Hi,
I am currently deciding where to go to college and, as of now, Carleton is my top choice. I’m hoping that current/recent students or parents can give me their opinions on the pros and cons of Carleton. What do you like best about it? What are some Carleton traditions? What are the biggest problems that Carleton has? Any information would be appreciated!
From the perspective of a parent of a senior:
Pros:
Tight knit community, hard working students
Nice campus, large and beautiful arboretum
Fun traditions like Silent Dance Party
Cons:
Hard to move off campus, even as a senior
Limited course offerings in some majors
Due to small size, not a magnet for job recruiters
However, I’d say the pros outweigh the cons, and hopefully Carleton will remain your top choice. Best of luck to you.
Thank you! @Pootie
What other colleges are you considering?
Parent of an underclassman here:
The fact that you’ve gotten so few replies and the fact that there are few posts in general on the Carleton cc board is indicative of Carleton culture, I’ve always thought. Not that I’m saying cc is bad, but people on here, self included, can be a bit obsessed over the whole process. My Carl couldn’t care less about cc and to my knowledge has never been on it. Carls seem in general to be comfortable with themselves. They seem to have a wonderful blend of intellectual rigor in a laid back environment. Students work hard and love learning for learning’s sake, but there is somewhat less of an obsession with prestige and achievement for achievement’s sake. Don’t get me wrong, Carls work hard and achieve at high levels, but they seem less competitive and high pressured about it, more cooperative, more relaxed somehow. More motivated by intellectual curiosity than the brass ring. They seem to have some balance and perspective in their lives, and while they work hard, they have fun learning. Many Carls seem to have have fun, quirky senses of humor. I also find the people there are just incredibly nice, students, staff, professors and alums alike. The professors invite students to their home and participate in fun and silly departmental events, and help their students out when the student is in need. (I speak from experience here; one professor truly went above and beyond to help my Carl out.) The alumni network is strong. Carls love Carls, as they say. The college has a strong sense of community and they rally together in times of trouble. It seems to me a special place.
Cons? No complaints really. If you want a top LAC in the country with some access to a city (45 minutes) and you aren’t looking for a big university setting, Carleton has much to offer. Be prepared for one of two reactions to naming Carleton as your school, however, either, “uh, where’s that again?” or (especially if they’ve spent anytime in the Midwest) “Oh wow, that’s a good school.” Blank look or totally impressed. It’s a funny dichotomy.
Those are my thoughts. Bottom line my Carl loves it there, is truly happy, and so of course I’m biased in its favor.
Current student here!
Things I like best: The academics here are top-notch – our professors are fantastic, smart, and personable and we students have no problem talking to them outside of class for whatever reason. Students here are very self-guided both in academia and in extracurriculars and their social life. We care about what we care about and we do it very well. If you’re interested in some sort of hobby or an issue, you can get clubs and movements and everything started without a problem. Carleton’s also in a fantastic environment as we have both the Arb and a small town right next to campus and aren’t far away from the Twin Cities either.
Traditions: Rothblatt (very long half-drunk softball game), Spring Concert, running around to get Schiller (a bust of a philosopher), streaking, Mid-Winter Ball, etc. https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/campact/traditions/
Things that I think are problems: The students get too liberal sometimes and can be a bit militant about it – that is, people who are not liberal may feel attacked or repressed at Carleton. The winter sometimes gets really cold.
@thehangingtree I know this post is old & you might not see this, but I was wondering if the “militant liberalism” environment would make it difficult for me, a Catholic, to attend Carleton. While I am in general very liberal & don’t always agree with my church, I am pro-life… I am not afraid of being somewhat against the grain, but would I be openly attacked?
Carleton is currently my top choice, and while I was touring it seemed like an open and accepting campus… would this extend to a pro-life viewpoint?
@eyrar99 I am current Catholic student at Carleton and it really hasn’t been a problem at all and I am a very traditional, conservative Catholic. I’m not shy about my faith, I don’t flaunt it but I don’t hide it either. Most of the people who know me know I’m Catholic and although I know that it makes some of my friends who are very far left of the spectrum kind of upset, but they don’t let it affect our friendship. I was a bit apprehensive about coming to Carleton as a Catholic student, one of my other top choices was Notre Dame and it certainly would’ve been a much more comfortable fit, but I’m happy with my decision. We have a small, but friendly Catholic community, we walk to Mass together every Sunday, sometimes we do pray a rosary together one night a week, sometimes we get together and have discussions. Last week we had one about politics and sort of what is our rule as Catholic students in the political sphere. Come here and help us grow while growing yourself.
@bluecollar aw that sounds lovely! I don’t really want to go somewhere comfortable like Notre Dame where I won’t be challenged in my faith at all, but I like that there is a (small) Catholic community at Carleton. 
Thank you!
Go for it and attend Carleton. Learn to be challenged and sometimes uncomfortable at the same time. You will leave a whole person.
For whatever it is worth, this thread may not be the best way to get Cons about Carleton. I would suggest going through 5 - 15 pages of College Confidential threads to get a sense of the negatives. Occasionally, there is a thread that is negative, and there is always some partial truth to the negatives. There are a number of students, alums, parents, and staff that will rush to Carleton’s defense if a single negative thing is said…keep that in mind. I’m an Alum, and there is a lot that is positive to say about it though.
Pros…
-Small student body where it is very easy to make good friends.
-Small classes…you won’t get lost…profs give you the benefit of the doubt…
-Good resources and facilities…this wasn’t always the case
-Attractive campus that keeps getting nicer…this wasn’t always the case
-Cozy campus…it is not spread out over a city…
-Some flexibility choosing a major and being able to take courses from a variety of majors
-Easy to get letters of recommendation for Grad School
Cons…
-(A source of major debate…I know…) Upper middle class students body because of a need aware admission policy and limited resources for financial aid. If you doubt this, compare to basic financial aid numbers from some place like Grinnell.
-As mentioned before, Carleton will never be as much of a magnet for attracting recruiters vs. a major national university
-A 45 minute drive to the twin cities…not a great selection of restaurants and bars, etc. in Northfield.
To Jack 63’s insightful list I would add:
Pros–880 acre arboretum where a student seeking solace in nature can readily find it
Cons–Can be difficult to get permission to live off campus, even as an upperclassman.
@pootie so it is difficult to get permission to live off campus? How difficult and what is the criteria?
kchen, only about 10% of the senior class, or 50-65 kids, is allowed to live in non-Carleton housing. It’s chosen by draw numbers, and the website says you generally won’t get an off-campus option is your draw is higher than 100, so clearly not every rising senior wants to live off campus, but it seems like a popular option. It’s very limited because Carleton (and I’m guessing St. Olaf) try hard to be good Northfield neighbors and don’t want to jeopardize town-gown relations. You can read all about it here: http://apps.carleton.edu/student/housing/housing_options/northfield/
My ds never wanted to live off campus, though senior year he very much wanted to live in the townhomes on the edge of campus. Close, you don’t need a car but a great first step toward independence. He kept a minimal meal plan, mainly so he could load up on food to take back to the house! I was really impressed how nice they were when we moved him out.
@Youdon’tsay thanks for the info again. You are always a great help one more question. Are they allowed to leave the campus and stay somewhere else for the weekend?
Oh, yeah! It’s not prison! :)) Ds traveled with his team regularly on the weekends and once went to spend the weekend with friends at Macalester during their spring concert. Sometimes, he went to Twins games. He definitely loved life in the Carleton bubble, however. One of the reasons I liked Carleton was the proximity to the Twin Cities, but he ended up rarely leaving Northfield.