I just figure out how to do it. thanks !
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We are in touchāthank you.
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Happy to talk about Carleton. Itās top notch for science and the location is great.
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Hi. My son has been accepted at Carleton. Wanted to connect with parents of Carls. May I send a message? Thanks
Iām happy to answer questions. If you can figure out how to do a private message (my digital native is my carleton student, so I donāt have his help here!) Iād be happy to give you my phone and/or email
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Congrats to all future Carls and potential future Carls. Go to admitted students day for sure and get a feel for the place. My kid recently graduated and I canāt tell you how impressed I was with the experience.
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Really close relationships with professors. If you are thinking of grad school, Carleton is known for the in-depth recommendations that they writeāthey really know their kids. Professors at grad schools can tell the difference between a rec that is deep and understanding and one that is not. They prefer the in depth assessments.
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Minneapolis is close, and there is a bus service (not run by College) that goes from campus to downtown/Mall of America/Airport fairly often, more frequent around breaks. My kid didnāt go up a lot, but did go to some museums, etc. for certain clubs and classes. But Northfield is a small rural town that really grows on you.
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If also looking at Grinnell, they are about 3 1/2 hours apart, just up/down I-35. We visited bothāfirst separately and then back to back as decision time loomed. In the end, Carleton just felt like home.
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Everyone on campus and in town is just so nice. It is truly a community. Very respectful.
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The academics are obviously excellent. Something about that LAC model that is truly different from larger colleges and unis.
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AlsoāCarleton is always at the top when it comes to undergraduate teaching. Has been forever. They take great pride in that ranking more than any other.
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Carleton is a great school. But my daughter has had trouble getting the microbiology class- a requirement for vet school. A couple of requirements are only offered every other year to 16 students max. No exceptions. We will need to pay for summer school.
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Thanks for your info! We will be flying in from Florida for a Carl day and canāt wait. Something about Carleton just seems like a perfect fit for my daughter. Itās hard because none of the family wants her to go to school so far from home lol. She has a full ride at University of Florida honors college so my family thinks we are nuts for even considering a school so far from home and losing all that scholarship moneyā¦ but UF (and UNC-CH, her other choice) would be entirely different experiences than Carleton. Carl Day canāt come soon enough- I feel she will love the vibe and campus there. She wants to major in Biology and definitely go on to grad school, so research and internships are really important.
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I have relatives who have attended/attend both schools. Colby has a much stronger alumni network in Boston/NYC than Carleton if that is where your child wants to end up. Otherwise the two schools are quite similar in many ways; Carleton perhaps a little crunchier, Colby a little more bro-ish. Please take my generalizations with a huge grain of salt.
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Congratsāsounds like your daughter has great choices! I think it really depends on your daughterās personality type and how she learns. Some schools attract the striver/achiever archetype who likes to conquer anything and everything, some attract the rah rah archetype who wants big time sports, etc. Carleton is really for the thinker/intellectual archetype. If she loves academics, likes to get into deep discussion with peers and professors about the work they are doing, then it is a perfect fit.
Someone else said itābut the whole atmosphere is very supportive. Senior year, the kids do ācompsā (a comprehensive project) and they give a presentationā¦they all come to support each other, whether physics or CS or bio or history.
Also, nearly every Friday, there is a convocation around lunchtime. A speaker, usually affiliated with the region or the college, comes in to give a lecture. In the hall, there are students as well as many community members from Northfield. Check out convocations on the Carleton website.
There is no pressure to be someone you arenāt. Students and administrators alike will tell you on Carl Dayāwe want you to be the same geeky kid we let in. Thatās when my kid knew they belonged!
There is a board game club that meets Saturday nights and probably gets 200 kids who show up. Huge intramural broom ball every winter when they freeze the Bald Spot. And the college is really into Ultimate frisbee, fielding multiple traveling teams. Good rec facilities and the arb are also there.
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Would you guys say that Carleton has close connections with DC? Thatās where I want to end up working, and my other option right now is virginia tech. carleton is a lot better for public policy which is what i want to do, but if there arenāt close connections w dc iād rather hedge my bets with vtech and see what i can land
So Carleton has a very active alum network in DC:
https://www.carleton.edu/alumni/regional-carls/regions/dc/
They also had a dedicated Off Campus Study program in DC where you combine an internship with special classes:
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thank you! honestly at this point carleton is looking a lot better than virginia tech, but im scared im going to hate the location and size of the school
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Carleton has internships that it helps students get over the winter break (which is from Thanksgiving to New Yearās - so lots of time to visit home and then find a short internship). I know that there are some in DC that they can help set up. These would be independent internships working with a person or firm, and Carleton can help find alums for housing. The same would go for summer internships - more hustle on your part to apply but they will help and do provide some funding as well.
Thereās also offical winter break trips. Thereās one in DC winter 2024 (probably not for freshman, but you could look into it for the future). Hereās a link: https://www.carleton.edu/ocs/dc/
The official trips are with a small group of all Carleton students and Carleton faculty. Theyāre usually associated with specific classes fall and spring term to bookend the trip.
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Can you visit? I think a lot of people love it, but of course they are a self-selected group.
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I love this information, thank you. Yes, my daughter is one who thrives in academia and is much more at ease chatting about cool intellectual stuff than hitting the social scenes. The more I hear about Carleton, the more I feel it is such a great fit for her. I think the distance is the biggest issue, since UF is so close to us only a couple hours away, and the full ride and honors college benefits makes it seem like the ālogicalā choiceā¦ but she (and I!) are really falling for Carleton- on paper it is perfect for her so I canāt wait for the visit! Thanks for your insight!
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One more addā¦at most places, you are pretty lucky to establish good relationships with a couple of professors over the course of your four years. My kid had first name relationships with professors he didnāt even have any classes with! Suggesting books, talking about tracks to pursue, etc. It is just so student/learning centered there.
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Jonathan Capehart from the Washington Post is a Carl. He made a pretty good DC career out of it!
Alsoāif interested in public policy, take a class from Prof Steven Poskanzerāheās the President Emeritus of Carleton and is teaching classes still. He is really engaging.
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Hi. My s was also choosing between Colby and Carleton. In the end, he thought Colby was just too remote. Friends who know a lot about colleges shared that the culture at Carelton is greatā students very happy there and thriving afterwards. We loved the fact that they have received top teaching ranking for years. Both great choices! Congratulations to your s and family.
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