<p>I am heavily considering attending Carleton next year. I want to go on to med school. How hard is it to get an A on science and non science courses? How many average students per course get an A? Are courses graded with a curve? If yes, si the gradig curve harsher than a curve in a bigger university? How difficult is it to get a 3.7+ GPA? Which major is better at CArleton and which is harder: Biology or Chemistry?</p>
<p>i am in no position to say this as I have not attended carleton yet however from what I have heard... it is next to impossible to get a 4.0 and very close to impossible to get a 3.7 (unless you are supersmart which many people going to carleton is... or rather work superhard) ... but don't worry about it... i'm sure grad schools would know about this and i'm sure u'll get into a really good med school... in the words of people who go to carleton... <strong>all majors are equally difficult</strong>... but you know what... i would say do the one you like more... then you can do it better and get a better grade</p>
<p>On the Carleton web site it says that 70% of students who apply to med school with a GPA of 3.0 or above are accepted, so even though it's tough to get a great GPA, it doesn't necessarily mean you won't be admitted to med school.</p>
<p>Both biology and chemistry are popular departments with great reputations. You'll figure out which one you want to major in by taking classes here.</p>
<p>The vast majority of classes are not curved, and professors by and large don't want to give out bad grades unless a student deserves it. Carleton might not be as grade inflated as peer schools, but it's not like the average grade here is a C or anything like that, and you aren't competing directly with your classmates for some fixed proportion of A's. I think the median GPA is close to a 3.4 now for graduating seniors. A 3.7 is like, eh, maybe top 15-20% for seniors, certainly not out of reach for someone with good time management who chooses courses wisely and uses S/Cr/NCs when appropriate.</p>
<p>hey does anyone know how is econs at carleton...</p>
<p>Was also wondering... how is social life at carleton... i mean i've read brochures etc saying people are quirky friendly etc... but from a students perspective... do you think people are warm... do you guys have like high school drama kind of things going on... are they snobish/pretensious?... like you know... kind of like a first hand account...</p>
<p>For a real feel for students at Carleton, you might want to tune into the student run radio station. For example, there is a show running now, a la "American Idol" style, that is seeking to crown "Carleton's Biggest Nerd". You can find the info on the website.</p>
<p>I'm a fairly recent Carleton alum.
Regarding social life: In most cases, Carleton students are DEFINITELY not snobby and the social drama can happen anywhere, but I sure didn't see much of it around.
Carleton was one of the friendliest environments I've ever encountered and the people there were usually interesting, "quirky," and down to earth. I do think that is one of the advantages of a school that isn't on the east coast, there were no inferiority complexes about the ivies or carleton vs. amherst or carleton vs. middlebury or whatever. People seemed to be there because they wanted a great education and fun experience, not so they could brag about where they went to school (because the average layman doesn't really know what Carleton is, although fortunately graduate schools certainly do!). Great place, I'd do it over again in a second!</p>
<p>My son has a show on KRLX Carleton Radio. He's sending out an exploratory party to see if he should run for Biggest Nerd. Stiff competition!</p>
<p>I know that this is a little sensitive after the heartbreaking incidence in Virginia... but as I am planing to go to Carleton in 2007 I was concerned about the general happiness of students at Carleton. i was wondering how happy are people in Carleton in general?</p>
<p>I understand that the academic courses are demanding and all... but are there a lot of students who suffer from clinical depression... or does anyone have any figures on the suicide rate at Carleton, and are there a lot of those stereotypical depressed "social outcast". I mean obviously Cho, the gunman, from the recent virginia massacre must have been really depressed and driven to the point where he found it acceptable to commit such a brutal crime. </p>
<p>My parents are especially concerned about this because of the linient gun control policies in the US... If, for instance, a student at carleton (and god forbid this happens) got really depressed like Cho and had ready access to gun then it could have severe consiquences. </p>
<p>PS Thanks for your Lacalum and texastaximom</p>
<p>Carleton College, like the other colleges and universities, has various resources for students to access with regards to academic and mental health issues. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.carleton.edu/student/support/%5B/url%5D">http://www.carleton.edu/student/support/</a></p>
<p>There is the link to the many people who make themselves available to help students. If you need academic, emotional, or spiritual counseling, it is all available. The college wants to help you if you are having trouble. </p>
<p>As for outcasts, I believe they exist everywhere. We need to be more cognizant and inclusive when possible. I don't think any of us could pick out someone who might have issues unless we were trained, and around them a lot, don't you think? You will meet different people at school. Some might seem strange to you at first, but that's all part of the learning environment. </p>
<p>My son is a sophomore and loves Carleton. While the academics are challenging, he has managed to do well in class and still have plenty of time to socialize and enjoy all the many activities Carleton has to offer. You can access the calendar on the website to see all the events they have planned.</p>
<p>If you or your parents have any concerns, I would be happy to help you.</p>
<p>I just had two more questions. I understand that carleton is not very racially diverse so does anyone know if there is much racial discrimination there?</p>
<p>I was also wondering if there is a "jock culture" present at Carleton?</p>
<p>Thank you texastaximom thatreally helped. I guess the close knit community should also help students feel more at home.</p>
<p>No, there is definitely not a jock culture at Carleton. Carleton does have sports, and a lot of students participate, especially in intramurals, but that's not why they are there.</p>
<p>PS - Good to see you posting, texastaximom!</p>
