<p>I will take these questions one at a time. Keep in mind I have only been here for a little less then half a trimester.</p>
<p>1- do you like it? is there anything about carleton that you really love or really hate? anything you didn't expect?</p>
<p>So far I really like the school. I love the friendly and intellectual atmosphere and the interesting if somewhat quirky people. As of yet I have nothing I really hate about the school. (except the food which I will cover later) One thing I did not expect was how easy the adjustman was for me to go from HS to College. I highly recommend taking a pre frosh trip if you do come here it helped me meet a lot of people early in a smaller more personal environment.</p>
<p>2- how are the dorms? are they hall or suite style? how many separate dorms are there? how are roommates matched? which dorm should i request if i get in?</p>
<pre><code> The dorms vary significantly. There are a lot of different dorms and some have different styles then others. (some have private bathrooms vs floor bathrooms, or partitioned rooms for more privacy)
When you get in you are given an extensive roomate question sheet to fill out which the colleges uses to match up roomates. In general the school seems to do a good job with those who answer honestly, and I have only seen one case of total incompatibility among my friends. (and that resulted in them moving to a new room resolving the situation)
I got unlucky and ended up at the dorm with the rep of being the worst on campus. It is kind of small, has frequent loud trains that pass by, mediocre bathrooms, ect. However, since it is mostly freshmen, the floor life is great. However, you get no choice on where you live till sophmore year so no need to worry about that. If you get a room at Nourse, Watson, or Davis be happy.
</code></pre>
<p>3- how are the teachers? i've heard good things, but thats mostly from the school website, so it doesn't really count.</p>
<p>The eachers I have are pretty good though I have not had much experience yet. My math teacher is not amazing but it is his first year teaching here. Both my other teachers are very smart and interesting people who I like a lot.</p>
<p>4- i know its not vital, but is the food edible? is the weather bearable?</p>
<p>UGH! The dining hall food is driving me insane. I come from a HS with an open campus and used to eat at delicious local places every day and that made the transition pretty bad. I suppose the food is typical cafeteria quality. It gets old kind of fast though. There are some nice local places to get food in town though. As far as the weather it has been really hot but I cannot tell you how bad it will be till I have experienced a real Minnesota winter. :)</p>
<p>5- is the paper good/read by most of the students? is it difficult to get on staff?</p>
<p>The paper seems pretty good. I have read the first two issues when they came out. I am sorry I do not know much about the process of becoming a staff member though.</p>
<p>6- what are the students like? do people dress up (i.e. makeup, nice clothes) for class?</p>
<p>Some people dress up nicely but many do not. As far as I can tell people are not really judged on what type of clothes they wear or how much makeup they have on. I am not saying we are all a bunch of unkempt hippies, but people here are really laid back on that sort of stuff.</p>
<p>7- what does the campus look like? is it separate from the surrounding area (gated, for example) or is it all mixed in with the city?</p>
<p>The campus is quite beautiful. It is fairly compact but is not too small. It is seperate from the city, although there is not a gate you have to walk through to get there. </p>
<p>8- what classes are you taking? (just to get an idea of a freshman schedule)</p>
<p>This first trimester I am taking
Calculus 3
Catastrophes and the Worlds They Cause (seminar)
America: Liberty and Equality</p>
<p>Here you take 3 courses each trimester, or 9 courses a year.</p>
<p>9- what is the religious/political atmosphere on campus?</p>
<p>The political atmosphere is very liberal though I have several conservative friends here. There are a lot of people from different religions here, though this is not a very religious school in general. Though if you are religious you will not feel left out nor will you be alone.
Sorry I do not have time to answer some of your questions in more detail but I have to get some work done. I may come back later to elaborate on some answers.</p>