<p>Thoughts from prospies/current students/alums?</p>
<p>Carleton and Swarthmore are probably my top choices right now, but I'm not going to get the chance to do overnights at either for financial reasons. I applied to Swat ED and was deferred and eventually accepted, so it obviously has a lot of pull for me. However, I am trying to keep my options as open as possible and invite different perspectives. I am doing an overnight at Pomona to experience a non-Swarthmore environment, although I am fairly certain that I want to get away from home and therefore will likely not end up at Pomona.</p>
<p>I am interested in studying political science/history, but I am concerned about the strength of the biology department as well.</p>
<p>Some Swarthmore attractions: near Philly, TriCo, intellectually fervent environment, honors program, not Minnesota weather</p>
<p>Carleton attractions: friendly students, environmentalism, evidently an excellent indian restaurant nearby? </p>
<p>Neither gave me any aid, so I'm also curious about the flexibility of either's financial aid office, if anyone has input.</p>
<p>If you live in Claremont, I suspect theres a reasonable chance youve got a parent whos a professor at one of the consortium schools. Welcome to Carleton, where youll find a lot of kids who have always called a college campus home (professor may well be the number 1 parent occupation here). </p>
<p>Swarthmore has a lot in common with Carleton but their students seem to have more in common with their counterparts at Chicago (I see you found the revived Chicago thread below). I actually think the greatest difference between our schools lies in the way students respond to stress (and sometimes life in general). People at Swarthmore and Chicago seem much more inclined to complain about circumstances surrounding their experiences at school (as per their mea culpas on their CC boards) while still loving their schools. Maybe to counteract Minnesotas winters, Carls do seem to have much more sunny dispositions(?) They certainly are more likely to respond to stress not with despondency or anger but with some hilarious off-beat hijinks (well, sometimes only hilarious to the perpetrators). The specifics I speak of may trigger a CC censor - lets just leave it at that.</p>
<p>Following up some of the points you make, Id agree Philly is more accessible than Minneapolis, winters are much colder here, Carls are even friendlier than Labradors (the retriever, dont know much about the Canadians), and intellectualism at Swarthmore, though possibly no more prevalent than at Carleton, is certainly more overtly out of the closet there. I would argue that the TriCo is pretty rarely used, certainly not the way the consortium is in Claremont. Id mention that Carleton is significantly larger than Swat. And while both campuses are lovely, one is truly suburban while the other, despite proximity to a major city, adjoins a historic small town. Finally, while Chapati does serve very good Indian food, Id strongly suggest you check out the recently opened Sweet Lou's Waffle Bar. Sweet Lou moonlights as a Carleton religion professor. </p>
<p>I transferred from one of the Claremont Colleges to Carleton, so if you have any specific questions about the differences between those (though I know you're mostly choosing between Carleton and Swarthmore), let me know.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Welcome to Carleton, where youll find a lot of kids who have always called a college campus home (professor may well be the number 1 parent occupation here).
[/quote]
Pomona College President Oxtoby's daughter is a member of Carleton's Class of 2008.</p>
<p>GerberDaisy, which Claremont college did you attend? I'm definitely interested in comparisons--if I hadn't lived here for ten years, I think I would like the 5 C's a bit more than Carleton, if only for their resources.</p>
<p>Mm, I know Oxtoby's daughter really likes Carleton. And a friend whose father is also a Pomona professor applied to Carleton EDII, so there are a lot of former Claremont students at or bound for Carleton, from what I understand.</p>
<p>1190, I really appreciate the advice! What exactly do you mean about intellectualism being in the closet? I know that both Carleton and Swarthmore students are very smart, but I don't really want to end up being (overtly) the nerdiest person on campus, if Carls keep their intellectualism more to themselves. </p>
<p>I'm also trying not to base too much of my opinion off of the CC Swarthmore board, because everyone I've ever spoken to in person about the school seems wildly more enthusiastic about it. I think CC attracts an odd crowd from that school. But here I am asking CCers to respond to my questions, so who knows.</p>
<p>I suppose it really comes down to whether Carls' happiness outweighs the other considerations that formerly propelled me toward Swat. I would never have imagined that the decision-making part of this process could be as involved as applying! But I think I will be happy wherever I end up--I have a lot of great options.</p>
