<p>Hello, I'm planning on attempting to transfer from my current college to either of these two schools. In the fortunate event that I would be accepted at both, I wouldn't really know which one I would prefer.</p>
<p>My current major is physics, and I would most likely not be changing it before I graduate. Although I'm not sure of what I want to do post-college by any means, my desires are pointing themselves toward grad school in astronomy or atmospheric/environmental science, and if I do decide to pursue this, I'd like to be as competitive of an applicant as I possibly could. Carleton, from what I've observed, seems more geared towards science than Macalester, whereas Macalester's strengths are more pronounced in social science. I'm only basing this off of my own vague impressions of the schools, however. What I definitively do know is that Carleton produces twice the number of science doctorates as Macalester (525 vs. 268 respectively, from 1997-2006)* and also has an observatory, but I've heard somewhere that students at Mac are able to access research opportunities, classes on specific topics and such at the U of M, which is a pretty significant advantage as well.</p>
<p>Academics are probably the most important factor in my decision, but if it turns out that the difference is ultimately negligible, the social environment of the schools would come next. I think that I would prefer Macalester, personally, as someone who is excited by the Twin Cities and an "edgier" student body. However, I know that interesting people and access to the Cities are available at Carleton as well, which complicates this decision. </p>
<p>Thank you for reading!</p>
<p>(By the way, I'm also well aware of how ridiculously competitive transfer admission is to these schools -- no need to bring it up here.)</p>