@Midwestmomofboys sorry I meant Grinnell already has amazing facilities in the science department. The one thing I haven;t looked at are the courses being offered at both Carleton and Grinnell, I’ll look into that.
Even I am not considering Swat right now because it has extra rigorous academics where I wont be able to maintain a a high GPA. That in turn will affect my med school application.
@JHS even I love Carleton primarily because of its beautiful campus and well informed professors. Do you have any idea about the new sciences building at carleton?I could not find pictures of that on the internet.
Photos may be scarce because the project has not been completed. This site offers architectural drawings and descriptions for the complex at its expected completion:
My daughter is starting at Carleton next week. Her father, her mother, and an aunt also attend back in the 1990s so my opinion is obviously biased. It is academically challenging, and there are a variety of social scenes. When my daughter visited as a prospective student, she stayed on a quiet floor, but a number of people living on the floor still met up in the lounge for a while to unwind, talk, and play cards. So they socialized, but didn’t really party. Of course, it was a Monday night.
Weekends are the time when actual parties are more likely to take place. Different dorms have different reputations for parties, though there are none that are party all the time. The academics tend to be too intense for most students to party every day, though there are always some students who do their best to try partying all the time. There are also substance free floors where those who want to avoid drinking and other substances can live. Basically, if you want to party, you can find one. If you don’t want to party, it is not hard to avoid it and still find people to socialize with.
I wouldn’t expect Carleton to be much, if any easier than Swat academically. Both schools (and Grinnell), are known for their outstanding teaching. In other words, if you are willing to learn, they will give you all the attention in the world in order that you succeed. That is not always true at other schools, where it’s more like Ninja school, where only the strong survive(talking to you, McGill!).
The admissions guy at Carleton said, " We (Carleton) were nerdy before it was cool to be nerdy."
I dunno- when I’ve been there I’ve seen some pretty good looking, healthy, smart looking young adults. BTW, Rochester, MN is about an easy 50 minute drive from Carleton. It is the home of the Mayo clinic, which dominates the city. Thought that might interest you with your interest in Medicine.
Swarthmore is so rural and isolated there’s a regional mall within easy walking distance of campus (< 1 mile). And train service from Center City Philadelphia to the on-campus train station runs through midnight most days, and until after 1 am on Saturday night.
I would not have considered either Hamilton or West Point to be suburban. More rural. Beautiful settings at both! The little village of Clinton where Hamilton is exudes charm.
Swarthmore, Haverford and Wellesley, on the other hand, yes, are in quintessential suburbs.
Well, some Swatties liked their experience but several found it oppressive – and I seem to have met the group of folks who found it overly competitive and oppressive. One Swattie I know is an interviewer for Swat and s/he told me that s/he debates whether to tell prospective students how much s/he hated Swarthmore. But hey, there’s all sorts of people and some people love it.
As for Vassar folks finding it hard to get to the City, yes the train station is not walking distance from Vassar, but the taxi is simple and not so expensive. Also: NYC! It’s a whole different world from other cities in the US. Often there are other Vassar people at the train station and you can split a taxi back to campus. It’s not that hard.
That sort of edgy competitiveness that the Swattie fans’ comments show, is just what I mean – Swatties have to compete, have to show they’re the “best”, have to push push push, have to “be right” about you know everything! I’m not saying that’a bad, especially if you thrive in a go-get-'em environment (to what end?) if you however want a calmer and more pleasant live-and-let-live environment, I’d choose any other school but Swat.
“One Swattie I know is an interviewer for Swat and s/he told me that s/he debates whether to tell prospective students how much s/he hated Swarthmore.”
Why the heck is she interviewing for them then?!
“That sort of edgy competitiveness that the Swattie fans’ comments show, is just what I mean – Swatties have to compete, have to show they’re the “best”, have to push push push, have to “be right” about you know everything!”
I am one who has posted here re: Swarthmore. I have no skin in the game or connections to the school other than having visited a couple times and knowing alums that were happy there. I just dislike inaccurate info and bold exaggerations, and the constant harping on Swarthmore by some here is unwarranted - and notice it is by folks with no first hand experience at the college.
^Yes, I think that, while reputations have a grain of truth, they also get exaggerated and become an unfair caricature. Swarthmore somehow got a reputation for an overwhelming workload and posters really emphasize that. But it may be true of many other top schools, too.
It certainly is true of Williams. Two of my son’s courses this year will require an entire book to be read every single week. This is on top of all the writing assignments from those classes and his work for his other two classes. Not to mention the time students put into clubs/ sports/ music and similar commitments on top of that, as well as planning for the future with the necessary searches and applications for study abroad or an internship, etc.
Our son also commented, during the days before school started, that the campus looked so different at that time because there actually were people walking all around the grounds. The campus looked like it had a lot more people than usual. He joked, “During the year, they are all inside studying.”. Everyone works pretty much around the clock at Williams. There is no other way to survive. What happened to a peer who did not study as much? He is on leave after failing two classes. Yet, a vision of everybody studying all the time is not the Williams reputation; it’s the Swarthmore and U of Chicago reputation.
Williams, Wesleyan and Haverford all have reputations for enrolling lots of athletes and studio/fine/performing artists, none of which anyone really associates with Swarthmore. Helps to know the class curves have some balance to them.
It’s not the place to go if you’re looking for easy A’s. The curriculum is rigorous and students at Grinnell work extremely hard. The workload is as tough as it is anywhere.
Hey guys. I wanted to tell you that I have verbally committed to Carleton College. Your suggestions and feedback have helped me make this tough decision look easy. You guys are amazing :). Hopefully I’ll be part of the Carl class of 2024 family. Keep doing the good work
Toured Swat with my son in April. The worst vibe of any of the colleges we visited – ( Swat, Haverford, Lafayette, Amherst, Williams. AO made it clear that the main thing that they are interested in is an Activist. All the students were very grumpy and walking around with their heads down. It was a nice day but no one was enjoying it. None of the usual jokes with the tour guide. Our tour guide was a nice guy, athlete, and stressed how everything was free, didn’t really to seem to have much of a grasp of economics.
@NoelCat thanks for your view. I really dont want to be in a school where people are not happy. Vibes play a big role in your efficiency and therefore Swat will not be the right place for me. Do you know about carleton college? Hoping to hear your views on the same.
HI -
We didn’t visit any of the other schools on the list – but I have heard good things about Carleton. There is a book called the college finder that has lists of colleges arranged by topic. Example – college where the students report being happy. Also on here, you might be able to find information by searching for Carelton comments. Also reviews on Niche…
