<p>That's actually a great question, helloiamkaka. My gut response would be to say that if I had to do it all over again, I'd still go to Carleton. </p>
<p>Neither positive nor negative: If you go to Carleton, be prepared to work HARD. Many professors expect you to devote all your time to their class-especially the sciences. You get tons of work and as nerdy as it may seem, I've spent many Friday and Saturday evenings in the library just trying to finish all the work.</p>
<p>There are a handful of things that I dislike about Carleton. Other than the lack of a neuroscience program, my biggest gripe with Carleton is the administration. Carleton has a sort of pretentiousness about I find insufferable. For all its talk of being open to questioning and academic growth, Carleton is very set in its ways. You'll find professors very reluctant to compromise their own academic prospective (i.e. you'd get a bad grade on a paper if you didn't regurgitate the professor's point of view from the lecture). Of course, this isn't true of every professor, but of all the professors I've had, I'd say 70% of them are. I know this is probably a very common thing at colleges, but Carleton advertises itself as a different type of institution, an institution open to academic questioning and alternative perspectives.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if this is true at other liberal arts schools, but Carleton tries too hard to keep a tight reign over its students. One, sometimes its VERY difficult to take the upper level classes that interest you because there is an ironclad set of prerequisite classes you must take. Even if you had already had the background, you have to take CARLETON'S classes to be considered "sufficiently" prepared. Moreover, it is very difficult to stray from Carleton's set off-campus studies programs. I tried to apply to a non-affliated program because frankly, their programs didn't interest me. When I asked them if I could apply, I was basically told to write a tedious, twenty page petition and wait a month for a committee to approve of my off-campus program. With so few students, its probably easier for the administration to keep a close eye on its students. I'd imagine that had a huge university, you'd be able to get away with a lot more due to the sheer number of students. </p>
<p>On the other hand, the Carleton liberal arts education has a good as well. You get full access to professors, and professors practically beg you to see them. They are very encouraging, helpful, and are always willing to answer your questions. I'd don't think I've had a single professor so far who has dismissed me or made himself/herself unavailable outside of class. That's probably the main reason why I'd still go to Carleton if I had to do it all over again. Having small classes and full access to professors made the transition into college level academics much easier. There isn't much ambiguity about assignments or lectures, and as I said before, professors are always willing to help.</p>
<p>Honestly, I probably have a LOT more to say, but this reply is getting rather long. I'd be willing to answer other questions if you have any. I really hope I didn't discourage you from going. You should visit Carleton yourself, and attend some of the classes. Kids here are nice. Anyway, I hope this helps in some way.</p>