Carleton vs. Wellesley

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carleton College
1

<p>Wow what a neat forum... I wish I had found this earlier... :D</p>

<p>I've been fortunate enough to be accepted by more than a handful of colleges.. and now decision time begins. I've really narrowed down to Carleton and Wellesley College (MA)
Both are great schools... but unfortunately I can only economically and physically attend one.
I'm visiting both campuses each for a second time this month... Carleton this week, Wellesley on the 20th.... and will probably decide from gut feeling... and listening to other students.. but if you've got input so it can get me thinking, I'd appreciate it.
I've listed some pros and cons of both.</p>

<p>CARLETON
+ Daces Moses House - The Chocolate-Chip Cookie House - open 24 hours stocked with baking ingredients so that students can go in and bake chocolate chip cookies whenever they want to.. or play games... basically a great chill method that is my idea of chilling....
+ Trimester System (3 classes per semester.... I can focus more?)
+ One LONG winter break (Thanksgiving-New Years)
+ Idea of fun @ Carleton = cooking with friends, watching a movie, etc = Idea of fun for me
+ Unlike Wellesley, it has men nearby.
+ Grew up in the Midwest: Midwestern philosophies
+ Competitive with self: not cut throat.
+ Seems to me, there are more down-to-earth students
+ Quirky and creative = that's me.
PRINCETON REVIEW RANKINGS
+ Administration... school runs smoorthly.
+ Professors bring material to life. 2nd place.
+ Academic Experience. 14th place.
+ Accessibility of Professors. 14th place.
+ Happy Students 12th place.
+ Students from different backgrounds interact. 6th place.</p>

<ul>
<li>Closest city Twin Cities: and not very accessible either (from what I hear- shuttles are expensive and not frequent)</li>
<li>Dorms <em>shudder</em></li>
<li>Minnesota Winters</li>
<li>Worried about the campus food: and off campus... in Northfield it seemed like there was only that one Indian restaraunt (which was yummy - but I don't think I can afford it every time I get sick of campus food and can't get to the twin cities)</li>
</ul>

<p>WELLESLEY
+ Name Recognition of Most Prestigious Women's College in the US. (I know that Carleton and Wellesley are about the same on US News and World Report) <internationally known="" as="" well-="" considering="" i="" may="" return="" to="" japan="" work="" this="" become="" important="">
+ Closeness to Boston but not IN it
+ More per pupil spending than any other college in the US
+ Sisterhood friends for life
+ Stone Cold.
+ Ability to take classes at MIT, and through the college consortiums' Wellesley is in.
+ 4 hard years... but 4 rewarding years.
+ Seems to have a little bit more courses/ curriculum strength in the Poli Sci dept.
+ East Coast: a fresh start?
PRINCETON REVIEW RANKINGS
+ Professors bring material to life. 9th place.
+ Academic Experience. 11th place.
+ Accessibility of Professors. 11th place.
+ Beautiful Campus
+ Dorms like Palaces</internationally></p>

<ul>
<li>"We'll Sleep When We Die" </li>
<li>More than the average number of "competitive cut-throat" students</li>
<li>Even weekends it seems like Books Books Books > Chill time (and when I mean chill time I don't mean like party all the time but just a movie? or baking cookies? or something?)</li>
</ul>

<p>I don't think name recognition should be the sole factor when deciding on a school.
Both Wellesley and Carleton are continually 4th and 5th place for Liberal Arts Schools.
But Wellesley's name recognition as well as competitive rigorous 4 years can really help me out when I apply for Grad School or for a job (particularly if I might return to Japan to work - apparently many Japanese companies don't even interview you if you don't go to an Ivy, a Sister, or a school with a state name on it <em>note: in Japan the most prestigious universities have a Prefecture/State name associated with it, which I guess is the theory used here</em> even though there are numerous private colleges that are just as good as the Ivies<em>coughCarletoncough</em>) Wellesley has produced some of the most amazing female leaders on this earth : Hilarly Rodham Clinton, Madeline Albright, broadcast journalist Cokie Roberts, Good Morning America Diane Sawyer .... as well as other numerous company executives, journalists, researchers, activists, government officials, Supreme Court justices... the type of people I am inspired by....
Then again, Carleton seems like such a great school and such a match for me right now... a nice competitive-with-self atmosophere :D</p>

<p>Considering how great both these schools are academically, and that I'm not getting any financial aid at either, I'm okay with both city suburbia and ruralness... I think the question really boils down to:
A college where it'll be quite easy for me to be socially satisfied but compared to a more 'known' school may be difficult later on for (international) job opportunities (now-happiness)<br>
vs.<br>
A college where it may not be the most socially satisfying four years but later on I will come to value the education as I go to grad school and find jobs (later-happiness)</p>

<p>As I said before, I'm visiting both campuses each for a second time this month... Carleton this week, Wellesley on the 20th.... and will probably decide from gut feeling... and listening to other students.. but if you've got input (as to why you chose Carleton) so it can get me thinking, I'd appreciate it.</p>

