timeless thread, thank you!
I love how this thread pops up periodically.
I’m glad this thread and perhaps my contribution have helped people. I do think that hearing anecdotes and stories from past and present students can be really helpful in understanding the culture–and hence the “fit”–of a school. My son, whom I mentioned earlier in this thread, graduated in 2011 and went on to get a Master’s in urban planning. On his visit to Carleton during accepted students weekend, he roomed with someone who shared none of his interests. Plus, it was during that weekend that the reality hit him of what leaving home for college actually means. All of which meant he didn’t have a stellar experience that weekend. But he loved Carleton and wouldn’t change his choice. My point is that visits can tell you a lot about a school and its rightness for you–but not everything. Good luck to everyone making that choice this year!
P.S. My son’s now-exgirlfriend also loved her school, UofC, and is now working on a Phd in one of the sciences at a great school.
I chose Carleton over UChicago. I’m a country kid from a bluecollar community (hence my username) and while I really wanted to push the limits of my comfort zone, jumping head first into Chicago was a little too much to start off with. Northfield provides a stepping stone. It’s a lot bigger than my hometown, but still small on the grand scheme of things and yet its very close to Minneapolis (I can make the drive to downtown in less than thirty minutes) so I can begin to expose myself more to the city and all the things that come with it.
Bonus Factors:
Hated UChi’s work to the bone, study, study, study feel
Really wanted a school that focused a lot on undergrad
bluecollar, your town must be tiny. 
I love Northfield and am sad I no longer have an excuse to go back. I hope you enjoy your time there.
I’ve studied at both colleges and noticed a stark difference between them.
At UChicago, I think the nerdiness level is higher, though people weren’t as social. Even though at Carleton, I meet people who will stay up through the night talking about what we learned in class (one of my favorite activities, although most people tend to dread my breaking into a history lecture because i thought it was entertaining), they were far more numerous at Chicago. Work was definitely more cutthroat there as well, and although I didn’t try to use office hours as much at Chicago, I imagine it’s far easier on Carleton. The smallness of the campus also helps tremendously. As far as professors go, I vastly prefer Carleton to anywhere else in the world, I’d wager. As idiosyncratic as “ratemyprofessors.com” might be, our school average is ridiculously high, and there’s a reason we’re rated the #1 teaching institution among LACs. Take my opinion for whatever it’s worth. There are pros and cons to both schools. But my biggest mistake was thinking that Carleton and Chicago had very similar intellectual atmospheres, and it became my biggest letdown.
Haha I might have over exaggerated a tid bit. My hometown isn’t that tiny, it probably has 1,500 full-time residents, but there really isn’t much there: a couple of gas stations and a bar essentially
@bluecollar, if you can get to downtown Mpls from Carleton in less than a half hour, you’re driving too fast!
I do have that habit. Google maps says it will take me four hours to Carleton, but I can do it in three. I am, however, not condoning speeding. Be safe, drive cautiously.