Does anyone have an idea about what kind of criteria which Carleton College takes into consideration when reviewing applications and selecting candidates? What they tend to focus on more? And is cultural diversity an essential factor in selecting international students?
Hi! I’m not sure if I’m a bit late in responding but seeing that nobody else did I will take a shot at it. From what I know, Carleton pays a great deal of attention to both high school grades and test scores (like all other highly ranked LACs) but it also places a great emphasis on your family background. By this I mean whether you will be a first-generation college student (placing you in a slightly advantageous position if you are). In the end, it really depends on the interplay of several factors that both fall within and outside of academics. I thought, however, that the first-generation student factor was worth mentioning as the other top LACs that I have researched do not seem to place as much of an emphasis on it.
I hope my response helped 
Carleton Common Data Set info for the last 2 classes…maybe even tougher this year
2016-2017 ACT middle 50: 30-33
2017-2018 ACT middle 50: 31-34
2016-2017 ACT 30-36: 76.9%
2017-2018 ACT 30-36: 81.2%
2016-2017 ED admits: 219 of 647 (33%)
2017-2018 ED admits: 215 of 725 (29%)
Yes, Carleton has signed on to seeking low- to moderate-income students, having joined the American Talent Initiative. See the following link:
https://apps.carleton.edu/media_relations/press_releases/?story_id=1635010
Carleton also seeks non-traditional students who meet the Posse Foundation’s criteria, as described in the following news release about the college’s Oct. 20, 2017, Convocation speaker Deborah Bial, president and founder of the Posse Foundation:
https://apps.carleton.edu/media_relations/press_releases/?story_id=1642356
The college is also reaching out to attract students from more rural/small-town backgrounds, offering a $10,000/year Fritch Scholarship for each of four years. The application for this is simple and on-line, linked on the college’s Admissions main page. This is aimed at middle-class students (the income qualifications seem to be generously defined). See the following link to an article about this:
Full disclosure: I am a Carleton alum and the parent of a current Carleton student who is receiving the Fritch Scholarship.
Question about the American Talent Institute… I read through the press release but did not see what is considered low income. Tried to google it but didn’t find anything (it’s late, I may just not have tried hard enough!). Do you know what is considered low-income?