Carleton College

Carleton College Introduction

Driving down rural Highway 19 in southeast Minnesota amidst farms and cornfields, it’s hard to imagine that one of the country’s best liberal arts colleges lies just out of sight. Nestled in the small town of Northfield, Carleton attracts a talented, diverse, and intelligent group of students, many of whom were initially considering matriculation at the Ivies. In fact, what sets Carleton apart from its East Coast counterparts is that the campus atmosphere, while intensely intellectual, is at the same time laid-back and friendly. Strangers really do smile at each other in passing, and even in the middle of finals or midterms, Carls can be seen tossing a frisbee in the middle of campus or building snow forts in the subarctic Minnesotan winters.

In typical Carleton style, the college just celebrated the 140th anniversary of its founding with celebratory cupcakes during the half-time of its homecoming football game. Although the rural college still maintains its Midwestern humility, its student body hails from forty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and more than thirty foreign countries. Carls come from a wide range of socioeconomic, ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds, so there really isn’t a “typical” Carleton student. Carls often discover their classmates’ unique perspectives not just in the classroom but also in late-night conversations with their roommates, over a team dinner after sports practice, or on walks with friends in the college’s arboretum.

I was deciding between Carleton and [a top university]. I’m a horrible decision-maker, and for about a week, this one was driving me crazy—keeping me up at night, totally distracting me from the rest of my life. And then I was going for a run one day and I just said to myself, “I’m going to Carleton.” And it felt good. And at the end of my run, it still felt good. And a couple hours later, it still felt good. I think what it came down to was, “what kind of person do I want to be/become?” I am so, so glad that I chose Carleton—I’ve never regretted it— for that reason: the person I became there and am continuing to become. — Laura Grant, ’06, political science/international relations major

The decision to come to Carleton is different for every student, but whatever the reason, not many people end up at the college by mistake. Some students will arrive for the first day of their freshman year in full Knights apparel, knowing the ins and outs of the academic system and the Ultimate Frisbee team’s record since 1983. Others will need time to adjust to the small college community and the Minnesota winters. Regardless of background, Carleton is a great fit for students who want a small liberal arts college atmosphere, and a student body filled with a diverse, eccentric, and fun-loving people.

My mom really wanted me to go to a school in the Midwest, and I wanted to get away from Nebraska; we were looking at schools and I figured that Carleton was probably the best school in the region. My grades weren’t stellar, so I figured I’d apply early decision to Carleton and if I got in, then that would be a great stroke of luck. And voila, I matriculated. — Derek Zimmerman, ’07, English major

Prospective students who visit the campus in the summer will have a hard time envisioning what the college is all about because Carleton is really defined by the students, staff, and faculty who populate it. All of these people come together to make the college a supportive, intellectual, and challenging environment in which to live and learn. Carleton students don’t just “get” an education, they have to make it their own—but there is no dearth of peers, professors, and other members of the Carleton community to help students on their way. Graduating seniors and alumni know that there is a great deal of truth in President Oden saying that “from the first day forward, you become a part of Carleton, and Carleton becomes a part of you.”

Carleton College Academics

Academics are at the heart of students’ liberal arts experience. Since Carleton is solely a full-time undergraduate institution, its academic programs are of course focused on undergrads, unlike many prestigious universities. Carls can choose from thirty-four majors and have the option of choosing one of sixteen concentrations, which is similar to an interdisciplinary minor. All Carls graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Distribution Requirements

Since Carleton is a college of liberal arts and sciences, students are expected and required to complete a wide range of courses in varied subjects. The college’s distribution requirements are designed with the intention that all students’ four-year academic experience will have breadth as well as depth. Everyone must take two courses in arts and literature (art and art history, dance, English, music, theater, classical and modern literature), two courses in humanities (history, philosophy, and religion), three courses in the social sciences (economics, educational studies, linguistics, political science, psychology, sociology, and anthropology), and three courses in math and the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, geology, physics and astronomy, mathematics, computer science, and specific psychology courses).

Students must also pass a writing requirement by taking a designated writing-intensive course and submitting a portfolio of samples of their writing by the end of their sophomore year. Carls also must fulfill the RAD (Recognizing and Affirming Differences) requirement, which basically means taking a class that focuses on a subject from a non-Western European perspective. Finally, all students must take four physical education courses, which can range from rock climbing to contact improvisation to ice skating.

“Distros,” as these requirements are commonly called, represent about a third of the classes students will take at Carleton. Many Carls fulfill the distribution requirement without even thinking about it, and since there aren’t any specific classes that all Carls are required to take, each student’s course schedule can be incredibly personal and flexible.

Working Toward a Major

While distros are a great way for students to achieve a good breadth of knowledge, the major is an opportunity for them to study extensively in one subject that truly interests them. Many students have very vague ideas about a potential major when they arrive at college. Thankfully, Carls don’t have to declare a major and an optional concentration until the spring of their sophomore year, so they have plenty of time to dabble.

