While I am extremely excited about the friendly and collaborative environment at Carleton I have heard much about, I also worry that I’m not in the same caliber in terms of achievements and eccentricity as other students. In other words, I feel like I’m not as smart or outgoing or as “quirky” as the other students and worry that I’ll feel like an outsider at Carleton. I’m starting to feel very anxious about starting college. Can anyone help to alleviate some of these fears?
This is a totally normal feeling! Starting college is incredibly exciting, but I also remember feeling nervous the summer leading up to my first year at Carleton. I think the most important thing to remember is that you’re definitely not alone in feeling anxious. New Student Week can be a bit of a crazy whirlwind of activities and meeting people and while that’s definitely fun and exciting, it’s also not what a “normal” Carleton week feels like. You’re definitely not expected to get to college and adjust immediately in your first week. It’s honestly much easier to start to feel comfortable and at home once classes start (even if they’re hard and a lot of work!). You really fall into a routine and start making friends (whether they’re people from your floor or from classes or activities), and before you know it it’s Thanksgiving break.
In terms of worrying that you’re not the same “caliber” as other students, you definitely are! Carleton has gotten really difficult to get into, and if the admissions office thinks you should be here, you can definitely hold your own. More importantly, everyone says competition is not a thing at Carleton, and honestly in my three years that has been 100% percent true and one of the best changes from high school. Nobody will judge you for seeking extra help if you need it - the math skills center and the writing center are some of the most utilized services on campus and they’re both staffed by students.
Carleton’s “quirkiness” is an interesting and somewhat hard to define phenomenon. It’s not that everyone does something “cool” or even “quirky” like juggle fire or grow all their own food. It’s totally normal to be “normal.” I think when people say Carleton is quirky they’re hitting on two main things: 1) that Carleton students think it’s cool to care about academics and 2) that Carleton students embrace the idea that you can be whoever you want to be and do whatever you want to do. So if you’re a rugby player who’s in acapella, your teammates will go to your concerts and your acapella group will come to your games. People really support one another as classmates, teammates, friends, etc. and there’s room to follow your passions academically and extracurricularly. It’s also totally normal to have no clue as an incoming student what those passions might be! There will be an activity fair on the bald spot during the first week of classes where every club/team/group sets up a table and you can wander around and sign yourself up for email lists. This is the best way to get a sense of what’s happening on campus that you might want to be a part of - the important thing is to actually go to some meetings after you sign up for emails! In terms of academic exploration - sign up for anything that sounds interesting, even if it’s out of your comfort zone! On a whim a took a religion class freshman year and I’ve taken three more since then because I loved it so much.
In sum, it’s normal to feel anxious and you don’t need to worry about “fitting in.” I think that when people talk about Carleton’s “quirkiness” they’re trying to hit on the idea that there is no defined “mold” to fit into here.
^^^ Perfectly said!
@carl2016 That is exactly what I needed to hear! I am honestly super excited for fall to come so that I can meet other people like me who love learning and helping each other out and so that I can explore things that I didn’t have the opportunity to in high school. I was wondering, however, if clubs/sports/organizations on campus welcome newcomers. I’m super interested in playing sports like rugby, flag football, ultimate frisbee, and possibly skiing, but I’m not an athlete by any means. I’d also really like to try out outdoorsy stuff like hiking, sailing, farming, etc, and would also love to get involvdd in musical organizations on campus, but all I can play is the piano which doesn’t really fit into any musical orchestra/ensemble, so I’d like to try to learn a new instrument like the violin or cello. So my question is, with Carls being as accomplished as they are, would opportunities for newbies be completely limited?
People definitely welcome newcomers! The majority of the people who play rugby had never played before coming to Carleton, and there are three different levels of frisbee teams to suit whatever level of play and commitment you desire - tons of beginners take up frisbee when they come to Carleton as well. In terms of outdoors stuff check out CANOE! It’s one of the largest clubs on campus and they lead such a wide range of hiking/rock climbing/etc. trips and have all the equipment you would need to get involved. Carleton also has a PE requirement of four courses (or four terms over the course of four years) and this can be satisfied by taking classes or playing club/varsity sports. The classes are nothing like high school PE though, and they’re actually really fun! Think rock climbing, yoga, instructional figure skating, outdoor skills and adventure, frisbee, 3 on 3 basketball, etc. There’s such a wide range and it’s a great way to try something new - the instructors are often other students so it’s a really low-key way to learn something new in a structured environment.
While Carleton does have a music major, the vast majority of people in music courses, orchestras, and ensembles are not majoring in music. It’s a very open and welcoming program and scene on campus. SO many students at Carleton take music lessons as well. It’s really easy to sign up for a new instrument or continue an old one and there are a lot of offerings each term. The term system is particularly good with this regard as well, because if you decide to try a new instrument one term, you’re only committed to it for 10 weeks, instead of a full semester. Vice versa, if you want to play music your whole time at Carleton, but have one term where you’re double labbing and taking gym and just generally doing way too much, you only have to take a break from music for ten weeks. There’s a lot of flexibility in the music program for a wide range of skill levels - and some really interesting instruments as well (e.g. harp, sitar, euphonium). Here’s a place to look for course offerings this fall: https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/registrar/schedule/enroll/?term=15FA&subject=MUSC
TLDR: Carleton is a completely friendly place to beginners. Some teams are made up almost entirely of people who never played before coming to Carleton (e.g. rugby) and most clubs actively cater to a wide range of skill levels (e.g. CANOE). Hope this helps!