Overview of Carleton College

Through reading the student blogs it seems to me that the student body as a whole is friendly, cheerful very open. It also appears that the school does a very good job of pairing off incoming freshmen with roommates they can get along with easily.

Although I didn't realize it until I got here, I could not have picked a better school. Students here truly love this school. This is seen by how prospective students are treated like celebrities, how there is an abundance of students who want the unpaid position of tour guide, and how Carls could go on for hours talking about their school. Here is a place where there are so many opportunities. Carls are involved. Not only can I be a student receiving a great education but also a volunteer, a friend, an athlete, a worker, a musician, a club member and so much more. Yes, Northfield is a small, rural, Minnesota town but that does not mean that activities are lacking. The school brings in bands weekly to 'The Cave', there are 'Sayles' dances, traditions such as Rotblatt, Spring Concert, and Screw your Roommate, sporting events, performances by both school and major musical, theater, and dance groups, speakers, camping and adventure trips, club sports, intramural sports, an 880 acre 'Arb', floor activities, free trips and tickets to the movie theater, weekly movie screenings, countless costume/dress-up parties... Students stay on campus on weekends because they want to. There is something for everyone.

I'd say that 90% of the time, I enjoy being at Carleton. The social setting is definitely one that is interesting. There is a lot of social awkwardness, and sometimes that can be a little intense, but I'd say that by the end of my first term, I was completely accustomed to the awkwardness, and I've even come to embrace it. I'd say that the 10% that I'm not enjoying myself is accredited to not enough sleep because of poor time management (something that is easy to fall into given the amount of work/number of extracurricular events on any given night). As long as I'm managing my time effectively, I find my experiences at Carleton pleasurable. Everyone is really nice and very accepting of social/cultural differences, really open to helping their peers, really open to almost anything, really.

While I loved my classes and professors at Carleton, the overall college experience was miserable. There is absolutely no school spirit or pride. The small student body is made up of almost entirely identical students seeking a somewhat alternative experience. Athletes were seen condescendingly by students and professors. The weekend scene was depressing. Most students studied, save for occasional small parties thrown by some of the athletic teams mostly. One of my visiting friends remarked it was the quietest, loneliest campuses he had ever set foot on. The lack of diversity (socially) among students was the biggest flaw. Carleton attracts and accepts a certain type of person, and if one does not feel that they fit in, they are correct.

Carleton has an amazing atmosphere on campus. Most everyone is friendly and seems to share the sense of community (and the Midwestern sense of humor) that defines Carleton. Everyone I met on-campus was involved in several activities (intramural sports, radio station, community service, comedy troupes, musical groups, etc.) and seemed to be genuinely happy to be there. The main factor that kept me from attending, however, was the location. While Northfield is a very charming small town it is also distressingly TINY. It is located in a very rural area and likely lacks sufficient social life off-campus (or so I feared). However, if you have a car you could likely reach the Minneapolis/St. Paul area within 45 minutes to an hour. So there's that. Plus there's those harsh Minnesota winters (so be prepared for that).