<p>For any current students, how would you describe the grading process at Carleton? Is there a lot of grade inflation/deflation? How difficult is it to receive good grades? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I've heard that relative to other top colleges, Carleton does have grade deflation. I suppose this is fairly accurate, but it's not like every student is walking arouned with a C average. The median GPA is around a 3.2-3.3 or so for seniors, I think, and the average grade in most classes is probably around a B, higher than that for upper-level classes that are taken mostly by majors. Most classes are not on a strict curve that dictates that only x% of students get an A, y% a B, and so forth, so there isn't competition amongst students for grades at all. We have a standard grading scale here of 4.0=A, 3.67=A-, 3.33=B+, 3.0=B, 2.67=B-, etc. However, something worth noting is the "scrunch" (Satisfactory/Credit/No Credit SCrNC) option. Most freshman seminar classes (which a majority of freshmen take their first term here) are on this system, which is the same as pass/fail but with satisfactory=C- or better, credit = D range, and no credit = F. Besides these auto-scrunched classes (which also include lab sections), you can choose to scrunch up to five classes during your time at Carleton out of the 36 or so you take, provided they aren't required classes for your major. To do this, at the beginning of EVERY term you can designate one class to be scrunched if you need to. Then if by the last day of class on that term you realize things aren't going so well and don't want your GPA to take a major hit, you can activate that scrunch. You can activate the scrunch option up to five times. It's a nice safety net.</p>
<p>Oh, and about the difficulty of receiving good grades. I would say that for certain classes you might find it really easy to get an A, and for certain classes you might be busting your butt off to maintain a B, and that it completely depends on what you take, your work habits, and what you are good at. I find that getting A's in math and science classes are pretty easy for me but any class that requires writing papers and showing original thought, well, I suck at that and I hit a wall at B+/A- that is pretty insurmountable. It all evens out, though, and especially once you are taking more classes in your major, you will get more and more A's and A-s. If you do your homework regularly and manage your time well, you can expect a B+ in pretty much any class you take no matter how comfortable you are with it. I would say it's probably not significantly harder to maintain a good GPA here than at any other top liberal arts college.</p>
<p>D is especially interested (for the moment) in French, physics, bio and english (also love art history). How are these departments? Thanks!</p>
<p>Bio and English are two of the most popular majors at Carleton and have relatively large departments. Very strong programs in both and I believe were the #2 and #4 majors last year for graduating seniors, respectively. Art history, French/Francophone studies, and physics are all part of departments that are smaller but still very good and provide students with a lot of opportunities to interact with and work with professors. Of those subjects the only departments I haven taken classes in to date are physics and French, but my experiences have been quite good and the majors seem very pleased with them. If your daughter is interested in study-abroad, there are multiple Carleton-sponsored opportunities for study for a trimester in a French-speaking country. There are French studies in both Mali and Paris (one of the profs, Ch</p>
<p>Thanks so much to all and esp. toothbrush. By the way, our sole reservation about the school is the cold--how you deal with that and how does it effect students' lives? Thanks.</p>
<p>Frosh D, from the Pacific NW, has had no complaints about the cold at all. She reports that everyone just deals with it and it has not had a negative affect on her experience there at all. On one side of campus, a student can pass through the student center and several dorms without going outside.</p>
<p>The climate brings the opportunity to try new activities. D bought ice-skates and took lessons last year, and enjoys skating on one of the Bald Spot's two lighted ice-rinks (not the best ice, I'll admit). She also plays broomball on a team with her friends. Thinking about taking a PE class for ice-hockey. Never a skier of any type, D went cross-country skiing in the arb (Carleton provides the equipment) the past few Saturdays when there was enough snow. It's been a strange year. Cold, but not tons of snow. Several days this week were pushing 40 degrees.</p>
<p>She has a wool coat (a bit longer than a peacoat) and a jacket liner with down and fleece inserts. Most days, she wears a few layers of clothing and tops it off with the down insert, scarf, hat, and gloves. Most kids I saw last February when visiting were wearing tennis shoes. Sidewalks were clear and dry.</p>