Low satisfaction of Carleton by racial minorities

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carleton College
1

Hi all,
I have been digging up on a lot of research on Carleton lately, and found this report:
https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/ira/assets/2010_Senior_Survey_overall_satisfaction__all_breakouts_.pdf
from this webpage on the Carleton website:
https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/ira/survey_research/seniorsurvey/

As you can see, there is a slightly significantly higher proportion of blacks and hispanics who were unsatisfied with Carleton. What do you guys think is causing this skewedness in the results?

2

It’s a small school in the middle of nowhere that lacks diversity, so that’s not surprising at all.

1 Like
3

I’m not seeing what you are. Under “generally satisfied” by ethnicity, Blacks have the highest %, with Whites and Hispanic tied.

The dissatisfied amounts are significantly smaller. In a small school like Carleton polled in one year (2010), the sample size is so small that it would be hard to draw conclusions from it.

I also don’t like the idea of grouping just by ethnicity. It’s assuming that there is some group think amongst Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Whites, when in reality there can be massive differences. An “Asian” can be some one from Bangladesh, or someone of Japanese descent who is a 4th generation Californian. A “Black” can be someone from suburban Minnesota, Atlanta, the Caribbean, or Kenya. All of these students can, and will, have completely different reactions to the school.

FWIW, I have never heard of any widespread unhappiness from any one group at Carleton. Individuals, sure, there can always be a bad fit.

4

The linked charts don’t show that.

5

@itsgettingreal17 It’s actually not in the middle of nowhere, especially when compared to some other lacs in more remote locations. It’s in a charming, small town with lots of amenities and with easy access to Minneapolis

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@wisteria100 I suppose it’s a matter of perspective. In my opinion it’s in the middle of nowhere. Sure, some other LACs are more remote, but Northfield is not my idea of a charming, small town with lots of amenities. There is very little to do off campus. And unless you have a car, which most students don’t, it’s not easy access to Minneapolis. Taking the bus is not convenient at all. Most students rarely go to the cities as a result.

I’m not picking on Carleton. Most similar LACs have their similar share of minority dissatisfaction for similar reasons.