Every major and concentration has its own distro requirements and required number of credit hours. Most majors require students to complete introductory courses (100 levels) in order to take intermediate (200 levels) and advanced courses (300 levels). Most students will also have to complete a methods course in their major during their sophomore or junior years and a Senior Seminar. Some will have to go through a petition process to complete a special major and/or double major. All students will meet with an assigned advisor from the faculty in their major to further discuss and plan their academic path.

The Senior Integrative Exercise, or “Comps”

In their senior year, students will cap off their major by completing a senior integrative exercise, or the comprehensive project. Carls fondly call this beast “Comps.” Comps can take on many different forms, even within a certain major. They can be long exams, an in-depth research paper, an original thesis, a body of original artistic work, or student-conducted scientific or psychological research. Seniors love to gripe about comps, but secretly most enjoy the challenge of an extensive project that culminates their four years of academic study.

Academic Strengths

In the past decade, Carleton has been known for its strength in the physical sciences, and biology in particular has been one of the most popular majors with recent classes. About eleven percent of students in the class of 2006 were biology majors, and fifty-three percent of that entire class took at least one biology course during their Carleton careers. But biology isn’t the only popular major at Carleton; political science/international relations, economics, English, and psychology also regularly make their way onto the top majors list. These top five majors are popular for a reason: students are attracted to the depth of study in which they can engage in each department, and the quality of professors and the breadth of subjects they teach.

Geology, a small but very strong department, has the amazing ability to attract students to its major. Few students come to Carleton intending to major in geology, but after taking a few introductory classes filled with plenty of hands-on field trips, many are hooked. The geo majors are a tight-knit group, and one can expect to see many of them literally camped out in their lab in the first floor of the Mudd Science Hall, entrenched in their research.

The arts of Carleton are receiving much attention. The initiatives being discussed will tie the arts into other aspects of the curriculum and provide new facilities. A planning committee has recommended the college create a center for visual and narrative arts featuring classrooms for campus-wide use: support services for visual and narrative production, studio arts, art history, cinema and media studies, English, and theater and dance; and a teaching art museum. The committee has also proposed the Perlman Learning and Teaching Center. The recommendation also calls for the development of an integrated music building that combines the teaching of music with performance space. Cinema and media studies (CAM) is now a major and will increase its course offerings and study-abroad programs.

The Trimester System

Carleton differs from the semester schedule of many other colleges of its size and caliber, and instead operates on a three-term system. The terms, conveniently named “Fall,” “Winter,” and “Spring,” are ten weeks long, and students will usually take three classes each term. Three classes seem like it would make for a relatively “light” course load, but when a semesters-worth of information is crammed into ten weeks, most Carls will agree that three classes is more than enough. The advantage of the trimester system is that it allows students to focus intensely on a few subjects for short bursts of time instead of spreading out their concentration to four or five classes that seem to last forever. Classes usually meet three days a week for seventy minutes or twice a week for an hour and forty-five minutes, so each class is incredibly important and bring something new to the course of study.

For four years, Carleton students will look at the world in ten-week increments: the first week is always an adjustment period, the fifth week is “crunch time” for midterm papers and exams, and things really pick up during the eighth and ninth week in anticipation of finals. The great thing about trimesters is that Carleton students are rewarded at the end of each term with a significant break. A six-week long break follows fall term, spanning from Thanksgiving to the beginning of the New Year. A two-week long spring break follows winter term, and, of course, the end of the spring term marks the beginning of summer.

The Classroom Environment

S ince classes do meet for a significant amount of time, many students feel a particularly strong bond to their classmates and professors after ten weeks. Statistically speaking, the student-to-faculty ratio is nine-to-one, and the average class size is seventeen, with thirty-nine percent of classes having thirteen or fewer students. These stats show that Carleton students will (whether they like it in some cases or not) be an integral part of each class they take. Some introductory courses are more lecture-based classes and will have upwards of fifty students, but students in these large classes are split up into much smaller groups for the more hands-on laboratory sections.

Most classes are, however, discussion-based classes where each student is expected to participate regularly. In these classes, students help each other learn and will often meet in groups outside of classes to help each other study for exams or to critique each others paper’s or projects.

One of the best things about an introductory religion class I took was the study group that a few other students and I formed. We’d meet regularly in the library or at a local coffee shop and just discuss the material until we knew it all inside and out. We even met a few times without studying in mind, just to catch up.

Most Carleton professors are “accessible,” meaning that they schedule ample time outside of class to meet with students and discuss anything from an upcoming paper to a theory that was glossed over in the last class. Some professors will even require their students to meet with them at least once so that they can connect and make the subject meaningful to everyone. Even though Carleton profs are brilliant and often critically acclaimed experts in their fields, most have chosen to teach at a small liberal arts school because they want to teach and interact with their students.

