<p>Those are my top choices right now, and I know they're very different, but I really can't decide... I may major in Chemistry, Bio, or Psychology.. and minor in theatre or journalism maybe... but I'm pretty much undecided. I think i'd fit in well at either school, but I can't find cons to either other than that one's too hot (Rice) and one's too cold (Carleton)... and those are pathetic cons... any help??</p>
<p>I have one daughter at Carleton. In professional life, an old mentor, so very nice, now in his 80s - still quite active with over 100 patents and still shaking the world, attended Carleton (married to a Carl classmate, too, as many eventually do, years later) had always impressed me and so I recognized Carleton as possible fit at the start of her senior year. I mentioned it, she added Carleton to her list of 25 initial candidate colleges and universities. She seemed to like the description of Carleton in the various college guides, on the web and her AP Physics teacher (from Reed) encouraged her. </p>
<p>On our spring tour there, I noticed the uncanny resemblance of our female student guide to two brothers that I knew at Rice, the father now a doctor. Upon discussion, it was apparent that we fathers both felt that Carleton had some advantages, including extra personal attention and intimacy, for our daughters. My daughter, as most Carleton students do, now loves Carleton after deciding April 30/May 1 between Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Carleton, after she decided that she was most interested in the LACs the 1-2 months before. </p>
<p>Both are excellent schools.</p>
<p>Houston is a vibrant city with the Village (some great shops and restaurants), Baylor Medical and U of Texas, Houston Medical schools 2-3 blocks from Rice's beautiful campus. Rice is a full university with greater breadth of courses along with the professional and graduate schools. Although Rice has always emphasized its personal undergraduate experience, its class sizes are somewhat larger until the junior and senior years but the professors are quite approachable. At Rice, it is possible to work with world class researchers in a subject – one of my roommates worked one summer for a future Nobel laureate (Smalley) and my freshman year, the university president, also a chemist and chairman of the National Science Board (policy arm of NSF), was sure to spend a brief part of an afternoon in the honors freshman chem lab looking over our shoulders and discussing the projects.</p>
<p>Look carefully, consider your interests and possible majors. My advice - read every guide that you can lay your hands on and talk with teachers, professors, current students or graduates (lists should be available or even fishing on the internet probably works). Then choose the school YOU like best, by your heart, not for parents, friends, name, ego, etc. Both schools can be excellent choices. The question is which one is right for you. Good luck.</p>
<p>big city vs boondocks
sun vs snow
sports scene vs D3</p>
<p>figure out which environment you would enjoy most and then you will have your decision.</p>
<p>thats a tough one....i for one spent five years of my life in minnesota and havent gone back since I left 9 years ago, but thats just me. There is nothing to do there and it is EXTREMELY COLD!!!! u should do a weather.com comparison of the two places. If your from the west coast it would be a lot easier to make the transition to texas because your probably used to heat, but if your from the east coast, maybe not. Personally Carlton sounds boring but I'm a city person. Do what feels right.</p>
<p>Is Rice really known for it's sports scene? I can see that it might be more than Carleton's, but it's not exactly Duke. </p>
<p>Carleton is certainly in a small town, but it really isn't in the boondocks either...45 min. to 1 hr away from a big city can't be called the boondocks, in my opinion. </p>
<p>Plus, weather wise, Rice has the sun...and the ridiculous, tropical Houston humidity. </p>
<p>Not trying to sway you either way--both are great schools, and my father got his master's from Rice and has only good things to say about it--but I don't think that the pros/cons of each school should be overstated. Try to think less rationally and more emotionally. Is there one school that you think about more often, or feel more excited about when you eliminate "rational" thoughts? Example: sometimes things like prestige (although I think Carleton and Rice are very similarly prestigious)/a school's image (not the way it is, necessarily) cloud our judgement even if a school really isn't right for us or if there are better choices. Try to eliminate thoughts like that that really aren't important to choosing the right school, and see if that simplifies it. Think about whether there are particular perks to one school that you find very attractive--those little extras can really add up. </p>
<p>If all else fails, though, location and campus aesthetics are not unreasonable concerns...YOU have to live there for four years, after all. I plain didn't apply to Rice because I knew I just couldn't stand the heat and humidity, and I'm sure there are people who don't apply to Carleton because the prospect of a Minnesota winter terrifies them, and I don't think that there is anything wrong with that :).</p>
<p>Alright, so I still haven't made my decision, but I was wondering if anyone could help me out on the issue of diversity? I know Rice is MUCH more diverse, but is lack of diversity a problem at Carleton? I'm Indian, and I don't want to hang out w/ only other Indian people, but after joining the Carleton/Rice facebook groups for class of 2011, I couldn't help but notice how little ethnic diversity there seemed to be in the Carleton group. I'm sure that won't be a defining factor or anything of the sort because lack of ethnic diversity obviously doesn't mean that there's a lack of diversity in general--Carleton is a socially diverse campus for sure. Just wondering how much the lack of diversity is noticeable. Do you think it's a problem?</p>
<p>I would caution you against judging school's diversity based on the diversity of a facebook group of its potential students.</p>
<p>Rice is statistically more diverse, but Carleton isn't what you might be picturing for a school in rural Minnesota. Currently 21% of the student body at Carleton are students of color, and that does not include the 6% international population. A huge strong point? No. But not bad. Also, I've talked to many students who came to Carleton from far more statistically "diverse" high schools who said that Carleton "feels more diverse" because there is so much more intercultural dialogue and interaction there.</p>