<p>Hey guys. I'm looking at a bunch of LAC's and trying to compare one to another in terms of character, rigor of academics, etc. </p>
<p>My alumni interviewer said, "Carleton is a nerd school."
I actually heard this a lot although I'm not sure what gave met this impression so strongly - probably the reputation of rigorous academics and weak social life and nonexistent parties, which I obtained through various words of mouth and hardly reliable internet research. </p>
<p>But my question is, is there anybody not smart out there?
I skimmed over the acceptance threads in this forum, and hardly anybody had lower marks than 4.0 or 2300 SAT and 33ACT! Although that is quite impressive, college-related websites such as College Confidential tend to consist of unusually high-achieving students and the statistics could be perhaps skewed. I would like to know if there is anybody at your school who was subpar-A from high school, just an average person who is not a super-intelligent nerd.</p>
<p>The reason for this question is that I need to know where as an applicant I fall into Carleton's self-selected pool. Other schools I'm considering are Middlebury, Claremont, Wesleyan, Vassar, and other similar tier institutions. From my school, people with my scores and statistics are always accepted to those colleges, but absolutely NO ONE has ever applied to Carleton in the past. Carleton is very unfamiliar to prep schools, and my college counselor and I are quite lost, and we are debating whether I could fit in or not.</p>
<p>I am what people regard as "a B+ student." My transcript has a couple As but mostly Bs. My SAT score isn't extraordinary; it cuts right in the middle of Carleton's stats. But I do have a strong passion for learning and a certain subject/interest, and my unique EC's do set me apart from other students. I don't have legacy, URM, desirable location. I don't need financial aid, and I will have touching recommendations.</p>
<p>Weak social life and nonexistent parties...? Not sure where you're getting that idea! Carleton has a TON of social activities happening on campus, and I don't think there's any lack of parties either.</p>
<p>The Admissions folks always stress that they look at the whole person. So if you've got the intellectual curiosity and that Carleton kind of mind...don't rule yourself out.</p>
<p>You'd probably have to visit to get a more accurate feel for Carleton's vibe. I visited recently, but got the impression Carleton was full of nerds anyway. I wouldn't say they have a "weak" social life though -- there were tons of things to do on the days I stayed.</p>
<p>Carleton definitely has some people who didn't do as well stats-wise as their classmates, but it was hard to tell during class visits. I got the impression all of them were well-read, but were quiet during class discussions.</p>
<p>I'm guessing that few people apply to Carleton from your area is because of Carleton's location? I think there are a lot of kids coming from Minnesota thanks to its good reputation there, but there's a lot of people coming from the West and East coasts.</p>
<p>There are a lot of varieties of nerd - the Carleton nerd is the kid who always raised his hand in class. The one who got excited about what he/she was learning. The one who found a discussion of humor in Shakespeare more interesting than which football player the cheerleader is dating. The Carleton nerd has a goofy, creative sense of humor (refer to the Daft Hands video on YouTube - that's a Carl).</p>
<p>wow that daft think is insane LOL.
So i have a question for you - is Carleton big on class discussions? Do most of the people that go there participate in class a lot? do they like to debate? do they seem pretty interested in most of the stuff they study?</p>
<p>Thank you for all of your responses.
Sorry, by social life and parties, I meant more of those house parties with drugs and obnoxious revelry. I hear that liquor is copiuos but hard drugs are mostly nonexistent there? Baking cookies and playing scrabbles all night long aren't exactly my ideas of having fun although I wouldn't mind trying new things.
birdhouse - So after your visit, you DID think Carleton was nerdy after all... also Carleton kids seemed quite? I actually think I have read that somewhere else on this website; someone posted similar comments. And yes, I come from Boston, and Carleton is pretty unknown here although many people always favor LACs over big universities. It's always "if you are smart, go to Williams. If you are stupid, end up at Trinity." I would love to venture out to Midwest, but honestly, Carleton scares me with its high stats. I don't think I will apply to it, and just try Middlebury.
On a very random side note, are there any kids from boarding schools at Carleton?</p>
<p>I visited three classes when I was there; two of them were discussion-based (the other was a photography class). The number of kids actively participating in class probably really depends on the class subject and the teacher. In an european history class, about half did; in the English class I attended, all the kids did. They just had more to say on the subject...honestly, I thought the subject in English was waaay more exciting than the history one.</p>
<p>Yes, VERY nerdy. Outside of class, all the students are fairly busy and excited about what they do.</p>
<p>And yep, I happened to meet a Freshman boarding school kid from Connecticut on my host's floor who was really excited about giving another prospie and me an overview of Carleton. He was already involved in a lot of campus activities and had a shift at the radio station already, even though he had only been on campus a couple weeks.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and I have nothing to say about the parties at Carleton. (Do they exist?! They encouraged me to bake cookies at that house on the edge of campus, but then again, this was the admissions people.) I didn't get to attend any. I'm sure a current student could have more insight than some random visitor.</p>
<p>Carleton students are nerdy, but they're not all oatmeal raisin muffins and Scrabble. It's to the admissions office's benefit to showcase only the baking cookies and board games and cute qUiRKy campus events, but that's just not representative of Carleton social life. It's what appeals to a lot of dorky high schoolers who are looking at academically rigorous colleges (and maybe even more importantly, their nervous parents) and so it's what's marketed, but most people I knew at Carleton led pretty normal collegiate social lives, parties and all. Many freshmen who come in wanting the cookies and games change their minds early on, and there's plenty to do for everyone's tastes. The social life is like that at any other small, rural non-religious college without a frat scene. There are theme parties with costumes of questionable taste and limited warmth. There is drinking mysterious punch out of a blue dorm room recycling bin in Musser as a freshman. There is ordering a gyro pizza from Basil's after smoking a bowl with a few friends. There are poorly executed hookups. (All optional, of course, if you do find these things entirely unappealing--the Dacie Moses wholesome stuff does exist, too, but it is a minority subculture at Carleton.) What there ISN'T is lots of hard drug use, clubbing, extensive partying on weeknights (outside of Mai Fete or wine night at the Reub), or attractive people.</p>
<p>About the acceptance part- i got in with a 2160, though i did have pretty much A's in high school. And regarding the nerd school thingy...... i guess most people if not nerdy, are dorky, and everyone likes each other for being that way.
Birdhouse..which English class did you attend here? do you remember its name?</p>
<p>I was in Spirit of Place...I remember picking that because I was like, "...what?" They compared the book "Far From the Madding Crowd" to the movie version...they had a lot to say about the movie.</p>
<p>I can't even remember what they were talking about in the history class....I didn't read the homework stuff and had no clue what they were talking about.</p>
<p>shreya.iitk, do you think Carleton puts much emphasis on ECs? My scores, grades, etc. are decent for Carleton, but I'm afraid my ECs are hardly amazing. :/</p>
<p>Brief note here. I went to one of the ISL boarding schools in MA and eventually went to Carleton for my freshman year (I am class of '06). I have to say that the experience was a much needed change (for me) from East coast's more traditional take on education. You will find that Carleton exudes the more easy going Midwestern attitude. Students there are any less smart than those who attend East Coast colleges - they are smart, but don't take themselves so seriously. I only transferred for financial reasons; I fell in love with Carleton even though I initially shared your hesitation. I hope you find something that suits you.</p>