<p>I am a high school senior from Los Angeles and have a week to decide which college I want to attend. Though diversity at most LACs could be better, it is something that is important to me in a college campus. I also really like the outdoors (hiking and backpacking). I'm not sure what I want to pursue but I know that Carleton is significantly higher ranked than Bates and part of me has a hard time ignoring that, though I really loved Bates when I visited. I'd love to be involved in an A Capella group and would probably join a few intramural sports. If anyone was considering both of these schools and has any wisdom to share, I would appreciate it so much! What are the major differences between the schools besides the obvious schedule (trimester vs 4-4-1) and location differences? Thank you SO much!</p>
<p>What are you interested in studying? Are your programs of interest stronger at either school? Have you visited Carleton? If so, how did that visit compare with Bates? What did you love about Bates when you visited? (Would give us more info about what you want).</p>
<p>I sent you a PM on the diversity aspect, based on my campus visit.</p>
<p>Hi skilos. Congrats on getting admitted to two great schools. (I’m assuming you’re in off the waitlist for one or both?) My son chose Carleton over Bates, but he really liked both schools.</p>
<p>Neither Bates nor Carleton are among the top LACs for racial/ethnic diversity, though both are making real efforts to diversify. According to the CDSs for both schools, the percent of minority (AA, Hisp., Asian, and NA) students enrolling in the last two entering classes was about 21% and 22.1% for Carleton, and 18% and 19.2% for Bates. By the numbers, Carleton’s class of 2013 had: AA (21), Hisp. (38), Asian (57), NA (1). By comparison, Bates had: AA (30), Hisp. (19), Asian (36), NA (5). My son was really impressed with the admissions officer at Bates in charge of multi-cultural recruitment.</p>
<p>As for geographic diversity, both schools enroll students from all over the country (and the world), though a majority (or close to it) of Carleton’s student body comes from the midwest (especially Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin), and the majority at Bates comes from the northeast. </p>
<p>Carleton has a significantly higher percent of kids who came from public schools: about 75%, as opposed to about 55% at Bates. That may or may not mean that Carleton has more socio/economic diversity than Bates, though my personal feeling after visiting both schools was that this was the case.</p>
<p>I’m sure you’ll find great opportunities for singing and intramural sports at both schools. Both schools also have an outdoors club, though we heard a lot more about this while visiting Bates than at Carleton. </p>
<p>My son thought the students at Carleton and Bates were extremely friendly and easy going, and that’s one thing that attracted him to both schools. He did get the feeling, though, that the students at Carleton took academics a bit more seriously, and themselves a bit less seriously, which for him was a winning combination. 
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<p>Good luck with your choice, and let us know!</p>