<p>Current students or their parents,
Are there any "problems" that you have found at Carleton, random things that you wish could be fixed...? </p>
<p>What would be sort of the "weakness" of Carleton College? </p>
<p>The downside of things! </p>
<p>Don't say like "the cold." I'm looking for more practical answers such as "the insensitivity of REsidential life office" or... "I wish Sayles had mailboxes with keys" ... you get the picture.
Things prospective students should be legit warned about before they decide to go there, or things that will show that they will definitely not be a good fit for Carl. </p>
<p>The Wellness Center. Don't ever waste your time and energy trying to get a medical opinion there, because they will just prescribe expensive antibiotics (... even when your infection is viral).</p>
<p>The Wellness Center is pretty limited in what it can do for you, medically. They basically do triage services (take your temperature, listen to your heart, etc.) They can't do blood tests or give shots (I don't think...) or other things like that, so they refer you to Allina Clinic or Northfield Hospital. Allina Clinic is pretty close--much closer than the hospital--and I haven't heard anything outright bad about it. They say on the Wellness Center website that they will refer you elsewhere if you require ongoing medical treatment for chronic conditions (but I'd call and ask to make sure).</p>
<p>The Wellness Center offers counseling services as well, but they too are meant to be temporary (i.e. not for an ongoing condition). There is no charge for these services.</p>
<p>The Wellness Center is also phasing out their pharmacy, but there is a Walgreens nearby, and a Target.</p>
<p>Oh my God,
I never understood the mailboxes without keys thing.... Can't people STEAL out of that really easily? Don't letters go missing or anything? I just don't understand how the mailboxes can exist without keys...</p>
<p>I actually thought that was one of the cool things about Carleton--the administration trusts students (and they trust each other) not to mess with other students' mailboxes. Besides, how would Friday Flowers work if they locked them?</p>
<p>Also, when you think about it, the mailboxes are numbered and too small for huge packages (I'm assuming they pick those up somewhere else?) so what is a sneaky student going to do...snatch a letter from a random person's parents? Rearrange people's mail? :)</p>
<p>It sure was useful when I wanted to leave my niece a quick note! I wish it had been the case in the 70's - my sister and sil had the same name. I was in the dorm closest to Willis so I learned their combos and regularly fixed the mix-ups (and often run mail to b and sil's apartment. The funniest was the invitation to join Mortar Bd - they kept swapping it back and forth because they figured they weren't on Mortar Bd so it couldn't be for them. I'm not sure how the other double names on campus handled it without a helpful sib:)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Oh my God,
I never understood the mailboxes without keys thing.... Can't people STEAL out of that really easily? Don't letters go missing or anything? I just don't understand how the mailboxes can exist without keys...
[/quote]
My initial instinct was to reply that this just doesn't happen, but then I realized that I'd have no way of knowing if some of my mail went missing. The next most reassuring thing I can say is that Carleton students do not perceive this to be a problem. Additionally, any packages or large mailings won't go in your mailbox. Instead, you'll get a slip directing you to pick up your package from someone working at the post office.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The Wellness Center. Don't ever waste your time and energy trying to get a medical opinion there, because they will just prescribe expensive antibiotics (... even when your infection is viral).
[/quote]
Agreed. The Wellness Center is good for inexpensive birth control, less so for most other services.</p>
<p>mflevity - you might want to post on more general forums (Parents and College Life) for more info on health services. My first and second hand experiences (Carleton and Lehgih - long time ago) and Mudd recently have led me to believe that college health centers are pretty bad. My niece went to Mudd where they share health services among all the Claremont Colleges. She went in with a high fever and low back pain and they competely missed a raging kidney infection. </p>
<p>So with a chronic issue, it's something I'd check out. Finding a local doctor, wherever you go, may be a better bet than relying on campus services.</p>