<p>im trying to make my final decision between carleton and haverford. however im worried that carleton just doesn't have the same opportunities as far as internships and jobs as haverford or that the majority of opportunities are in the midwest. would anyone like to prove me wrong? haverford has philadelphia and other east coast cities as well as a train station across the street to access philadelphia in about 20 minutes.</p>
<p>Haverford and Carleton are both part of the Selective Liberal Arts Consortium (SLAC). Carleton's job & internship database has posting put in not only by Carleton, but also by someone at SLAC. So basically, aside from internships targeted specifically at Haverford students (think like alumni-sponsored ones or maybe ones from firms in Philly that have a tight relationship with Haverford/Bryn Mawr), Carleton and Haverford students get to see the pretty much the exact same internship opportunities. I'm almost certain that if you want to do a credit internship during the academic year that it'd be easier at Haverford than at Carleton for location reasons, but for most summer opportunities (which need not be anywhere near the college), I don't think you'd find a big difference between Carleton and Haverford. As for post-college jobs, though, most of the opportunities Carleton has recruiters come for are in the midwest, and I'm sure most of Haverford's would be on the east coast, but I couldn't tell you anything beyond that. Carleton's Career Center is getting beefed up next year with a new director and all, though, and the college is expecting him to make lots of changes. By the time you'd graduate from Carleton, the number and type of opportunities you'd have easy access to could be completely different from what it is now.</p>
<p>I am a professor at Northwestern (with a daughter at Carleton), and I have taught at many other schools over the years. This is both an easy and a hard question to answer. It would be very likely that Haverford would have better LOCAL internship possibilities than Carleton (for the reasons you raise).</p>
<p>But more importantly, I can't see choosing a college based on the internship possibilities, especially if you later want to go to grad or professional schools.</p>
<p>Academically, Carleton and Haverford would be very similar. Both schools have intense academic environments and brilliant, very serious students. If it were my choice, I would choose based on the atmospheres of the two schools. </p>
<p>Yet even here, the two schools are so similar that the differences on which I would base a decision are only slight. </p>
<p>First, it is my impression that Haverford has slightly more of an elitist atmosphere: more prep school students and more wealthy Easterners from privileged backgrounds. Though such students are not a majority, they impact the feel of the place. If you would fit in well with such a crowd, Haverford might be the place for you. If, however, you were more of a misfit in high school or came from a non-elite background, although Haverford would be better for you than most academically elite schools, Carleton might be even better. The students at Carleton are shockingly nice and down-to-earth.</p>
<p>Second, Haverford has a reputation for being among the most left-wing schools in the country. I sense slightly more political diversity at Carleton (not much, but a little). So if your politics are mainstream liberal (or even moderate or conservative), you might find the atmosphere more open to differing ideas at Carleton.</p>
<p>Really, you can't go wrong with either place.</p>