<p>I'm not sure I would necessarily say that Carleton is not racially diverse. 25% of the current freshman class are something other than white according to the most recent common data set numbers. This number has been fairly consistent for the past few years. </p>
<p>Now for some people I suppose that is not racially diverse but generally I think you will find a range of races on campus.</p>
<p>Oh i'm not particularly worried about the diversity as I feel that I get along with people from all races just as long as they are not racist. But thanks for your reply carldad. What I meant to ask was if there was any kind of racial tention between the races? And if people shout racist remarks at you on campus (i'm assuming there are no racist attacks on campus but is that a correct assumption)? And if people from differnt races socialize? </p>
<p>By jocks i was referring to more of those people who would typically take the back back back seats in class etc. and not socialize with nerds and ugly people and unpopular people. More of the popularity contest thing rather than atheletes. So my question was basically if there is any sort of popularity contest and those typical high school social hierarchy and people trying to climb up the hierarchy? And what is the extent of this kind of popularity contest? I.e. if jocks beat up nerds everday or they simply don't socialize with nerds.</p>
<p>I know these might sound like really stupid and trivial questions, but I really have no other means of finding out what really goes on there from here in asia so any help would be appreciated</p>
<p>C'est Moi, not that I've ever been to Carleton (yet!), but from the general vibe and most research I've done, it really seems that Carleton is in quite the opposite situation of having some sort of elitist or jocky culture. Honestly, they have a contest for "Biggest Nerd!" I'm sure if any jocks truly showed up to Carleton they'd probably end up changing or just leaving altogether! As for racial tension, it seems like most Carls are very chill, laid back, nice and fun people.</p>
<p>Although I'm not anywhere to even being close to an authority on such things, from what I've gathered and read, this seems what the school is honestly like. :)</p>
<p>Yes! You can still vote for Biggest Nerd on the KRLX campus radio station website!</p>
<p>If you're not careful, you could become part of the jock culture-- I hear that the Ultimate Frisbee and Broomball teams are always recruiting. :p</p>
<p>Kidding aside, my son has not complained of any sort of high school hierarchies playing out on campus. You won't find many Carls that can sit in a class and not add to the discussion. In fact they complain when they can't.</p>
<p>There is essentially no racial tension at Carleton. (I hesitate to say "none at all" simply for the same reason that I wouldn't say that no one on earth has naturally green hair; who knows, it could have happened, but it is extremely unlikely/rare.) There is absolutely no racist shouting/attacking here. People may have a slightly higher rate of hanging out with people of their own ethnic group, but this is by no means exclusive or cliquish; pretty much everyone has friends in all the major ethnic groups. </p>
<p>Social life at college doesn't have the "one unit" dynamic that dominated the high school social scene, so no one is really trying to "climb up the hierarchy" since there IS NO centralized hierarchy. There aren't "popular kids" in the same way as high school, either. Instead, we all just hang out with our friends and don't imagine that our group is any "better" or "worse" than anyone else's group of friends. Of course, it's not a utopia, so attractive, bubbly people have an easier time than unattractive introverts, but that is just human nature and isn't going to go away no matter where you go in life. As far as the jocks vs. nerds thing goes, it's CARLETON; we're all nerds to some (very large) degree. And we’re proud of it. There is currently a competition going on to find Carleton’s Biggest Nerd, and it is a big honor and very competitive. I have only met one stereotypical “dumb jock” since I have been here, and he was actually a pretty nice guy, just a bit out of his depth in the class we shared (who knows, maybe he’s a math/science genius who just has trouble with the more qualitative side of college.) As for whether people beat each other up, the answer is a big, resounding “no.” No one cares if someone’s focuses/beliefs/goals/etc. differ from their own, and certainly not to the point of physical violence. </p>
<p>I hope this answers your questions. And don’t worry about whether your concerns sound “stupid and trivial.” Feel free to ask any questions you feel would be helpful to you to know the answers to. Inquire away, and I hope to see you next fall!</p>
<p>Racial tension manifests itself at Carleton as somebody (typically a representative of a conservative organization) says something offensive, there are lots of opinion pieces in The Carletonian condemning it to various degrees, Intercultural Life puts on some event to talk about it, everyone forgets about it. There seems to have been a couple of galvanizing race-related incidents each year that I've been here. For example, in the The Carletonian, some editor screwed up and didn't replace the flip filler headline with the real headline for a certain convocation held near MLK Jr. Day, sending the paper out with the headline "Convo Features MLK Speaker Dude", which some people were really offended by. Just this past week the Carletonian screwed up again and ran the headline "Lewis speaks on Motswana leader"...yeah, I'll be pretty surprised if people aren't ****ed off by that too, can't wait to read all those opinion pieces next Friday. Let's face it, The Carletonian sucks for a school full of such strong writers and anal-retentive editor types. Other racial things, hmm, one conservative magazine on campus (The Observer, possible defunct now) was putting together a race issue and sent out an email to its mailing list that was kind of sarcastic about getting submissions from people from multicultural organizations on campus, I don't really remember it, but I know there was a Chili Night held to talk about hurt feelings. Earlier this year an RA sent out an email to his floor telling them to go the the Black History Night dinner where the head chef was a contestant on a cooking reality show and father of a current student, but the way he described the chef offended people. Um. Hmm. Yeah, racial tension at Carleton is basically little things not meant to offend that get blown out of proportion, get discussed, and get forgotten after a couple of weeks, not much more to it.</p>
<p>just wanted to thank texastaximom and everyone else for their feedback... it really helped a lot</p>