<p>Does anyone have any insights as to the relative strengths and weaknesses of Carleton and Whitman?</p>
<p>I am looking for the best combination of academic rigor, discussion-based classes and engaged and satisfied group of students for the best overall LAC experience. In particular:</p>
<ul>
<li>Is Whitman up to Carleton academically?</li>
<li>Is Carleton too academically intense to allow participation in sports and other extracurricular activities?</li>
<li>At both schools, how is the support from the college in seeking internships, graduate school and post-graduate employment?</li>
<li>Are the students at both schools happy with their decisions to attend?</li>
<li>To the extent generalizations can be made, are there any significant differences in the characteristics of the students?</li>
</ul>
<p>I really like both schools and, like many of us this weekend, the time has come to decided where I'm going next year, so any thoughts are appreciated. </p>
<p>I'm posting this in a couple of fora, so I apologize if you run into it more than once. Thanks.
SoCalUndecided is online now</p>
<p>I knew a lot of people who went to Whitman and briefly considered it. It’s a good school, but Carleton’s student body is definitely stronger and is an overall better academic experience. (There may be some exceptions where Whitman offers a better department, of course, but I don’t know of any.) Carleton students are very involved with things outside of academics, including clubs, intramural sports, work-study–people keep busy and don’t just hide in a hole for the duration of the term. The post-college outcomes of Carleton people seem to generally be better than those of the Whitman people I know, who are largely waiting tables or retailing it up in this economy, but sample size is a limitation with the Whitman crew so I can’t speak to the specifics of their career planning or internship support. Carleton is beefing up its career center and trying to be more aggressive in getting alums and parents to provide leads and opportunities, I can tell you that. Carleton is also much better known within MN than Whitman is within WA. Both schools produce students that are happy with their experiences, but Carleton students are just a bit sharper overall. Northfield is a better college town than Walla Walla, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. Just a few questions - do you know how involved the Whitman student body might be? When I visited campus, I got the impression that they are a very active group. Also, if you don’t mind, from where do you know this information and the people you are talking about? Thanks.</p>
<p>In terms of academic stats, Carleton is stronger across the board. However, Whitman has fewer classes over 50 and more classes under 20. Carleton has a lower student/faculty ratio.</p>
<p>In terms of other non-academic activites, Carleton is definitely not too intense for participation in sports and clubs. Here are some comparative numbers (keep in mind that Carleton is larger)</p>
<p>Whitman
athletics
over 70% participate in IM; over 20% in varsity sports
4 IM teams
10 club sports
16 varsity teams</p>
<p>55 student clubs and organizations
40% study off-campus
60% go to grad school</p>
<p>Carleton
athletics
80% participate in club and IM; 25% in varsity sports
15 IM teams
26 club sports
21 varsity teams</p>
<p>139 student clubs and organizations
over 70% study off-campus
over 70% go to grad school</p>
<p>Other differences -
Walla Walla is larger than Northfield, but Whitman is much more remote (2.5 hrs from Spokane; 4 from Portland; 4.5 from Seattle)
Carleton <1 hr from Minn/St Paul
Whitman is 3/4 the size of Carleton
Whitman has frats and sororities</p>
<p>I don’t know about the relative results of the career centers - Carleton has more on their webpage and more than twice the staff. If they effectively use alums - Carleton’s alum network is very strong and mostly besotted with the school.</p>
<p>One last thing I noticed - Carleton has a much more comprehensive A-Z directory on their website:)</p>
<p>that really puts it in perspective. it seems that carleton has both an advantage in academic rigor and a larger advantage (even given the size) in student activity. thanks for the help.</p>
<p>Hi there, I am an Intl student who’s been in the same situation as yours and I’d like to offer my perspective. I was actually waitlisted at Carleton so I may be a little biased, but I was accepted at Harvard as well and I will not be attending…</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Academically Carleton is ranked much higher by U.S news but Whitman has been ranked much higher by other publications such as Forbes and the Washington Monthly. These rankings are fairly subjective, however, and should not be paid too much attention. Carleton is bigger by 500 students so naturally offers more courses while Whitman’s class size is smaller 14 to Carleton’s 17. Carleton is reputed to be more intense, but I can’t comment on that any further. Carleton has also more PHD’s per capita (one of the highest in the U.S) than Whitman, but Whitman is arguably one of the most balanced LAC’s out there with a ~30/30/30/10 distribution for Arts & Humanities, Science, Social Science and Interdisciplinary majors. Both schools academic’s are excellent, so IMO I think it should rather come to “Fit” when you make your final decision.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t think so, Carleton was ranked #14 for Everyone Plays Intramural Sports, Whitman was #2. I think you will have no problem indulging in in sports and other extracurricular activities if you wish to. & IMO the intense atmosphere at Carleton may be partially derived from the intense weather which has been described as Siberian.</p></li>
<li><p>I can’t comment on that, but obviously with all the focus on Undergraduates there will be plenty of opportunities for research/internships if you ask for it. And Judging from the career outcomes at both schools I shouldn’t be particularly worried.</p></li>
<li><p>Whitman were ranked as the happiest students of any college in the U.S. Carleton has one of the highest alumni giving of any college so they must be pretty happy as well.</p></li>
<li><p>I think Carleton has a reputation of being more quirky while Whitman is more laidback, but these are just generalization. On the Princeton Review, people who considered Carleton also considered Whitman among their top choices and was thus listed as a similar school to Carleton. So I don’t think that the students are really that different.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>P.S: I’ve posted a similar topic entitled Intl St: Why Whitman/Pomona and not Pomona/Whitman??! & I’m on the facebook group of Whitman and Pomona where I posted the same topic, so try that too and if you feel like contacting me personally I think that you can easily find me…</p>