Hello! I’ve recently been accepted to Mac, Grinnell and Carleton and I am honestly at a loss on which one to pick. The cost to attend each one would be about the same. I want to major in either English (concentrating on creative writing) and/or Biology. I love the outdoors/location is important to me. I know that Grinnell is very isolated, but I love everything else about it. Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you
Sorry, realized I posted in here twice!
Congrats on your acceptances. Carleton is a phenomenal school, seems hard to pass up, though the other two are great as well. Perhaps you should spend the night at each to get a better sense of their academic and campus communities?
Carleton’s 880-acre arboretum (The Arb) is a unique asset and a wonderful place for outdoor lovers. Fifteen acres of trails wind through woodlands and prairie, and the Cannon River runs through it. It is adjacent to campus, yet you can really “get away” from everything as it is quiet and feels remote, and is home to wildlife. DS is a senior at Carleton and the Arb has been a great place for him to de-stress over the years. The biology (and other) department uses it as a living classroom for a variety of studies.You won’t find anything like it at Grinnell or Macalester, both of which DS visited.
DS1 applied and got admitted to all three. He did a second visit to both Grinnell and Carleton, chose Carleton. If the outdoors is important to you, the Arb just can’t be beat, and Carleton is so strong in the sciences.
In the last week, I made a trip to Minnesota to visit Macalester and Carleton. I’ll be visiting Grinnell later this week! I’ve been accepted to Grinnell and Macalester.
Between Macalester and Carleton, the latter has the more beautiful campus–both architecturally and naturally. Northfield is a pretty quaint town, and there are tons of windows in the buildings overlooking the beautiful scenery. St. Olaf College is right across the valley, so the whole is a pretty picturesque place. Macalester is more ingrained into St. Paul, and it’s in a very safe part of town. The student body is very diverse, and the surrounding area is ideal for college students (book stores, bakeries, coffee shops everywhere). It may also have more abundant research opportunities because of its closer proximity to the University of Minnesota. Mac also ranks 1st in per capita national science foundation grants for liberal arts colleges, so science & research is taken very seriously there as well. More here: http://www.macalester.edu/news/2010/12/were-no-1/
Between academics, all are probably comparable. Carleton might be a step up for biology, but you won’t have any less opportunities with a bio degree from Grinnell or Macalester. All three send tons of people to grad school if that’s your interest–Grinnell is 7th in the nation for % of students who earn PhDs, Macalester 13th, and Carleton 5th. In the context of a thousand schools, each will prepare you very well for grad school.
Also, is cost a big issue for you? Another thing to consider.
I may be in the same position as you if I’m accepted to Carleton. You can’t go wrong with these 3. Good luck!
S has this dilemma. He is thinking urban vs rural, social sciences vs natural sciences. All great choices, it will come down to personal preference.
If at all possible, I’d advise visiting when classes are in session and you can do an overnight. DS1 first saw the three schools over the summer and liked them all. He was offered a free fly-out to Grinnell and went in October and liked it, but I could tell he didn’t just love it. He already liked Carleton better than Mac and the FA/merit was better so Mac came off the list. He didn’t revisit Carleton until that last week in April of senior year (we visited two schools that last week – AACK!). I was so nervous because I had fallen in love with the place, but I had no idea how his overnight was going. We met for a late lunch before our flight, and it was clear that this was the place, though we had an all-day visit planned at another school for the next day.
One reason we liked Carleton was that it didn’t feel THAT rural, unlike Grinnell. A bus ride on Northfield Lines could get him into the Cities in no time. Turns out he went into the Cities a total of three times in his four years – twice to see Twins games and once to see friends at Mac for their spring concert.
I say all that because I think you enter into the Carleton bubble once you are on campus and so what we saw as an advantage over Grinnell probably wasn’t an advantage at all (though I still think of it as an advantage in terms of access to an airport). What made the difference for him is his overnight and the kinds of people with whom he saw himself living. Carleton was just more his crowd. One of his bffs chose Grinnell and loved it. One of ds2’s good friends is at Mac and loving it there. All are great schools; it’s really a matter of personal preference. Good luck, and report back on what you decide to do!!!
As others have mentioned on here, the Arb at Carleton is just perfect. Most students generally find everything they need in Northfield (really, a very cool town and Tandem Bagel is awesome), but on the rare occasion that you feel the need to be in a more urban environment the Twin Cities are just a quick ride away. If you’re on the fence with urban vs rural, I think Carleton is the perfect place, offering the best of both worlds. Academics, all solid choice, Carleton produces the most PhD’s, but I believe the others aren’t far behind (did someone already post that?). If you’re in to ultimate frisbee can’t beat Carleton! Also, I enjoy the football team, but Mac did beat us this year (almost everyone did).
Additional Note: “Minnesota nice” is a real thing, Carleton is mentioned in Whiplash, and I think the only student-run, college night club in the nation is the Cave at Carleton.
If you were accepted, try to do the Accepted Student days, stay overnight, visit a couple of classes, talk to current students, and incoming students who will make up your peer group. One CC user very aptly described Carls as insanely and ridiculously happy to a fault. Go visit and then come up with your own description of Carls. See if you like it.