<p>Thank you, everyone, for the involved input!</p>
<p>As a current Carl with a sister who went to Swarthmore I can tell you that you really can't go wrong academically. One definite plus of the Swarthmore curriculum is that it is far easier to double major or minor. It also might be useful to consider the different term structures of the two schools (i.e. Carleton=Trimesters, Swarthmore=Semesters) In terms of location, I definitely like the town of Northfield more than Swarthmore, but it is without a doubt easier to get from Swarthmore to Philly than from Carleton to the Twin Cities.</p>
<p>I don't have experience with Swarthmore, but I've known a few Swarthmore students. Based on their personalities and my conversations with them, I'd say that Swarthmore is less fun-loving and that students are quite a bit more serious than Carleton students. Not that you can't have a good time at Swarthmore, but I think there's an uptightness to the school that isn't present at Carleton.</p>
<p>There's not one, but two excellent Indian restaurants nearby: Chapati (very very close to campus and delicious) and Kurry Kabab (stupid name, not in walking distance but they do deliver and I think are overall better than Chapati).</p>
<p>Intellectualism is as ubiquitous at Carleton as a Frisbee in flight.</p>
<p>But Carls are not self-conscious intellectuals. Maybe its part of the native Minnesota modesty that pervades the campus. You will experience the same high level of intellectualism here as at Swat or Chicago. Just dont expect Carls to wear it as overtly on their sleeves they wouldnt want to draw attention to the trick cards they have hidden underneath.</p>
<p>I attended Pitzer, but I took most of my classes off-campus (mostly at Pomona and Scripps, one at CMC).
It's hard to make generalizations about all of the 5Cs and compare them to another singular college. My biggest issue was that there was less academic engagement at Pitzer than I would have liked, and definitely less than there is at Carleton. the 5Cs have a real southern California feel about them. Even though Pomona seems like Carleton, the kind of student that attends is very different. I found that a lot of Pomona kids were more grade-centric than Carls, they might have been the people in high school who put a lot of conscious effort into maintaining high marks and having a "well rounded" set of extracurriculars, whereas Carls seem to do what they like without that kind of forethought and micro-managing (though there are exceptions to every rule, surely).
I said a lot about Carleton students in the UChicago versus Carleton thread, so I won't dwell on that. Mostly, I found Pomona to have less learning for the sake of learning, and more "I want to be a doctor, so I'm doing this"--more focus on the future and planning, more partying... less laid-back than Carleton. I guess people there seem to care more about what other people think of them than at Carleton.
These are broad generalizations, but I spent a lot of time with Pomona students. The vibe is very different, even if the two schools have similar prestige.</p>
<p>D is a Swarthmore student. S will be going to Carleton next year. D is happy at Swarthmore, although it has been much more academically challenging than she expected - no false advertising, Swarthmore is pretty up-front about it. She says she would make the same decision again - proof will be if she actually chooses to send her own children to Swarthmore down the line. D has always been very serious about intellectual pursuits and likes being know for that and attending a school that is know for that.</p>
<p>S likes being know as "happy-go-lucky", funniest guy in the class, "piano man" - he is actually an academic beast underneath but would never advertise it. We think Carleton will be a good fit for him.</p>
<p>In terms of other differences, tri-college access has not been on our D's radar - she stays so busy on campus, she doesn't want to take the time to travel to another campus for a class. It is very easy to fly into Philly and take the shuttle, cab, or train to campus - a little more challenging to get to Carleton. </p>
<p>Both are good options. I would recommend getting in touch with current students or even the facebook groups of admitted students to get a sense of where you would be a better fit. Some of the postings by parents are very biased :), and you would probably learn more from current students.</p>
<p>Your son sounds like a perfect Carl! ... My freshman daughter says she has never worked so hard in her life as she has this first year at Carleton--that the academics are "challenging," and then some. Despite those demands on her time and energy, she adores the place; there is an oddball, fun-loving atmosphere around Carleton that just makes her happy.</p>
<p>Thanks for the kind words, Hindoo! He is looking forward to Carleton but is still trying to enjoy every moment of his last two months in high school. It is great to hear that your daughter is so happy there!</p>