<p>Does anyone have any insights as to the relative strengths and weaknesses of Carleton and Whitman?</p>
<p>I am looking for the best combination of academic rigor, discussion-based classes and engaged and satisfied group of students for the best overall LAC experience. In particular:</p>
<ul>
<li>Is Whitman up to Carleton academically?</li>
<li>Is Carleton too academically intense to allow participation in sports and other extracurricular activities?</li>
<li>At both schools, how is the support from the college in seeking internships, graduate school and post-graduate employment?</li>
<li>Are the students at both schools happy with their decisions to attend?</li>
<li>To the extent generalizations can be made, are there any significant differences in the characteristics of the students?</li>
</ul>
<p>I really like both schools and, like many of us this weekend, the time has come to decided where I'm going next year, so any thoughts are appreciated. </p>
<p>I'm posting this in a couple of fora, so I apologize if you run into it more than once. Thanks.
SoCalUndecided is online now</p>
<p>My son is at Whitman and my best friend’s son is a recent Carleton grad so I’ll offer my observations.</p>
<p>–I think ultimately, with any school, academics are what the given student makes of the opportunities available so quantitative/ranking comparisons can be misleading. Both student bodies are full of bright, curious, hardworking kids who love academic challenge. I’d look to your areas of major interest and see what faculty seem most appealing to you. At both schools you will have great faculty access and that is where academic life happens.
–Kids at both schools have a great deal of fun while still being intensely engaged in studies. Carleton is probably more preppy, competitive, professionally focussed in some regards. Whitman has a strong public service/ecofriendly/arts intellectual collaborative spirit. I have not been to the Carleton campus. When I am at Whitman I am always impressed with the joy kids seem to exude and the warmth of the community.
–Both schools do a wonderful job with support on internships, etc. Their “networks” are somewhat different geographically Eg: C to midwest/east; W to NW/west coast–but both schools have great traditions of kids getting fellowships and into medschools, lawschools of choice across the country
–weather and travel distance are definitely something to put into your equation. The Carleton winters are brutal. Whitman definitely has seasons but not the intense and lengthy winter. Flying time to WW and Minneapolis might be somewhat similar–but the driving time is not and many Whitties end up driving back and forth and catching rides along the coast seems to work out pretty well for the west coasters.
–You actually have great choices here and there is NO wrong choice in terms of a great education. Which campus felt most “good-fit” to you on an intuitive level? Don’t drive your self crazy with comparisons. If the money is equal, go with with the one your heart loves most. If you need to be practical, go with the monetary difference and trust that you will love where you are once you get there.</p>
<p>Hi there, I am an Intl student who’s been in the same situation as yours and I’d like to offer my perspective. I was actually waitlisted at Carleton so I may be a little biased, but I was accepted at Harvard as well and I will not be attending…</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Academically Carleton is ranked much higher by U.S news but Whitman has been ranked much higher by other publications such as Forbes and the Washington Monthly. These rankings are fairly subjective, however, and should not be paid too much attention. Carleton is bigger by 500 students so naturally offers more courses while Whitman’s class size is smaller 14 to Carleton’s 17. Carleton is reputed to be more intense, but I can’t comment on that any further. Carleton has also more PHD’s per capita (one of the highest in the U.S) than Whitman, but Whitman is arguably one of the most balanced LAC’s out there with a ~30/30/30/10 distribution for Arts & Humanities, Science, Social Science and Interdisciplinary majors. Both schools academic’s are excellent, so IMO I think it should rather come to “Fit” when you make your final decision.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t think so, Carleton was ranked #14 for Everyone Plays Intramural Sports, Whitman was #2. I think you will have no problem indulging in in sports and other extracurricular activities if you wish to. & IMO the intense atmosphere at Carleton may be partially derived from the intense weather which has been described as Siberian.</p></li>
<li><p>I can’t comment on that, but obviously with all the focus on Undergraduates there will be plenty of opportunities for research/internships if you ask for it. And Judging from the career outcomes at both schools I shouldn’t be particularly worried.</p></li>
<li><p>Whitman were ranked as the happiest students of any college in the U.S. Carleton has one of the highest alumni giving of any college so they must be pretty happy as well.</p></li>
<li><p>I think Carleton has a reputation of being more quirky while Whitman is more laidback, but these are just generalization. On the Princeton Review, people who considered Carleton also considered Whitman among their top choices and was thus listed as a similar school to Carleton. So I don’t think that the students are really that different.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>P.S: I’ve posted a similar topic entitled Intl St: Why Whitman/Pomona and not Pomona/Whitman??! & I’m on the facebook group of Whitman and Pomona where I posted the same topic, so try that too and if you feel like contacting me personally I think that you can easily find me…</p>
<h2>Carleton is probably more preppy, competitive, professionally focussed in some regards.</h2>
<p>This is an odd observation, since Carleton students are known for being non-preppy, non-competitive-with-each other, and definitely non-professionally-focussed.</p>
<p>I do agree with bcash. Carleton students (and I am generalizing) are some of the most unpretentious, down to earth students you will meet, I often heard the expression “Minnesota nice” being uttered several times to describe them. </p>
<p>But I also think that the idea that Whitman is academically inferior is very much unfounded. Whitman was named one of the alternative to Ivy’s and one of the hidden gems by the NYTimes, and so was Carleton. But Whitman was also listed as one of the Colleges that Change Lives by Loren Pope. And I would actually venture to say that Whitman’s alumni may be slightly more prominent: Youngest Astronaut in NASA’s history, 1st woman to serve as a law clerk for a Supreme Court justice, a Nobel laureate in Physics, a CEO of GE, a self made billionaire, the Chief engineer of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Mars’ Exploration Program…</p>