Interesting take on Carleton’s website. I have found it clean and intuitive. Perhaps because it is colorful rather than traditional it may suggest simple to some. It is clearly the product of a relatively recent and very thoughtful design process. The fact that all departmental sites at Carleton use the same design to its full potential impressed me a lot. In short, I would rate Carleton at the top of all schools for their web design. I am also partial to Williams for a slightly more brainy/modern vibe, but their design is not as consistent as Carleton’s.
When I was researching last year, Middlebury’s site still had a lot of legacy older design pages that looked dated. It looks like they have cleaned those up now, or at least I can’t find them quickly. But perhaps your impression is a result of their latest renovation work.
Ultimately, the website is not the most direct reflection of the actual college experience. If it gets in the way or is too dated (signalling lack of investment in services), that might be a problem. But otherwise those look and feel characteristics are just going to be arbitrary design choices updated every 5-8 years. MIT used to have a gorgeous, text-heavy site that was really appealing to someone like me who wants maximum information laid out logically. But someone else probably told them that their approach was too extreme, and now they’ve got a site like any other school’s.
I did not research psychology specifically, but one of the reasons that Carleton made it onto my kid’s list was that it leads all LACs in the proportion of students who go on to PhDs in STEM disciplines. And most top LACs exceed Ivys on that measure. It is a real powerhouse. Middlebury is fine too, but not at the same level, in my opinion.
The big question mark for me about Carleton is the trimester system, which has advantages and disadvantages. You’d have to be comfortable with that. Carleton has a super friendly and collaborative vibe. It is almost too positive, to the point that I wonder if someone who has a slightly more cynical character might not fit in.