<p>I know nothing about it, but ds got a letter from the school today with a brochure that, for some reason, caught my eye (he tells me to look first and only show him things that look interesting :) ). </p>
<p>I took a peek at the website, but because some of you seem totally sold on the place I thought I'd ask y'all: Why? We are from Texas. What would ds find in Minnesota at Carleton that he couldn't find somewhere warmer? :) </p>
<p>The brochure talked about IM broomball; he'd love that!</p>
<p>I'm in Texas, too, and my daughter is a junior at Carleton. She has found a college with bright, engaged, happy students who have an offbeat sense of humor. She has learned to live in a cold environment (though she certainly prefers a warmer environment). </p>
<p>Random things about Carleton - Oregon Trail (the computer game) was created by Carleton students. Check out "Daft Hands" on YouTube - that's a Carleton student.</p>
<p>That's good trivia.</p>
<p>What other places did she look at? I see that there are only nine Texans in the freshman class.</p>
<p>She looked at Bowdoin, Davidson, Hamilton, Rhodes.</p>
<p>There's also a lot of cross-applications with Chicago, Grinnell, Macalester, Brown.</p>
<p>So she was really open to going far away? Ds is only looking at one school (Pomona) that isn't in Texas or a bordering state.</p>
<p>I'm not from a warm Southern state ie Texas, so I don't know if you could find my perspective relevant... but I think the reason I became so desperately obsessed with Carleton is probably its academic ambience. To be honest, I could not be less interested in Broomball, Ultimate Frisbee, and its other random "quirky" activities, hahaha. In the simple words, Carleton is one of the best LAC's in the nation that offers the most rigorous education. It's known to be the best college in the Midwest along with Uchicago and WashU. My parents wanted to know "why not East Coast?", but the past LAC ranks in which Carleton constantly placed within TOP 5 convinced them that it is reallly one of the best, and studying here for four years could really prepareme to go to other great grad schools.</p>
<p>So I went for a visit, and I was expecting to see a cut-throat, competitive environment with students under tremendous pressure all the time... not at all. Students seemed all very laid-back and EXTREMELY friendly. There's absolutely no New England preppy snobbishness or anything. Kids are there to study and learn genuinely for the sake of learning. And they also told me something like, "you learn to compete with yourself instead of with others." They said they don't know their friends' grades or anything. And I didn't feel like this was one of their stupid marketing tactics, because so many people said it.</p>
<p>starbucks, are you there now or an applicant?</p>
<p>I think your impressions are very valid so thanks for responding. And you hit on something I'm worried about venturing too far from Texas -- the New England preppy snobbishness. :) He goes to a great, challenging, diverse public HS now, so I'd love for him to have that in a college.</p>
<p>Like I said in the OP, I wonder whether he can find a great, quirky, challenging environment right here (thinking Rice) and is it worth it to invest the time in looking far, far away. Right now, he only has three reaches on his list so we're looking for more and just trying to get a feel for what's out there. He has no interest in HYP and would prefer a small LAC. For some reason that mailing just caught my eye! Good marketing! :)</p>
<p>I must admit my daughter was pretty eager to try living in a different area of the country- she only applied to one school in Texas (Southwestern, my alma mater). Carleton is fairly easy to get to - straight up I-35 (she does have her car there). Beginning in March, Southwest will offer flights to Minneapolis (yay!).</p>
<p>Southwestern is on ds's list. Are they comparable? That's kind of what I mean about why look in Minnesota if you can find the same thing up I-35! :)</p>
<p>Yea! Southwest to Minneapolis! Would love to take my son there.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info on Oregon Trail. I LOVE THAT GAME!</p>
<p>Lots of kids from our school are dying to go up north for college. </p>
<p>Our rare glimpse of snow this year encouraged them even more.</p>
<p>some southern schools that, while not LACs, are known for providing good educations are Emory, Wake Forest (a little less so), and Vanderbilt.
