Hi! From the title, you can see I’m wondering if Carleton is really liberal. I’m basically dead-set moderate, and would prefer that the school I attend isn’t ultra left or right. But idk…
A survey of the types of student organizations might help you get a feel. Have you visited? i would say it’s much more left and liberal than moderate. Gender neutral cheer boys. Druids. Gender neutral bathrooms.
Ask the school for copies of their student newspaper. See what kids are writing about. Letters to the editor etc. you get a vibe. Unfortunately you cannot read the Carletonian online without password access.
Thanks! I’ll look into it!
It is liberal. Not many Republicans on campus, for example. You could count them on one hand, I bet. Most liberal arts colleges are, FWIW.
My feeling, and I am just a parent so I don’t have the best view, is that Carleton is more intellectual and detached about its politics, not so passionate.
Don’t they had out granola as their snack for orientation as a nod to their reputation for attracting the “crunchy granola types?” Or at least the Midwest version of this type.
it’s liberal, like most colleges, but it’s not super political (ie. it’s not Macalester). It’s more for quirky, laid-back, environmentally-conscious, intellectual students than for students who define themselves according to their politics or the causes they defend.
The school’s political leanings are pretty solidly liberal, on par with what one would find at most other selective LACs. But this is Carleton, and tolerance is a mantra here. More conservative economic views - no problem. Conservative social views - probably more isolating.
This is also the Midwest, and specifically Minnesota. Religion plays some role in the lives of a significant number of students here, probably more so than at colleges on the coasts, and this also tends to impact the tenor of debate and blunt the left-leaning sway on campus.
As a parent of a recent graduate, I would characterize Carleton as liberal, but not extremely liberal. DS is more of a moderate sort, but I don’t think it was a big issue for him.
Carleton has a longstanding reputation (going back more than 40 years) for being liberal and a little bit granola.
How liberal? Even at the height of the Reagan Era, liberals outnumbered conservatives by about 4 to 1, according to data from annual CIRP surveys of incoming Carleton freshman. When I was looking at colleges back in the 80s, some classmates at my somewhat snooty college prep school told me that I shouldn’t apply to Carleton, Grinnell or Reed because they were supposedly full of “hippies”. Honestly, it did actually seem a little bit like I was stepping back in time to the Summer of Love when I arrived at Carleton from my ultra conservative preppy/yuppie high school, going from neatly trimmed short hair above the collar, pressed trousers and polo shirts to seeing tie dye T-shirts, bare feet, cut-off jeans, guys with long hair, women with hairy legs and frisbees flying everywhere.
But that was more than 30 years ago. What about today? According to the latest CIRP survey that I can find for Carleton (2013), self-identified liberals outnumber self-identified conservatives by about 12 to 1 (~60% liberal and ~12% very liberal vs ~5% conservative and ~1% very conservative), with about 22% describing themselves as middle of the road. That’s freshman. Keep in mind that people, if they change their politics at all, generally move to the left during their time at Carleton. Carleton may not be as “activist” as Macalester or Oberlin, but there’s always been a core of people who are politically active, whether the issue be Vietnam and the environment in the 60s & 70s, apartheid and gay rights in the 80s, Iraq in the 90s & 00s, to Black Lives Matter today.
Having said all of that, I know a number of Republicans who graduated from Carleton and seem to be quite happy about their time there. Conversely, I know some very liberal people who were not happy there. Until you step foot on campus, there’s no way to know for sure whether you’ll like the place, regardless of how good or bad it looks on paper.
One thing that I’m pretty sure about, though, is that you will find your beliefs (political or otherwise) challenged, regardless of where you are on the political spectrum. I entered Carleton identifying as a liberal Democrat, and my views at that time were pretty strident, black-and-white, and in retrospect rather simplistic. Since then, my views have become a lot more nuanced and subtle, even though I’m still in the same approximate point of the political spectrum. This is at least partly a result of my experiences at Carleton, both inside and outside the classroom, from learning things in various classes, from being engaged in current events, from the late night debates in the dorm lounges, from meeting people of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, or from solitary contemplation in the Arb. It was also due to life experiences after graduation, and the way that Carleton helped me deal with those experiences.
Err, I’ll stop. This is getting kinda long.
WOW, you guys are all amazing 
Thanks so much for your fantastic responses!
I can’t wait to visit Carleton over break now 
My son will be going there in the fall and will be playing a sport. He is interested in current events, but mostly in a very measured, respectful way, with a stronger interest in science. When he met some of the students who it now turns out will be some of his future teammates, and sat in on a class, he felt really comfortable that there are bright, nice, engaged, collaborative and supportive students. They work hard and want to do well, but also want to see their classmates succeed. After the tour, the speaker emphasized that they put a significant emphasis that students show respect for the diverse talents, interests and perspectives that different students bring. So while I would expect liberal arts students, on average, to draw a more liberal crowd than, say, a business school, my sense is that students – even very passionate ones with strong, intense political views – treat others with respect, and that there will be plenty of jocks, scientists and others as well as activists. Good luck!
The majority of Carleton students are quite respectful of other perspectives. There are others, however, who may be more disrespectful and will hold grudges against you for your beliefs. There will be people who believe that if you don’t agree with the liberal perspective, you are wrong and are a bad person. These are rather annoying issues to deal with but I think they’re in the process of being addressed. I’d like to add though that you’ll find people who will be against you or your beliefs for whatever reason at any school you go to. Carleton’s a good place to be though and I highly recommend you apply (and come if accepted).
And there people who will hold it against you if you do not agree with the conservative side on issues. That is just life. Go to Carleton and learn how to relate to all types.
I have met two Carleton alums in my career, and both evinced some of the most racist views ever. Both came from affluent, influential families in the Twin Cities. One had an especially strong dislike for African Americans, and regularly dispensed some spine chilling vitriol towards them when there were no Black students or staff around. Finally a colleague of mine asked why she had so much contempt for Blacks, and her response was mind-blowing: “Well, at Carleton it was drummed into our noggins how deleterious racism is, and eventually I got so tired of hearing it that I began to hate those coons. I feel very comfortable doing so.” The conference room went dead quiet. Nobody knew what to say. As for me, it tainted my perception of Carleton big-time even though I understand and realize that I only have two data points. It is odd that I would meet two uglies from a place that is legendarily progressive/liberal - whatever that means.
I would venture that you ran into exceptions.