<p>Some comments based on my experience…</p>
<p>To some degree, I’ll echo what Youdon’tsay said in the sense that the intensity and competition is not on the surface and it is not direct (I do think Carls are competitive and intense though in their own way). Sometimes Carleton profs and students are, in general, not “direct”. This can throw people off, it threw me off at first and I was uncomfortable with it for a while.</p>
<p>With this being said, being exposed to this mentality has helped me. Much of the world, both the business and academic world, requires some level of diplomacy. For example, Carleton is good at producing students who go on to get PhDs. One of the main reasons I see students go for a PhD and fail is that they essentially go speak to their advisor, act like an ass, and talk their way out of the program. Perhaps there is something about the environment at Carleton that teaches students how not to do this while learning to appropriately challenge somebody. </p>
<p>One more thing, if you study Physics, “adorable” won’t be the first word that comes to mind anymore. That specific major is a more intense one than most.</p>