<p>D toured Carleton today, and it is now firmly in her top 3 hoices. Northfield is about 30-40 minutes south of Minneapolis/St. Paul, and is a charming town. Class is still in session at Carleton, so D got to see what the students are like and she was able to sit in on a class. I think she was really sold on Carleton when the ad rep told her that Carleton students are all inner nerds at heart because they are passionate about learning. It was a gorgeous day, and many students were outside soaking up the sun - there are lots of grassy open areas for sunning and frisbee. D really enjoyed the class she observed and immediately went to the bookstore to buy the book under discussion. The students were quite friendly and ready to help a "prospie". The buildings are nice and the newer ones do not stick out like a sore thumb. Most students don't seem to have cars on campus; Morthfield is within walking distance, don't know how they get to Minneapolis. Lots of bikes, some locked, some not. Had fun watching a copule of students climbing up the side of a rock building. The library has 5 floors, each with a different level of "silence" - yes, there is a sign posted at the front explaining the silence levels. Judging by the bulletin boards, there are quite a few activities going on all the time. </p>
<p>Husband and D will be touring Macalester tomorrow - more to come.</p>
<p>Take a trip back in the winter - that's when you'll really test your D's love of Carleton ;-)</p>
<p>As a California-weather-spoiled kid who visited only in the dead of Feb, I can still say that Carleton really is a wonderful place, but testing the weather is probably a good idea.</p>
<p>fireflyscout, keep them coming. What did the student body look like?Dress, manner,style...you know what I'm asking- Dooney and Bourke (Coach) or old soiled macrame bag that smells of incense, or somewhere in between?</p>
<p>a friend of my D graduated from Carleton- he got through it by spending a semester or two in Mali ;)
but ya- the weather
a friend of mine made it through a year at St olafs and she is from Rochester so she knew what to expect.
She made it a year or so, then worked as an aupair in Paris for a year and came to Seattle to finish school
but I would rather have sunny snow than rainy rain- expecially if you are talking about months at a time</p>
<p>Yes, I know winter is a really tough sell. </p>
<p>Curmudgeon - the students I saw were definitely NOT preppy. They looked pretty ordinary in t-shirts and jeans. Didn't see anything that looked designer. Did see one or two goth-ish students. As far as appearance goes, the students were pretty middle-of-the-road.</p>
<p>My nephew's friend turned down a scholarship that would allow him to go to any school in his home state of Indiana at no cost to him. The reason he turned it down? To attend Carleton.</p>
<p>The theatre director at my sons' school is a graduate of Carleton, and loved every minute of it. Glad you are on your visit-cycle. Looking forward to your take on Macalester, DD's soon-to-be SIL went there and though it was cold, said they have underground tunnels and such to avoid the cold. She loved the academics, but was away from her sweetheart and I think that colored her experience. Have fun!</p>
<p>Just a quick note re underground tunnels: the tunnels apparently have been closed. A student told us during our tour earlier this year that the school closed the tunnels after some problems resulting from students who had too much to drink making unwanted physical contact with other students using the tunnels; an admissions officer told us that the school closed the tunnels due to concerns about structural integrity.</p>
<p>I have two close friends, both college professors, who speak highly of Carleton. The husband turned down Harvard to go to Carleton and said it was the best decision of his life. The wife taught at Carleton for two years through a faculty exchange program. She has also taught at Harvard, Princeton, and Cornell, among other places, and says that Carleton students remain her favorites of all of the schools she has taught at because they asked the best questions and are the most engaged in class. Both are already plotting how they will convince their third-grade daughter to go to Carleton when the time comes. :)</p>
<p>Carleton ranks #1 in the Princeton Review, the only review source tha plots LACs against major universities (for academic quality, campus life, selectivity, and financial aid/scholarships.) None of the Ivies break the top 5.</p>
<p>But snow? It never snows at Carleton. Kids run around barefoot all year round, sitting under trees and stuff - just look at their website!</p>
<p>Hey, wait a minute! Carleton has a video students produced which DOES show snow. I think you can access it on their website. But it is nice that Carleton does have the term go through May to get the good weather (Carleton is on a trimester calendar, and has a long break from Thanksgiving to Christmas). I believe I remember hearing that the dorms are not air conditioned.</p>
<p>fireflyscout, my son decided on Carleton after his visit this April. He had just come from U Chicago and Northwestern, and had really been gung-ho Northwestern. He called the next day after the overnight at Carleton-- from the airport-- and said "This is it! But the tee shirt!" </p>
<p>Fortunately we can recycle the ticket to Pomona. He didn't even want to go out to California after the Carleton visit. Of course we lived in northern IL for the first ten years of his life, so the cold isn't such a drastic change. That and our weird Christmas Eve 12 inches of snow this year!</p>
<p>I will also say that Carleton gave him a very generous financial aid package, more so than any other school except Pomona.</p>