<p>@magneticpoet: from what I’ve heard, yes, Bon Appetit is better than Sodexho was. The food, at least in my opinion, is actually decent here(certainly better than it was at my high school!). </p>
<p>@starbucks08: haha, no problem. So far, I really like the people here–they’re very accepting, as you noted: most people at Carleton don’t care about what you wear or how rich or well-connected your family is, etc–and the place is brimming with “Minnesota nice,” which takes a little getting used to if you’re not from Minnesota, but overall makes the campus and the town very welcoming. As for the whole “like sticks with like” situation, I honestly think that’s inevitable to a certain extent at any school, not just Carleton: new students arrive, they’re nervous, and so to reassure themselves, they seek out the familiar and find people similar to themselves. But the great thing about Carleton is that a) it’s small enough that you get to know many people, not just those similar to you; b) most people here, including upperclassmen, really are so accepting and nice that it’s easy to befriend them; and c) the college makes a strong effort during New Student Week to mix the students up. Obviously, I’ve never been to a New Student Week at a school other than Carleton, but I was really impressed by NSW here and met so many interesting people. I do understand what you mean when you say that at certain schools, the student body as a whole looks very diverse, but when you take a closer look, isn’t very well-integrated at all, and while I haven’t been here long enough to disprove that statement at Carleton, I can say that several of my upperclassmen friends have a wide range and mix of friends from different backgrounds, ethnicities, countries, and cultures; so far, it doesn’t seem that the international students here clump together as they do at many other colleges, which I really like. </p>
<p>As for sports, don’t worry–you don’t have to worship or even like them to fit in here. I remember hearing somewhere that the vast majority of Carls participate in at least one club or intramural (I’ll have to double-check that, though), but playing at that level is more about having fun with your friends than about any sort of serious competition (though there are many clubs and IMs here that are quite good and take their sport seriously). I was a three-sport athlete in high school and fully intended to play club sports in college, but there are so many other interesting activities here–theatre, Scottish dancing club, volunteer opportunities, etc–that I’m rethinking that earlier intention. So there’s definitely no pressure to play at Carleton and lots of alternatives to athletics. </p>
<p>As for people attending games, I haven’t even heard of a single sports event on campus yet, so I don’t think that going out on Friday night and cheering on the Knights is too popular, but I could be wrong as I haven’t gone to a game yet. The most beloved, and arguably most talented, team at Carl is definitely ultimate frisbee. They apparently went to nationals a year or so ago. I didn’t even know there was an ultimate frisbee national championship… my ABSOLUTELY FAVORITE thing about Carleton so far are the classes. They’re incredibly interesting and detailed, and I’ve learned so, so much just in the few weeks that I’ve been here. Then again, I’ve always been a bookworm…</p>