LACs that don't have the preppiness factor to them that are also warmer, but not necessarily closer to TX are Lewis and Clark and Reed, and then Willamette, though it's easier to get into and not as much like Carleton. </p>
<p>most of the others are then far away and cold. Kenyon (in OH), Macalester (MN), Oberlin (OH), Knox (not as highly regarded as the others, and in IL), and many more.</p>
<p>MBP, I can't believe your list. DD2 applied to five schools and you have them all. She is high on geekhood and learning. Her #1 choice is Carleton. Her other application schools are Knox, Lewis and Clark, Kenyon and Oberlin. For some reason neither Reed nor Macalester appealed to her (though both did to her older Sister).</p>
<p>Starbucks08, I think you describe Carleton to T. My son (from Tennessee) wasn't interested in broomball or Ultimate either, but he loves Carleton for exactly the reasons you describe. </p>
<p>(He's played broomball and enjoyed it, but I don't think he's picked up a frisbee since the summer before he started at Carleton--when he threw one around a little in case it was sort of a requirement. It's not. ;))</p>
<p>In addition what's already been said, another reason my kids chose the school is because they have a wide range of interests. S is able to dance in Ebony and play lax. His friends are varied and he feels he has the flexibility to pursue his passions. D is now going for many of the same reasons. They also loved the humor in the admissions process and school communications overall.</p>
<p>We're from Kentucky. Our daughter is a sophomore who chose Carleton above Pomona and other good schools simply because, after visiting, it felt like the place she most wanted to be. She's a driven, Type-A personality, so the laid-back atmosphere of the Carleton student body has been a terrific thing for her. God help her if she'd ended up in an extremely intense, highly-competitive environment! Carleton's academics are very challenging, but there's also plenty of fun to be found. And her fellow Carls are both brilliant and wonderful!</p>
<p>My d. is one of this year's Texas freshmen. She applied to a few Northeastern schools, several midwest schools, a couple of schools in California and Austin College in Texas. Carleton was her first choice because she wanted to see what life is like outside of Texas, she was eager to be independent, and she was looking for smart, friendly students with a sense of humor. Her Texas high school was huge, suburban and preppy and she wanted more diversity in outlook and a smaller student body. She only applied to LACs.</p>
<p>She loves Carleton. Her friends are smart and fun with a lot of different interests, and she says everyone looks out for each other. She says the students like to party, but not during the week because everyone is studying. The trimester system means every day counts. She asked for a warmer winter coat, but otherwise she doesn't complain about the weather. As far as travel goes, it's a straight shot to Minneapolis from the major Texas airports, and the school has midterm shuttles to the airport.</p>
<p>Okay all these Texans with children at Carleton... I have to admit we had never heard of this school till dd got not one but two VERY fun and light-hearted letters/brochures from Carleton. They really stood out among all the "we're the best rah rah rah" verbage from other colleges.</p>
<p>kcphobo, you alluded to her biggest concern... the weather. I'd love to hear more specifics from your d (and others) specific wardrobe survival techniques. When does it start getting cold and then warming again in the spring (by TX standards, wink). Thanks!:)</p>
<p>Carleton's admissions website is very entertaining and engaging. I enjoy all the student videos and Q&As. They give a real "face" to the school and give a much better idea of what the students are like than you usually find on school websites.</p>
<p>Carleton is on S's list and we are looking forward to visiting next month.</p>
<p>It starts getting cold in October, with varying temperatures until the cold settles in. D has learned to layer, layer, layer. She's got hoodies, a pea coat, and a down filled jacket. Also hats, scarves, and gloves (she prefers the fingered mittens). I also order her good thick socks from LL Bean.</p>
<p>As for warming this year, February did have some days above freezing, but it can also snow in April (or later). Students start wearing shorts when it hits 40 degrees.</p>
<p>BengalMom, I hope y'all enjoy your visit!</p>
<p>Probably best comparison is to New England. </p>
<p>Fall and spring terms the daytime temps are pretty similar to places like Williams, Middlebury, Dartmouth, Amherst, etc. It will even often be warmer here at the beginning and end of each school year. </p>
<p>Winter is a different animal. While the snowfall is actually less through the season, January can be teeth chattering, bone chilling cold (as it was this year). February and March everything thaws out (including the Bald Sport ice rinks) and once again temperatures mimic New England. We do get some help from above - more sunny days compared to the Northeast may help to explain perpetually lofty Carl spirits in the face of red white or blue noses.</p>