<p>I'm interested in neuroscience, psychology, languages and possibly premed and I don't know how to choose. Do any of these stand out? I'm posting this on all three schools' forums. I'd appreciate any advice, especially if you go to one of these places.</p>
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<p>Hey, Alex! I applied to both Vassar and Carleton (going to Carleton!) and was considering Haverford, so I'll offer you my two cents.</p>
<p>I ruled out Haverford from the beginning because, personally, 1100 or 1200 students is just too small. I know that you can interact with the two other colleges, but I have a friend at Haverford and she said she doesn't much, she just keeps to the campus. I was afraid I would get sick of everyone after two years, Carleton is nearly double the size of tiny Haverford! I would say that the people at Haverford are like the people at Carleton generally, though, except maybe the cold weather makes the Carleton students a little... crazier? haha.</p>
<p>Vassar I visited and was considering a lot. It's beautiful, closer to where I live, but the students just did nothing for me. I'm a girl, and the girl-guy ratio is pretty skewed, which was sort of a drawback. There are a ton of theater-types, and athletics take a back-back-seat (at least that's how I felt from my visit on campus). Classes are small, but they are at Carleton and Haverford too. Basically, I felt like the students were "trying too hard" to be "sceneters" or "hipsters" or something of that like-- they took themselves very seriously, something that wasn't absent at Carleton.</p>
<p>Carleton-- I'm totally biased, but it had the perfect mix of fun + working hard in class + exciting people + down-to-earth-ness that I wanted! (I could go on forever, so if you want more, check another thread where I spew on about my Carleton adoration.)</p>
<p>Neuroscience is a special major at Carleton. Most alums in the Alumni Directory who majored in it (earliest occurrence is 1995) seem to be doing PhD programs or med school, or are already practicing medicine. Only a couple people major in it each year so I know very little about the coursework they do (some combo of psych and bio), but they seem to be very successful group. The psych department is pretty popular but I don't know much about it, though I'm told there is one professor that students generally don't like (pretty uncommon at Carleton) who teaches a required class, and a lot of the psych majors dread taking it with him. The languages vary pretty widely in size of department and strength of department, so it depends what specifically you are interested in.</p>
<p>FYI, there is no premed major or formal program, being a premed at Carleton is just taking required courses for entrance into med school. Since most are bio and chem courses, premeds tend to be bio or chem majors but any major works.</p>
<p>The Haverford honor code thing sounds kind of terrifying, really. I'd think long and hard about if you want to go to school where students are obligated beyond personal ethics to report cheating and the like. I think Vassar is way more artsy than Carleton, less sciencey. Carleton has been planning to massively strengthen its art and music programs to bring them up with the science ones, though, and I think the class of 2011 will probably be able to see improvements from those initiatives before they graduate.</p>
<p>A friend's D is just graduating from Vassar as pre-med. She loved it, but has said the science program isn't its strongest. She has been admitted to 2 med schools though.</p>
<p>Alex7:</p>
<p>Each year Carleton graduates an unusually large number of science/math majors - up to one third of each class. They produce more PhD's in these fields than any other LAC. Their accomplishments, especially with regard to women in these fields, was profiled this past year in the Chronicle of Higher Education:</p>
<p>You are considering three wonderful schools, each held in very high esteem by doctoral and medical school admission committees. Their unique cultures/atmosphere may ultimately be of more importance to you when considering where to enroll than the specific features of their academic strengths. Best of luck.</p>
<p>does carleton's location ever bother you?</p>
<p>I'm a mom, so keep that in mind. My junior son and I visited Carleton (and a few others) this weekend (we live in the NYC metropolitan area) and we both loved the atmosphere at Carleton--a beautiful campus, a diverse student body, kids seemed happy and friendly with a really good mix--lots of art/theater/science/sport going on (sadly, we didn't find a heck of a lot of music, which is what he's looking for--interesting that dietcokewithlime says they are improving art/music, as the school has such a great vibe). The town is indeed quite small but has several great college-friendly shops, and you can get to the Twin Cities in a little over half an hour (much faster driving than in the NYC area!) and they have a regular bus shared with St. Olaf.</p>
<p>A friendly environmental studies professor we met in a coffee shop in St Paul (where we looked at Macalester) went to Wesleyan (BS), BU (MS), and got her PhD in Calif. and she said that the Twin Cities area is the best place she's been for employment opportunities, congeniality, and of course it's cheaper than the coasts. We were just there for two days, so take that for what it's worth!</p>
<p>I should add that just because we didn't see a lot of music doesn't mean there isn't much. There were simply no concerts/rehearsals/lessons going on during our visit (we took a self-guided walk for 2 hours one day and a formal tour the next day, and saw the film, which was a lot of fun). Would love to hear from any music majors at Carleton.</p>
<p>FWIW, I got the impression from Carleton that students have a great sense of humor.</p>
<p>As a freshman, my daughter has found everything she needs for entertainment on campus; there's so much going on that she has to pick and choose. She likes Northfield and she has gone into the Twin Cities 3 or 4 times this year.</p>
<p>You can take a cheap bus into the cities...the kids do for concerts on occasion, or to do canvassing etc...but I have to agree with fireflyscout, on most weekends (and some week nights for that matter) there is so much to do my son has to choose, or try to hit a few things in succession.</p>
<p>I didn't grow up in a large city, so it's not like Northfield is really lacking in places to go and things to do compared with my experience growing up. Carleton is much better off than St. Olaf is too, since our campus spills right onto Division and we have a good number of restaurants, shops, and bars in walking distance, so you don't really need a car unless you're trying to go to Target or Cub when the Northfield buses aren't running. The Oles have pretty much nothing nearby and use the bus system much more heavily than Carls do. My main gripe with Carleton's location is the lack of a 24 hour trashy breakfast place within walking distance of the school, but I think I'd have that problem at a lot of other schools.</p>
<p>whats it like coming from somewhere like the sf bay area?
