what she read and she wasn't impressed with the rep that she met) or Davidson (she wanted at least 2 mos of winter), but I can share her view on Carleton vs Grinnell. She had much more exposure to Carleton - (visited during the school year, has attended a reunion, has cousins there) so she wasn't able to make a fair comparison between the two schools on that basis. She felt the Grinell tour guide was the best of any guide at any of the dozen schools we visited. He was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and able to answer every question. She liked the campus okay, but felt it wasn't as nice as Carleton. Carleton had more trees which she liked, and she found the train tracks running through Grinnell campus definitely off-putting. She liked Northfield much better than Grinnell. Walking downtown to eat, Northfield seemed to be more of a college-focused town (bead shop, coffee shops, and lots of choices for where to eat) whereas Grinnell seemed to be more a rural town (insurance agents, appliance repair, one restaurant recommended by the admissions staff was uninspiring). The final point of comparison was location - being an hour from Minneapolis-St Paul seemed better than an hour from Des Moines.
If she had not applied ED to Carleton, Grinnell was definitely on the list and she would have visited during the school year to allow more points of comparison.

involved mom

S had Bowdoin on his list, but we never visited. He did an alum interview and really did not care for the people (Bowdoin couple) - he felt they were much more interested in status, etc. than he was. Our family has visited Grinnell twice, with oldest D and current senior D. It has always been on our family's list. My D definitely has some of the same concerns as bingle's - not as many trees, campus spread out, train tracks running through it - but she liked the students, faculty (attended a class), and overall "flavor" of the campus. We have also visited Davidson several times. Davidson has a very different feel from the midwest campuses - the school is run very well, excellent facilities, solid programs, respected and friendly faculty - but it is a D1 school - athletics will be a stronger influence on campus - also a little more of a "clubby" feel to the school - eating houses for women and frats for men. Excellent school though!

1190

Davidson really does feel more conservative with a pretty dominant frat/eating club social scene. Found it the least similar to Carleton of your choices.

Grinnell has a lot more in common but just felt "too" small and isolated. Found the Northfield/Minneapolis-SP combo much more appealing.

Bowdoin is more diverse than it once was, but still found it the most traditionally "preppy" school of ANY ever visited (LAC or uni).

Despite this, think overall academics will be pretty similar. All have great things to offer. As is always the case, you have to think about what fits YOU the best. There are a lot of very happy people walking around ALL these campuses because they identified that fit.

mythmom

Bowdoin made my kids' lists because of the ocean. We live by the ocean, and it made them feel at home and they loved the smell of the salt air.

But one ended up in the mountains and the other in the city.

We did not get to Carleton or Grinnell.

The strong points of Bowdoin, apart from the above, is its strong environmentalism and history -- Longfellow, Franklin Pierce and Lawrence (of the Battle of Gettysberg attended) as did Kinsey.

The student that interviewed my son was NOT preppy, but a local Maine student. He was hippieish and very friendly and a reader of obscure literature that interested my S.

Grinnell is noted as very friendly and down-to-earth and Carleton quirkier, but still mid-West friendly.

But that is just hearsay on my part.

lunitari

Most of my student workers seem to have chosen Carleton over their other choices because of the combination of a top-quality education and a campus atmosphere that's very friendly & inclusive & fun & a little goofy (in an often very intellectual way). They study their brains out--ohmigod, do they ever--but they still seem happy, and they still manage to have a social life.

It's not a cliquish place, and overt elitism seems very, very rare (except the elitism of considering Carleton superior to other colleges!). There's no real sense of who comes from money & privilege and who doesn't, or who accomplished the most in high school. The president describes it as, "You leave your stripes at the door when you come to Carleton."

If in doubt, visit. People tend to say, "There's just something about Carleton..." and that intangible *something* is best experienced through a campus visit.

reesezpiecez103

I knew after visiting Carleton (I did an overnight) that it was going to be tied for the top spot on my list. I can't compare it to Grinnell (never been there), but I know that Carleton's location appealed to me because I love the Twin Cities (my parents lived there before I was born, so we visit there every now and then). To be honest, it sounded much more appealing than Grinnell's location, although I was never able to visit Grinnell.

Davidson was beautiful and it's a great school, but like another reviewer said, it felt a little conservative for me - the tour guide I had was VERY conservative, so it was a bit off-putting.

I liked Bowdoin, but for some reason the campus just didn't click with me the way Carleton did. The tour guide wasn't great either. The funny thing is, the worst tour guide I've ever had was probably at Carleton, but because I spent the night with a host after that, I still adored the school.

1190

From President Oden's recent announcement of his retirement. His own "Why Carleton?":

"The enduring traits which characterize this remarkable college remain in place and are stronger than ever. Intellectual curiosity; the marked absence of corrosive competition; an openness to new ideas, new people, new worlds; the ready exercise of a distinctive and defining sense of humor, often at our own expense; teaching and learning collaboration that one obtains rarely elsewhere; good, old-fashioned Minnesota discipline and a continuing confidence that any and all success demands hard work; students, faculty, and staff engaged in learning in the company of friends. It is these and allied traits which I will forever associate with Carleton."