<p>My final college list was due a month ago but i'm having second thoughts...I'm interested in studying biology and i want to go to medical school later. Is carleton really a nerd school? Is it true that people don't really party at carleton? Is it more conservative than mac? mac seems really liberal...how easy is it to visit the twin cities? thanks</p>
<p>I'm applying to both schools, but Carleton's my #1, so ... take this how you will. </p>
<p>Is Carleton really a nerd school? In a sense, yes. But then again, so is Macalester. It all depends on how you define "nerd school"... it's certainly not USC. But it's not Caltech either. It's not a "party school" per se, but people don't spend Saturday nights cooped up in the library either (unless you enjoy that sort of thing...) I visited on a Sunday night, and everyone was catching up on work they had put off because they had been partying. From what I understand, there's stuff going on every weekend - you can drink every weekend if you want. Or not. I think it's kind of a work hard, play hard thing.</p>
<p>Is it more conservative than Mac? For one thing, it's not that hard to be "more conservative than Mac." Both schools are quite liberal, but it seems like Mac's more overt about it... the feel I got, after visiting both, is that Mac's campus is more political. It's hard to describe. And Mac is very, very liberal. Carleton's more traditionally liberal in a collegiate sort of way, if that makes any sense at all. </p>
<p>Sorry I can't answer your last question. But other than that, I hope this helps!</p>
<p>Carleton is definitely stronger than Mac in bio (there was a thread on phds by college in College Searh forum);
I second magneticpoet on the "work hard, play hard" phrase but at Carleton play for a good chunk of the student body does not include alcohol.<br>
I also agree with the more overt liberalism at Mac, but I think Carleton has a rep for being pretty high on the liberal scale.
I also got a strong feeling on our Mac tour that they had a bit of an inferiority complex when it came to Carleton. There were several comments on the tour about competition with Carleton; whereas I have never run into Carls who pay much of any attention to Mac. This also pervades deeper than the student body - a friend working there (who had previously worked at Carleton) said she had to be very careful about talking about how something was done at Carleton. The response was split between those who felt that if Carleton was doing it they should be and those who were bound and determined to do nothing the way Carleton did.</p>
<p>I second bingle's impressions of a Macalester inferiority complex and rather one-sided rivalry. Ditto with Grinnell.</p>
<p>Before Macalester and Grinnell trolls come flocking here, though: it's okay dudes, I mean no disrespect to your fine institutions that happen to have plenty of Carleton rejects. The way your student body collectively perceives Carleton is the same way Carleton's perceives Pomona and Brown. Just how it is.</p>
<p>It's easy to visit the Twin Cities...if you have a friend who is comfortable loaning your a car or if the couple of co-op bus runs each weekend work out for you. In terms of just grabbing dinner in the cities or seeing a concert or going clubbing, the weekend co-op bus will probably not work for you because of its hours, except maybe for dinner on Fridays. It's good for Mall of America-ing and daytime events, but not evening activities.</p>
<p>So the question remains, why is Carleton ranked significantly higher than Macalester? Are their academics truly 'better,' or is it all just silly numbers?</p>
<p>(I'm applying to both, as well. Plus Grinnell, I think.)</p>
<p>I think it depends on whether the numbers measure things you feel will be important to you. In pretty much each category of the USNWR rankings Carleton is ahead. You might want to read through the discussion on how they do the rankings and what they believe they're measuring. If you agree, then the academics will probably be a bit better for you at Carleton. OTOH, the differences aren't very great. You're looking at fabulous schools and, as longitudinal studies have shown, the outcomes are based on the student. You care enough to be putting alot of thought into your decision and that tells me you'll get alot out of college wherever you go.<br>
Since you're looking at Bio - I'd vote for Carleton or Grinnell, but they're all great. </p>
<p>One other place to check - do a facebook search for Carleton 2013, Grinnell 2013, Macalester 2013 and read about your potential classmates. Does it feel like a bunch you really want to meet? Check out the 2012 groups for a larger "pool"</p>
<p>Good luck, but don't worry. Its all good</p>
<p>Here is some PhD data bingle mentioned above. I think it's geared more toward research than medicine, though.</p>
<p>Percent of PhDs per grad
Academic field: Bio and Health Sciences</p>
<p>PhDs and Doctoral Degrees:
ten years (1994 to 2003) from NSF database</p>
<p>Number of Undergraduates:
ten years (1989 to 1998) from IPEDS database</p>
<p>Note: Does not include colleges with fewer than 1000 graduates over the ten year period </p>
<p>1 California Institute of Technology 5.4%
2 Reed College 4.8%
3 Swarthmore College 4.4%
4 University of Chicago 3.3%
5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3.1%
6 University of California-San Francisco 3.1%
7 Harvard University 3.0%
8 Kalamazoo College 3.0%
9 Harvey Mudd College 2.9%
10 Earlham College 2.8%
11 Johns Hopkins University 2.7%
12 Princeton University 2.6%
13 Haverford College 2.6%
14 Mount Holyoke College 2.6%
15 Yale University 2.5%
16 Rice University 2.5%
17 Lawrence University 2.5%
18 Carleton College 2.5%
19 Stanford University 2.5%
20 Oberlin College 2.4%
21 Cornell University, All Campuses 2.4%
22 Grinnell College 2.3%
23 Hendrix College 2.3%
24 Bryn Mawr College 2.1%
25 Bowdoin College 2.1%
26 Wellesley College 2.1%
27 Amherst College 2.1%</p>
<p>I also think you need to take into consideration if you want access to the Twin Cities on a daily (hourly?) basis or if you would be content to visit them once in a while. I have one daughter at Macalester who thrives on the urban experience, and one who is going to Carleton who will thrive on the more rural experience. I think both schools offer excellent academics and active social lives.</p>
<p>I'll second Rebeccake's focus on how setting influences the different experiences these two schools offer. As dietcokewithlime points out, Minneapolis and SP are there for the taking on weekends whenever the call arises, but Carleton is a much more campus-centric place. That campus dwarfs Mac's. Carleton borders hundreds of arboretum acres offering a buccolic escape for students. Northfield's small town charms lie just a few blocks from student housing. No one would confuse Carleton with Barnard.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree the sciences are stronger at Carleton and the school generally more competitive and better ranked, but these differences pale in comparison to the significant difference in setting. If you have strong preferences in this regard, it should probably trump all other considerations.</p>
<p>This morning the temperature in Minnesota was less than -15.<br>
Is there a difference in the ways the students on the two campuses respond to the brutal weather?</p>
<p>HA! It was -18 in Chicago!</p>
<p>I think I can handle MN, then.</p>
<p>Okay, I'm done being off-topic now.</p>
<p>its like comparing apples and oranges
on carletons viewbook they have an apple, on macalester's viewbook they have an orange</p>
<p>misterme, i thought the same thing! :) great minds think alike.</p>
<p>Ha, I wonder if that's deliberate on the part of the people who make the Mac propaganda. The Carleton apple theme has been around for a few years, but the Mac admissions marketing stuff from around then used to have red maple leaves everywhere, not oranges, if I recall correctly.</p>
<p>"its like comparing apples and oranges
on carletons viewbook they have an apple, on macalester's viewbook they have an orange"</p>
<p>Quote of the day!</p>