<p>i've heard it's a very very tough liberal arts college, but well worth it. </p>
<p>has anyone gotten it? what are your stats, etc?
anyone in carleton? do you like it? do you hate it? etc</p>
<p>My sister got accepted to Carleton, but didn't attend.</p>
<p>Her stats: High 1500's/1600, 4.0 unweighted, 4.2 weighted.</p>
<p>ECs included a non-cut sport for four years, but she did make varsity in her senior year. She also founded the school's science club. She did some community service stuff too and some other clubs...but I think that's the general gist of her stats.</p>
<p>She was probably above Carleton's level, though.</p>
<p>I'm not too familiar with Carleton but I think those stats are probably about where Carleton's avg stats would be considering that Carleton is very selective.</p>
<p>If you check old threads on the Carleton forum, you'll find more information. My daughter is very happy she chose Carleton.</p>
<p>I know its not ivy league</p>
<p>The comment about stats being "above Carleton's level" is way off base.</p>
<p>Carleton is probably second only to Swarthmore as a high-achievers' LAC. Definitely in the same group as Swat, Bowdoin, Davidson, Amherst, Grinnell, Williams, Pomona, HMC, and a few others.</p>
<p>Last I knew, Carleton enrolled more National Merit Finalists than any other LAC.</p>
<p>Read through other postings to see messages posted by kids who thought that Carleton was a "safety" for them, but who were turned down flat.</p>
<p>Check out the lists of which undergraduate schools produce the highest numbers of PhD and medical-school grads. Carleton is always very high on such a list.</p>
<p>It is a fabulous little school, with students who are academically engaged. Classes are taught by full professors. Student life is rich and varied. Students make their own fun. Spontaneous and erudite simultaneously. (Think: late-night drinking sessions that devolve into Shakespearian pun contests... Something like that.) Very welcoming of all types.</p>
<p>Carleton is heaven for interest-ING, interest-ED, quirky, thoughtful, motivated students.</p>
<p>My DS was accepted at Carleton, but chose not to go. I have always, always thought it should have been his first choice -- and after his first year in the Ivy League, he admitted that he saw my point.</p>
<p>Good luck. pm me if it would be of use to you.</p>
<p>piglette - I agree with your views. My close friend in high school eschewed the Ivy League for Carleton, and it was a wise decision. The smaller environment both challenged and supported him in a way that was unusual. A Phd now of some acclaim, I can't help but think that Carleton did a lot for this shy lineman on our football team. By the way, he played football at Carleton, too - something that he would not have been able to do at the Ivies, who still, whether they admit it or not, recruit pretty aggressively for marginal Div. 1A recruits.</p>
<p>My DD also loves Carleton. I second Piglette's comment about late night parties - we have gotten calls from such "gatherings" requesting insights about definitions of medical terms and, on election night, the likely political leanings of counties in my home state, a crucial one to the Senate configuration, as results came in. They have a lot of fun thinking and talking (and, I'm sure, drinking). Most of my daughter's friends seem to be handling the admittedly intense workload without much problem, but with a lot of work. It's definitely a "work hard, play hard" school.</p>
<p>Well, I think "second only to Swarthmore as a high achievers' LAC" is a bit of hyperbole, but other than that piglette's take is pretty good. The quirky, intellectual part is right and is precisely what put Carleton high up on my quirky, intellecutal D's list. Ultimately, my D preferred Wesleyan (ED, so never did apply to Carleton). But D was so enthusiastic about Carleton that she convinced her best friend (rejected ED at Swarthmore) to visit, which she did and is now having a great freshman year as a prospective pre-med. </p>
<p>A few points. High 1500s/4.0 is certainly not "above Carleton's level" -- but it also clearly is not "where Carleton's average stats would be." Carleton works on a trimester system: only three courses, but intense because of the compressed time period. Northfield, MN where Carleton is located, is quite nice. It gets really cold.</p>
<p>bumping it</p>
<p>The college counselor at our kids HS was a geology major at Carleton & loved it there. He became an adcom there & then an adcom at UCDavis before coming to our HS. Two kids from the 2006 graduating class were admitted to Carleton. One was delighted to matriculate there & the other backed out after Stanford took her off the waitlist & admitted her.</p>
<p>The counselor said that it has a "capstone" type project that all seniors have to do to graduate. The college tells its students that it would be called an master's thesis anywhere else, but he said it really honed his research & writing skills. He was happy there & is always glad to recommend it to students.</p>
<p>As I said above, my daughter loves it at Carleton. The professors are interesting, and she has spent many hours in the library studying. There's also so much to do on campus that she has to pick and choose. You can see for yourself what is offered by reading the daily Noon News Bulletin on the Carleton website. She's eagerly anticipating broomball season next term. I remember her asking the Carleton rep a few years ago what was wacky about Carleton, which makes me laugh now because Carleton seems to embrace quirkiness. Robert Oden, the president of Carleton, likes to talk about what is unique - the sense of humor and the lack of corrosive competition. The only (minor) negative she has mentioned is the food, but the food service contract is in the process of renegotiation and the students do have input.</p>
<p>how different is it from st. olaf? other than the selectivity.</p>
<p>The only person I know who goes to Carleton had very high SAT scores and lots of great extracurriculars.</p>
<p>also how does it compare to other midwest ivies like oberlin, grinnell and macalester?</p>
<p>St. Olaf has a better music program, has more students (1000-1500 more, I think), has better football, and has better food. The students are more conservative in lifestyle than Carleton, and the campus is on the outskirts of town whereas Carleton is adjacent to downtown Northfield.</p>
<p>Macalester is in an urban setting and more to the left, politically, with a large number of international students. Don't know much about Oberlin and Grinnell, except Oberlin has more students and an outstanding music program and Grinnell is much more isolated.</p>
<p>Carleton is the best (at least stat-wise, and otherwise, as far as I'm concerned) LAC in the midwest, and one of the best in the country. I'm amazed how underrated it is on CC.</p>
<p>Carleton produces great geoscientists. Currently at UW - Madison, we have probably 5-10 Carleton grads as grad students (mix of MS and PhD students) and at least one Carleton grad who is a professor in the department.</p>
<p>That exhausts my knowledge of Carleton, but the grads are very well represented at UW - Madison for grad school (other departments as well).</p>
<p>Uh, well according to my friend who goes there, it's cold and they are big on ultimate frisbee. Yes I know that is totally irrelevant to what you had in mind.</p>
<p>D1 applied to Carleton, thought it was a great school. Top academics. Particularly great reputation in the physical sciences. IIRC, relatively many students are from the surrounding areas of the upper midwest, and from public schools. Relatively a lot of students seemed to play intramural sports. And that area tends to be very cold in the winter. It is on a "different" academic calendar; trimester or quarters, I forget. They are known to give merit money to National Merit finalists.</p>
<p>The other named LACs are also excellent; they each have some similarities and some differences. D1 wound up applying to three of them and is attending one.</p>