<p>I go to a rigorous college prep school. It is ranked 45th in the country.</p>
<p>Extracurricular Activities - I played two seasons of Football, two seasons of Cross Country, 4 seasons of Wrestling (will be Captain Senior year), 4 seasons of Track & Field. I have been in 6 plays so far, and I will most likely be in 8 by the end of my high school career. (two plays per year). I have talent for it and I plan to continue with it in college. I am also part of Campus Republicans and the Alcohol Prevention Team (I'll explain this more in a little bit)</p>
<p>I wish to major in History and Theater. Like I said I have talent in theater, and I have had all As in history. I take tough classes and AP classes. I am going to write two very interesting essays for my application. One is about how I lost 105 lbs. and the other is about what I learned from my two week suspension.</p>
<p>I was suspended for two weeks during the second semester of my sophomore year. I got drunk with the wrestling team on a trip and had a seizure. We were all caught because of me. We were almost kicked out of school, but instead we were suspended for only two weeks. I have learned my lesson and to show my appreciation to the school I became a founding member of the Alcohol Prevention Team. Our mission is to promote a sober campus. I am now sober and I do not plan to touch alcohol for a long time.</p>
<p>Country Day can answer that best, but the lack of a Greek system at Carleton, a slightly less liberal atmosphere at Carleton than at many eastern LACs, and a Carleton culture where students who didn’t “fit in” during high school can feel welcome…am I wrong to think that Carleton might work well for him?</p>
<p>Hi Country Day. I’ve seen you around CC a lot (I am also from St. Louis–although I go to public school :)). I thought you were a senior this year…?</p>
<p>Besides that, I know this probably isn’t what you want to hear, but…it will probably all come down to your essays. Since you only get one long essay (for the Common App), you could talk about your weight loss there. Carleton’s supplement is all short answers, so you should definitely use it to show that you are a fit for Carleton. Since your suspension will (I’m assuming) be on your transcript, you should definitely include a letter (an “essay,” if you will) of explanation with your application in the Additional Information section of the Common App. Assuming you’re actually a junior this year, I would start working on those essays now. That way, you can put them away for a month or so, and when you look at them again you’ll have a fresh perspective.</p>
<p>I second dietcokewithlime’s question. It’s a good one. You need to think about this. Washington and Lee might be a school you’d also want to consider. Excellent academics … yet trending conservative/Republican. Re: theater. My daughter is a sophomore at Carleton and one of only two theater majors in her class. It’s a small program, but a quality one, and she gets many opportunities that would undoubtedly have been harder to come by at a bigger theater school. (Her interest is in directing/technical, rather than acting.) Good luck!</p>
<p>country day…I’m actually tending to side with dietcokewithlime. The WASP and Republican stuff does not bother me so much, however you must be aware that Carleton is a fairly liberal campus that stresses diversity to an annoying fault. It is a reasonable question to ask how you would fit. With that being said, sometimes the Republican Wasps fit perfectly at Carleton…they just need to hold their own especially on their political views. They can make for great debates. I always thought the campus was repectful of more conservative views even though loads of students will disagree. If this will bother you, think twice about Carleton. If you think debating your views would be fun, by all means apply. Politically, I’m a moderate and got in some great debates with liberals. I quite frankly thought of some of those debates as a highlight of my Carleton experience… Those debates were fun. </p>
<p>For some not so obvious reasons, I would see your suspension as a possible red flag. Carleton is a wet campus. They drink there. There is a bar on campus. When I was there, parties in the dorms with kegs and all sorts of alcohol was the norm. Usually, the RA would turn a blind eye to it. Sometimes they would join the party. Carleton is fairly liberal when it comes to alcohol. There are no cars on campus, so drunk driving is not really an issue. You may feel left out, and your struggle to avoid alcohol may seem particularly hollow at Carleton.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why you had a seizure. This should be part of the essay. Were you really overdoing it? Were literally allergic to alcohol? Were you on some other meds that react with alcohol? If I were on the admissions commitee, I would be confused and scared.
I would be worried about this kid taking a drink and having another seizure for some medical problem that is not understood…my two cents.</p>
<p>Nobody in their right mind would consider you a moron, country day, even in the overly competitive world of elite college admissions. But aside from the issue of “fit” adressed above, Carleton will be a reach for you. Even if your essays are dynamite, your test scores are below average for Carleton and I suspect your class rank will be as well. </p>
<p>It is hard to know how the disciplinary issues will fit into the admissions picture–I could see that going either way. Your recommendations could have a big impact here, so think carefully about who you will ask to write them and what the author might say. (For an interesting account of the admissions process in a somewhat similar situation, you may want to read “The Gatekeepers” by Jacques Steinberg.) </p>
<p>If you really think Carleton is the place for you, apply ED, visit and interview (AND write those stellar essays.) Good luck!</p>
<p>I think I actually would fit in at Carleton for the reasons Singleparent said. I don’t want to be involved with a heavy Greek scene. </p>
<p>mflevity my brother is a Senior. We share an account on here so you may have talked to him as well.</p>
<p>The whole seizure thing is because I had some very serious concussions from Football (why I can’t play it anymore). I started drinking again too soon and it really hurt my brain. Before the trip I had been in the hospital for weeks at a time and I went through many trials so it was very dumb of me to drink.</p>
<p>country day…that sucks on the football injuries. It makes more sense though. I would definitely read the book that Dairy State suggested or something like it before tackling your essay.</p>
<p>If you choose to write an essay about you suspension, my personal opinion would be to stress your specific medical condition and how it led to a seizure. I would write about avoiding going with the pack rather than your own judgement in situations. I think an essay like this would fit in well at Carleton where there are plenty of non-conformists. If you write an essay about that stress the evils of alcohol, I think it will float like a lead brick with the admissions committee. Obviously, acknowledge underage drinking is illegal, but, if I were you, I would write about my personal decision to drink in the specific situation with your medical problems.</p>
<p>Hope you’re giving St. Olaf serious consideration. More conservative than Carleton, similarly small, good academic reputation, jockier, and a technically dry campus. Also less of an academic reach for you than Carleton, too, disciplinary issues aside. My impression is that it would be a good fit for you, probably better than Carleton.</p>
<p>If you are not stuck on the midwest, there are many other small LAC’s where the Greek scene is certainly minimal. A good safety for you might be found in Muhlenberg College which is located in Allentown, PA. They have a very strong theater program there. Though they have some Greek action it is by all accounts very unimportant overall. I think that your current ACT score would get you in there and might even bring you some merit based aid. It was on my son’s safety list and though he won’t go there (their film program; his primary interest; is just brand new this year) it certainly caught our attention. (btw, he was rejected by Carleton with a 3.65, 32 ACT, older bro legacy,good essays, EC’s and the like…many with lesser stats were accepted and many with better were also rejected so it’s hard to say what actually tips admissions committees.) Good luck!</p>
Re: theater. My daughter is a sophomore at Carleton and one of only two theater majors in her class. It’s a small program, but a quality one, and she gets many opportunities that would undoubtedly have been harder to come by at a bigger theater school. (Her interest is in directing/technical, rather than acting.) Good luck!</p>