<p>So I will be applying to both, and it is likely that I will get into at least St. Olaf, and possibly Carleton College, both a mile away in Northfield, MN. </p>
<p>Can someone list the pros and cons of them? Maybe some students?</p>
<p>I’ll take a crack, since noone else has, yet. For perspective, I’m a Carleton alum along with many family members. Older d is at Carleton, visited Olaf with younger d last summer and she really liked it.<br>
Olaf is a Lutheran school with some religion requirements and more overtly religious students than Carleton. Student body seems more conservative than Carls and more…preppy??? Not in the sense of “went to an East Coast prep school” more that I think you’ll see more loafers and collared shirts at Olaf vs t-shirts and sneakers at Carleton. Olaf also has very strong music and math departments. Campus is dry. Carleton has more off-beat and nerdy students. Rivalry between the two schools has gone on forever, but the fist-fights on the 2nd Street bridge from the 30’s gave way to more teasing. In the 70’s Olaf would crush Carleton on the football field while Carls chanted “We have better Board scores.” There seem to be more families with one at each than in my day. My sense is that while Carleton has been an LAC with national rep for decades, Olaf has risen academically from “good regional school” to well-respected LAC more recently.</p>
<p>Carleton is more selective, stronger reputation and name recognition if that matters to you.</p>
<p>Both are excellent schools and you can have a fabulous undergrad experience at either. However, they have a different feel so if there’s any way you can visit both during the school year - definitely do it.
Good luck</p>
<p>I agree with much of what bingle has said.</p>
<p>Both are wonderful schools. </p>
<p>St. Olaf has a larger student body and a 4-1-4 calendar. I think a student must do 2 of the 4 January sessions. The food is fabulous for a school. D thought the campus was the prettier of the two. St. Olaf is generous with merit money.</p>
<p>Carleton has a trimester calendar. You are out of school from Thanksgiving til just after New Years. Some students like it, others do not. Something you have to think about.
When we visited the food was blah, but I understand there is a different vendor there now, so that has probably improved. Carleton is not really a merit school.</p>
<p>D was accepted to both and we visited both more than once. St. Olaf was in her final two, but on the last night of decision making day, she chose another school that was more urban and in a warm climate. It was a tough decision, but has worked out extremely well.</p>
<p>I don’t think you could go wrong at either.</p>
<p>Are either of the school’s known for a specific program that they do well, besides I know St. Olaf is known for its music?</p>
<p>Yes, St. Olaf is particulary noted for music, math and science. I think Carleton is pretty strong all around. In hs my D did two years of research w/an English prof from Carleton and thought he was wonderful.</p>
<p>While both encourage study abroad, a semester is a little easier at St. Olaf due to the calendar. If Carls study abroad, they do it in the Fall, or they pay extra, because Carleton will only allow one term of aid to be used for SA, and going in the Spring would require two terms of aid.</p>
<p>No matter what they tell you at either school, it is allowed, but extremely difficult, to take classes at the other’s campus due to the differences in calendars.</p>
<p>St. Olaf is known for its great music (esp. vocal) program. Its math program is very large and deep and it sponsors a popular study abroad math semester that draws students from many schools. Science offerings are strong. Carleton, as mentioned, is strong across the board. Economics, english, biology, poli sci/IR, math, history and psychology are all popular. The physical science departments of geology, physics, and chemistry are especially noteworthy and large for a LAC. </p>
<p>Carleton actually will allow an entire year of study abroad with VERY generous full application of FA to overseas costs BUT will only apply FA to 1 NON-Carleton program. Fortunately, Carleton offers a very large number of its own programs, some quite notable, like the Cambridge economics term. Note that both schools send very large numbers of kids abroad, around 2/3 of all students, among the largest number studying abroad in the country. Most Carls do only one term (as gloworm points out, usually the fall) but have the advantage of being able to take either a trimester program (Sept-Dec) or a semester program (August-Dec).</p>
<p>Both schools attract strong student bodies but Carleton’s is a more competitive one with median SATs more than 100 points higher than St. Olaf. The other large difference between the schools lies in the pervasive religious tenor at St. Olaf (Lutheran). There is no escaping it on campus. Despite this, note that the campus is unusually liberal and quite tolerant. Carleton is a more diverse place. Around 19% of students come from in state compared with around 50% for St. Olaf. More than twice as many minorities and internationals are found at Carleton. California, Illinois and NY are the 3 most common states of origin for students at Carleton after Minn.</p>
<p>Agree that both are great schools. But don’t know if I’d agree that one can’t “go wrong at either.” They are still substantially different places and tend to draw different student types. I’d make sure to visit and see where you feel you best fit in.</p>
<p>1190,</p>
<p>Thanks for that catch. It’s an important one. The SA my D wanted (and susequently did) was not a Calreton sponsored program, but her chosen school covered it.</p>
<p>What I meant about not going wrong was academically. Of course fit can be wrong, as it would have been for my D.</p>