My son is deciding between these two schools. He mentioned Carleton is higher ranked? I am not sure my son should focus on ranking so much as he decides. What ranking should we be looking at if at all? We are going to both admitted students days and hopefully that will help him decide. Does anyone have any good web sites to compare colleges? Also if you have any thoughts of these two let me know. Son wants to study chemistry but likes all academic subjects. We live in New England. He is very outdoorsy. Loves to ski, winter camping, etc. So the cold is not an issue at either place.
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Your son will get a great education at either school. They are both excellent and highly regarded so I would not choose based on ranking. I’m familiar with Colby and the school attracts a lot of kids who enjoy the outdoors. Excellent skiing at Sugarloaf is about an hour away and the school has an active outing club. Your son will probably have a better sense of how the schools compare once he has visited. They are probably more similar than different (like most LACs).
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Between these two, rankings differences are going to be a function of what you choose to rank. They are both excellent as academic institutions.
They have different academic calendars. I personally wouldn’t decide on that basis but it can change the feel of things. For some, Carleton’s calendar means an extra fresh start each year while for others it’s an extra set of finals and midterms. For an athlete, one schedule could be infinitely better for their sports schedule. Colby’s Jan Plan is a great way to have a fully immersive learning experience, and opportunities that just wouldn’t work during a regular school year - from travel, performance art, etc., are available. For most, scedules are just “how you do school”.
Colby is probably sportier and is ideally situated for the kid who wants to ski, climb, hike, etc. Since you’re from MA, you know what Maine offers! And kids there take advantage of it. But Carleton offers an opportunity to be in another part of the country, and there will be outdoors activities. Minneapolis is nearby and more cosmopolitan than Portland.
It’s good you’re visiting. I think the vibe of these two is pretty different - and that’s not something that even makes sense to rank! Many kids would be happy at both, but I think Colby may have a more lively party culture for those looking for that. I suspect this will be apparent to your son through the visits.
Colby has tons of well-resourced options for internships and experiential learning through the numerous centers on campus. If that’s of interest, it could matter.
In other words, the decision between these awesome choices isn’t one of rank or better, just where he feels like he’d be happiest for 4 years.
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I would not use any sort of generic rankings.
I think you are getting good summaries of Colby, so I will discuss Carleton a bit, since my S24 has it on his short list.
Carleton is generally considered among the top few most academically excellent LACs in the country, and it sends a lot of graduates to top PhD programs and such, up there with, say, Swarthmore (some have described Carleton as a more laid back Swarthmore, which makes some sense). It has a lot of quirky traditions, and its Midwestern Nice such that people are very friendly. It is about 45 minutes from Minneapolis/St Paul, which is a great, diverse city with lots to do, and a major international airport. It has a fairly large campus with a very large arboretum. There are many outdoor recreation opportunities in Minnesota.
I agree visits should really decide where your son feels like he would thrive. But to the extent your son finds the strong academic reputation of Carleton appealing, I do think that is a real thing, but only one possible factor to consider.
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If your student likes Nordic skiing, Carleton’s arboretum has many kilometers of groomed trails.
If your student prefers Alpine, know that Carleton is situated just 26 quick minutes from the legendary Buck Hill, which undoubtedly has produced more Olympians (Lindsey Vonn, Kristina Koznick, Tasha Nelson McCrank) per foot of vertical drop than any other ski area in the country, and probably in the world 
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Regarding rankings, this site, for example, places Colby 36th and Carleton 42nd nationally:
If Colby seems to represent a better fit for your son’s criteria, he could justify the choice on this basis.
Thank you all so much for this helpful information. He was going on the US New and World report of Liber Arts Colleges. I was trying to explain to him it is just one source and this will be great info. to give him. Thanks again for each of your comments.
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Both are amazing schools, with lots of outdoorsy opportunities and culture.
This may or may not be important to him: does he see himself living in the Northeast when he graduates? If so, he’ll obviously have more Colby friends and fellow alums in New England/NY.
Best of luck to him.
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What is he studying?
Rankings are a function of - the criteria.
Last year, for example, the US News criteria changed an schools like Vanderbilt, WUSTL, and Tulane plummeted from the year before.
On the LAC side, W&L plummeted 10 spots from 11 to 21. Carleton fell from 6 to 9. Not sure Colby’s movement.
The reality is - the schools are the same as they were the year prior.
The other thing - go to society and ask 100 random people, and probably 95%+ and I’m guessing it’s plus, have never heard of either. Yes, those - grad schools and employers who need to know - many will know.
But this isn’t a ranking thing. The student has to spend four years, day after day - and that matters too.
You’ve read of some differences - the calendar and location. Perhaps there are cost differences. The student may look at clubs or curriculum in their area, etc.
But hopefully after your visits, one says to them - I’m home!!
Rank is good for bragging rights I suppose - but not much else once you hit campus.
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And Carleton is near the birthplace of America’s greatest rock and roll band, who have a song titled “Buck Hill”:
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We have found that the Maine schools are better known than some other LACs – especially Colby. Agree w/others that if the goal is to work in the Northeast eventually, then Colby is so well known and has a huge network of alums, plus is part of the CBB (Colby Bates Bowdoin) consortium that also has joint networking events, etc. Carleton is probably better known in academic circles because, as mentioned, it’s known for excellent teaching. Two wonderful options!
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This is not to say that Colby is not rigorous, but Carleton has gained a reputation for rigor. It’s kind of like Swat/UChicago/Columbia/Reed in that sense.
I would not attend Carleton if I wanted to just glide through four years of parties and the occasional paper or exam, because by rep at least, Carls work their tails off. The upside of that is, it’s a great way to learn.
These are both outstanding schools, and your fit preferences should point you in the right direction – there are enough differences between them to help you choose wisely.
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I don’t think I’d pick Colby for that either!
But I suspect from what I hear from students at both that if you wanted to go to parties when you weren’t working, Colby might be a better choice.
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That’s my feel also. BTW, if you want to look at student reviews, we have found Niche to be fairly accurate. It’s at least a starting point to ask questions about workload and campus culture/student life.
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I injected a bit of hyperbolic whimsy into that comment. hehe
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You could just consider whether he prefers trimesters or semesters (really 4-1-4).
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This post offers brief comments on Colby in the context of comments on other liberal arts colleges: NESCAC Spoken Here: - #5 by merc81 .
Strange. I couldn’t find Bowdoin or Bates in the listing.
The site includes this note, which is not especially explicable in some cases:
Thank you all so much for your comments. He is going to Colby as he thinks it fits him better. He also loved Carleton and had a hard time deciding but seems happy with his final decision.
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