2

<p>You sound as if you think that grad school placement is better at Wellesley. Check out <a href="http://web.centre.edu/ir/student/OverallBaccOrigins.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://web.centre.edu/ir/student/OverallBaccOrigins.pdf&lt;/a>. Here you can compare most of the top schools on the number of graduates going to grad school. I think you will find that Carleton is almost always higher than Wellesley in this area. Carleton also has a higher percentage of alumni contributing to the school which is often viewed as an indication of the student's long term satisfaction with their school. </p>

<p>That being said, Wellesley is a great school. You are fortunate to have two great schools from which to choose. I think your best bet is to go with your gut after visiting each school a second time. Academically you can't go wrong with either school. But if you are not happy for 4 years it may impact how you do at which ever school you attend.</p>

3

<p>wow thank you. yes, my dad has said the same: i can't go wrong at either school, they are both wonderful! i seem to be "irregular" however, usually students have stuck to LAC solely in the east or solely in the midwest/west.
thank you for the link: i will consider this thoughtfully when making my decision. thank you!</p>

4

<p>I agree with Carldad (no relation) that you are underinformed if you believe that a Wellesley degree would be a better ticket to entry into a competitive graduate program. The facts clearly demonstrate otherwise as grad programs look very favorably on Carleton graduates. Good luck with your decision.</p>

5

<p>It sounds like you really love the midwest. Another aspect you might consider is the real likelihood that after your undergrad studies, be it at Carleton or Wellesley, you are more or less likely to head out back East for your grad work at a "recognized" university. (Some of the UC's have good polysci, does Stanford have a grad program in that field? Otherwise, most schools are on the Atlantic side.)</p>

<p>Prestige shouldn't be considered a factor in your decision process unless one is in a position like yours (is it just me, or whenever you look at a professor's credentials from another country, that almost always follow the prestige-city identification factor? ie i know some good french colleges are Sorbonne and the University of Paris, but if there's a University of Marseilles, how in the world would I know how good it really is. In the end, Marseilles still is a more appeasing name than a comparable college with a french name I couldn't pronounce.) If you intend on going back to Japan, or at least keep that door/option open, then "prestige" should be looked at closely for your grad studies.</p>

<p>The question that presents to you now is which school will best help get you there. You've seen that statistics favor Carleton, and in your post you seem to be more knowledgeable (and, dare i say, more EXCITED!) about Carleton.</p>

<p>TTG</p>

<p>PS: I've tried to stay as neutral as possible. I'm most likely not going to enroll at Carleton (was accepted), but I respect the school very much. On the flip side, I think Wellesley, or any other all-girls school for that matter, is super hot. It all equals out in the end. =)</p>

6

<p>With all due respect to Carldad (love that name), I wouldn't worry too much about stats showing the number of students going on to grad schools. Wellesley and Carleton are both fantastic schools and assuming you continue at the same sort of academic level that enabled you to get into both schools at the undergrad level, you should have no difficulty getting into an excellent graduate school. Having visited both schools, I'm partial to Carleton, but unfortunately, I don't get to do it all over again. ):</p>

7

<p>thank you carldad, carlmom, ttgiang15, schoolmarm for your helpful advice.
just by the number of people who have been caring/helpful (even just on the forum) makes me partial to carleton.
i guess i'll just have to go with my gut feeling :D
thank you all again, i'll be back to let you know how my visit goes.</p>

8

<p>go to carletonnnnnn....sorry I'm not very persuasive. but I wouldn't go to Wellesley....but I'm not you ;-) I could so not deal with an all womens college, too much estrogen going around</p>

9

<p>i guess so. i visited carleton this weekend... i absolutely hated it on thursday night for some reason (maybe just the people i met and all) but friday and saturday i met the most amazing/caring/nice people on this planet. :D so i really REALLY like it now... we'll just have to see about wellesley at the end of the month!!</p>

10

<p>Funny thing how the random people you bump into during visits can make such a difference. My D visited Carleton last Fall and had the same kind of experience you described re. Thursday night, without unfortunately a redeeming experience at the end of the visit. She's been admitted, but so far is refusing to even go back for the new student event in 2 weeks. I on the other hand really liked the campus and the students I met.
In the meantime she's visited Grinnell which is similar to Carleton in many respects but seemed much "nicer" to her. She visits Smith for their admitted student event this coming Thursday/Friday. My guess is she may eventually choose Smith, particularly if I can't talk here into even visiting Carleton again. All because of some random kids she ran into and the "grind" vibe they gave off.</p>

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<p>LuckyDad- please tell your daughter to read my post and let her know there are plenty of nice people at Carleton: please tell her to give it another chance! Even if she doesnt go to accepted students weekend: tell her to visit on a friday-saturday: it think the study hard mentality on sun night - friday morning makes it hard for current students to prioritize making sure their prospies have fun. but my host (though i had a little bit of a problem adjusting to her the first night) turned out to be a really nice person and i was also on my own able to go find people and talk to them (visiting dining halls and telling current students you're a prospie CAN start a conversation! :D). The more people she meets the better idea she can get!! I visited Grinnell and also had a positive experience but I think I could be much more intellectually curious and focused on my studies at Carleton... so I chose Carleton over Grinnell. Whatever your daughter decides, best of luck to her!</p>