when people go into the cities, what kind of things do they do?
after carleton, is the name recognition mainly in the midwest for such things as internships or is it widely recognized at grad/med schools nationwide?</p>
<p>My husband gets stopped a lot in DC when he wears his Carleton parent shirt. (He works there temporarily) Down here in south Texas, they have no clue. Then again, most folks here don't go to college, and if they do they stay in Texas.</p>
<p>I know I’m digging up old dirt but…bump.
Especially to alex7’s questions.</p>
<p>My daughter visited both Vassar and Carleton, before choosing Carleton. Vassar was drop-dead gorgeous, but for some reason didn’t enchant her as Carleton did. On the other hand, we have a friend whose daughter is a very happy junior at Vassar. Both are wonderful, well respected schools, so it would all depend on which appealed to you more after a visit. Can’t speak for Haverford. Good luck.</p>
<p>I can’t speak to Vassar’s qualities because I never considered it.</p>
<p>I visited both Haverford and Carelton last spring and found that I liked the smaller size of Haverford (as mentioned above, just over less than half the size of Carleton) and the emphasis on peace, social justice, and most blatantly, the Honor Code. Plus, Carleton had the small, midwest, industrial town feel that I’m not very fond of while Haverford was set in a lush, suburban city close to Philly. I think both schools had wonderful academics, but Haverford had the non-competitive atmosphere that I long to escape from in high school; I didn’t get that sense from Carleton. </p>
<p>Not knowing much about either school when I visited, the most glaring discovery I made was that the students I spoke with at both schools had very different attitudes. The Carleton students I spoke with seemed cross and almost uninterested in my questions. The Haverford students were bubbly and excited to talk to a prospective student. I could see myself being friends with all of the Haverford students I met… the Carleton students just didn’t give me that impression.</p>
<p>I applied ED this past fall to Haverford and was accepted. I am very happy to be heading to Pennsylvania and am glad I visited both schools in the spring of 08. It just goes to show you can’t expect to love your favorite English teacher’s school… you are the only one who can decide that.</p>
<p>(for the languages aspect, I know that the connections with UPenn and Bryn Mawr help in the diversity of language options at Haverford. Carleton I don’t know much about because both schools have French and that was my only requirement :] )</p>
<p>Wow, jmussa! Cross students at Carleton? My daughter had the absolute opposite experience–the laid-back, friendly student population just blew her away. She also didn’t find Northfield at all industrial. While it’s definitely out there in the cornfields, truly rural, the town itself is quite charming. She gets out of the “boonies” and into the big city (Minneapolis/St. Paul) quite easily and frequently when she feels the need. Your experience at Carleton is exactly why visits are SO important. One’s impressions are crucial in making a happy decision. It sounds like Haverford “called” to you, just as Carleton did to my daughter. 
I hope you’ll have a happy experience at Haverford!</p>
<p>My mom knows multiple people that loved Vassar.</p>
<p>I fell in love with their library. It’s like a Gothic cathedral. And the campus itself is breathtaking.</p>
<p>Vassar’s campus itself was beautiful, but I don’t love Poughkeepsie - my club team for soccer practices there, and compared to Haverford and Northfield - which I find really charming - the environment just wasn’t right for me, particularly as it is not the safestr place to be at night. That being said, I know a lot of people who loved Vassar, but I’ve never heard anyone gush about a school as I have Carleton, so that was a major indicator betwene the two.</p>
<p>Carleton and Haverford actually seemed similar to me except for one thing - the size. Even though I prefer a small school, Haverford in all honesty seemed too small for me, especially since it was smaller than my high school (1500, which seemed small).</p>
<p>Academically, you can’t really go wrong with any of them, because all are extremely rigorous. However, from what I know, the science programs at Carleton are especially strong across the board, which is another major plus for Carleton.</p>
<p>I’m definitely biased, but Carleton has the edge for me.</p>