<p>Okay. Facts about myself:
1. I plan to earn a PhD in the humanities.
2. I love discussions, small classes, and intellectual atmosphere.
3. I don't want to be, however, rushed through exams and readings. I want ample time to chew and swallow the materials.</p>
<p>So, here are pros and cons between Carl and Grin.</p>
<p>Carleton
Pros:
More liberal and holistic admission process, maybe?(based on my impression on the website)
Slightly better PhD productivity
More prestige(Top #10 in the US ranking for 10 years) I'm not a big fan of rankings or name value, but it would certainly make me(and my parents, who have to pay for it) more comfortable.
Cons:
Trimester. I want a rigorous curriculum but not a fast curriculum.</p>
<p>Grinnell:
Pros:
Smaller(est?) class sizes
More $ (I'm not exactly sure if and how this will be beneficial, but I guess more money implies better faculty, facility, and opportunities in general?)
Cons:
Well.... it's a semeseter school.</p>
<p>So what do you say? Can anyone defy/approve my judgements?</p>
<p>You really can't go wrong with either school. My best advice to you would be to visit both and if you still like them, apply to both and decide next spring.</p>
<p>"Trimester. I want a rigorous curriculum but not a fast curriculum."</p>
<p>Most semester based LACs typically allow for 4 courses per term, 8 per year. At Northwestern/U Chicago's trimester systems, 10-12 courses/year are the norm. Students at Carleton and Dartmouth generally find their 3 per trimester, 9 per year course arrangement a happy compromise among options. Come graduation, they've had the opportunity to sample 4 more courses than would have been possible at most LACs while being allowed to focus on only 3 courses at any one time. </p>
<p>I think this is a decision that will come down to a campus visit. Grinnell is somewhat smaller in size (both in terms of student body and campus) and more isolated geographically. More intimate/too intimate (?) - it's a very personal thing. Visit if at all possible.</p>
<p>I think that it would be a good idea to do some more research on both schools. Think about subject areas you definitely want to take classes in, and look at the courses offered. You might discover that one school, while having a particular department, might offer classes in a different area of focus than you're interested in. (E.g. the college has a theater department, but most of the classes are about analyzing plays and not acting).</p>
<p>With regard to the trimester/semester system... I've experienced both as a college student. I found semesters (15 weeks) to be too long, but that was just me. The nice thing about them is that if you get sick and miss a week (or even two), your chances of catching up are fairly good. With a trimester system... well, you might have to drop one of your classes if you missed two weeks. Students here are much more aware of how far along in the term it is ("I can't hang out then because it's fifth week").</p>
<p>And even though semesters are longer, you'll still have a lot of reading every week and have to balance your time.</p>
<p>Mostly though, learn more about other aspects of the two schools. Things like the people, the departments/majors/courses offered, the gen ed requirements and the atmosphere will have a greater impact on your happiness (and a decision to transfer) than semester versus trimester.</p>
<p>Apply to both, and take the time for a quality visit (as noted above). Departments can vary between schools and you may have a better fit with one over the other.</p>
<p>D and I visited both this summer. She like Carleton's campus and Northfield a bit better. If I remember right, she got to Carleton after seeing Grinnell and said "I like trees, there are better trees here." Grinnell has train tracks running through campus and when we walked downtown the businesses didn't seem as student oriented. We went to a restaurant (salads and sandwiches) recommended by the admissions receptionist and it was fine, but nothing special. We really liked Hogan Bros (sandwiches) and Sweet Lou's waffles in Northfield. Also we didn't see stores in Grinnell that we wanted to browse, whereas she had a great time at Ragstock, a bead shop, and some other spots in Northfield. I think Minneapolis also seemed a bit better to her than Des Moines. From my perspective the travel is easier to Mpls - from California we'd pretty much have to fly through Mpls to get to Des Moines.</p>
<p>If visiting both isn't an option, you might be able to do one of the video tours to see what you think of the "look." </p>
<p>WRT semester vs trimester - an advantage of trimester is that you can do an off-campus program in the fall and still have 2 terms when you get back. My neice did a semester fall program giving her an extra half term's worth of credits which helped her finish a term early and do an internship for spring term senior year.</p>
<p>But, as others have said they are both great schools and you really can't go wrong.</p>
<p>bingle: We reacted strongly to architecture/setting of schools too, and I think it may have been a mistake. By some sort of grace S got a gut feeling of where he belonged, thank goodness. I don't think in the end that the town, buildings make a college as much as the people do.</p>
<p>Of course, some people are more sensitive to setting than others.</p>
<p>I went to college in oodles of mud (new campus, lots of building sites), and I don't remember that at all. I remember the people.</p>
<p>I have no horse here in Carleton vs. Grinnell or any of the other subjects of debate. As you say, they're both great schools.</p>
<p>My son chose Carleton over Grinnell after visiting both, but it was a close call in many ways. They're both great places where you will work hard and get a great education. </p>
<p>If your parents are with you when you visit, tell them to go wander around by themselves. If they're not around, you'll get a better sense of what the students are like. (As we all know, parents are essentially aliens and thus tend to chill conversation among student peers.) </p>
<p>Also, feel free to knock on faculty office doors and strike up conversations, or to encourage your parents to do this. The faculty are generally approachable at both places.</p>
<p>If your parents are paying and you won't be getting need-based aid, keep in mind that Grinnell offers significant merit aid and Carleton offers none. Grinnell's cost is also several thousand dollars lower to start with. </p>
<p>I don't know that Carleton's admission process is more "holistic"--it gets more applicants than Grinnell, which allows it to waitlist or reject more qualified applicants. I have been told that Carleton pays a lot of attention to the candidate's perceived "interest" in the school. This, of course, is supposed to allow it to keep its yield up, which improves its rankings. </p>
<p>Either school would be a great choice. Good luck choosing!</p>
<p>
[quote]
I have been told that Carleton pays a lot of attention to the candidate's perceived "interest" in the school. This, of course, is supposed to allow it to keep its yield up, which improves its rankings.
[/quote]
...Except that US News hasn't included yield as part of its rankings calculations since</a> 2003.</p>
<p>The percentage of students accepted does go into figuring princeton review's "selectivity index." Hence, if a college can increase its yield by admitting interested students, it can afford to reject or waitlist more thus appearing more selective.</p>
<p>I would most certainly hope that Carleton (and Grinnell and every other LAC, for that matter) does pay careful attention to the serious interest each applicant shows. In these smaller school settings, every new freshman arriving has that much greater a potential impact on every aspect on campus life. A student body filled with kids who truly want to be there will be a much happier place than one filled with students enrolling at their "default" college. Carleton can be a pretty deliriously happy place.</p>
<p>I'll add that I can't think of another school that more honestly and openly defines itself to applicants. Just scan their website. Carleton has no interest in recruiting applicants in bulk. This is not a one size fits all place and they make this abundantly clear to anyone who does a modicum of research. While they do have a deep interest in recruiting a diverse body, it is invariably, year after year, held together by a single common thread - these are students who found in Carleton a school that best fit their image of themselves, the values that they hold, and (sometimes) frisbee.</p>