Learning Outside of the Classroom

When most people think of college academia, they usually conjure up visions of students sitting at desks in front of chalkboards, furiously taking notes, or students holed up in the college library, practically drowning in papers and books. While you can see plenty of scenes to match these visions at Carleton, much of the learning that occurs at the college happens in nontraditional settings, like on field trips, in study groups, or even in conversations that take place at a professor’s house. Environmental biology courses will often take frequent trips to study the ecology of Carleton’s 880-acre arboretum (or Arb), geology students will take frequent trips to South Dakota’s “Badlands,” educational psychology students will tutor in area schools, and sculpture students will install their works in public spaces across campus and in downtown Northfield.

Even Farther from the Classroom: Study Abroad

If there’s one thing that Carleton students like to do, it’s explore. About two thirds of students study abroad at least once during their time at college in over a hundred programs in forty-five different countries. It’s not that Carls are dying to get away from campus (although doing tropical field research in Costa Rica might beat trudging to class in a Minnesota winter), it’s probably more that Carls value a challenging, real-life experience away from the comforts of home. Many students choose to go on Carleton-sponsored programs, and each year faculty members lead groups of fifteen to thirty students to destinations around the world for ten weeks. These programs let students take a wide range of classes that help to fulfill requirements in their major, while at the same time allowing them to experience the subject they are studying on a more first-hand basis.

My favorite class was a program run by a Carleton professor in Ireland; we worked with an Irish scholar on James Joyce’s Ulysses. It was one of the greatest intellectual challenges I’ve ever had, and I learned so much about Ireland, Joyce, and crazy indecipherable prose. — Derek Zimmerman, ’07, English major

If you want to get a little farther away from Carleton for a term, your options certainly aren’t limited to the college’s programs. Carleton is a member of several off-campus consortia, like the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs. You can also choose to participate in one of the many national and international college abroad schools, and programs like the Sea Education Association and The School for International Training are popular among students. Since the majority of Carleton students do go abroad, the Off-Campus Studies Office is very experienced at answering questions related to anything from credit transfers to host families to passports.

Technology Inside and Outside the Classroom

If you get a chance to walk around campus between classes, you’ll probably see a fair number of students running to check e-mail at one of the many public computer labs around campus, or pulling out laptops to surf the net at Wi-Fi hubs in the Sayles-Hill Student Center or in the McKinley Gould Library, also known as the Libe. Many students will be rushing to post comments for a class on Moodle, Carleton’s course-management system. Through Moodle, classes can create on-line forums for further discussion or questions outside of the classroom. All Carls also have access to a central server where they can access useful course materials, and more and more students can access most or all of their readings for certain classes on-line.

Carleton is both Mac- and PC- ‘friendly,’ although most classroom computers are Macs. Most students do own a computer, and laptops are useful, especially when they want to escape from distracting roommates and retreat to the depths of the Libe to write a paper. There are, however, plenty of computers around campus for student use, although finding an unused one can become quite a challenge during finals. If computers decide to revolt right before comps are due, workers at the Student Computing Information Center, or the SCIC, are there to help.

Academic Intensity – What to Expect

Most students at Carleton are academically curious and came to the college with the goal of satisfying that curiosity, not the goal of making straight As or being in the top of their class (although someone’s got to do it). For some, this atmosphere is a dramatic shift from their cutthroat college-prep high schools, but in most cases, it’s a welcome change. Students do worry about doing well in their classes, but “doing well” means really learning and manipulating the subject matter. Carleton has been called “a work hard, play hard” school, and it is not uncommon to see the student center filled with people typing furiously on their laptops or groups putting together a presentation at four in the morning during a finals period, or even during a particularly busy week. Another strange phenomenon about Carleton is that the person you least expect to be a physics whiz or heart-wrenchingly good writer, often is.

Fine Arts

Two of the largest student organizations are KRLX, Carleton’s very own radio station, and Ebony II, a dance troupe open to anyone (like just about all Carleton groups). Over 200 students are involved in each club each term—as DJs, newscasters, and engineers for the round-the-clock FM station, or as dancers in one or many of the Ebony II shows that debut near midterms. Students wanting to get more involved in dance can try out for Semaphore Repertory Dance Company, take classes ranging from ballet to moving anatomy, or even apply for a special major. Every year a few students also apply for special majors in theater, and there are many opportunities for Carls with a wide range of abilities and interest levels to get involved in theatrical productions. Every year students write, direct, and perform in a program of one-act plays or put on larger faculty-directed Players shows that go up in the large Arena Theater. Students can also participate in a number of CSA-sponsored theatrical and comedy groups that usually perform several times a term.

If there’s one thing there isn’t a lack of on campus, it’s singing groups. There are seven a cappella groups, many of which you can sometimes hear practicing in dorm stairwells singing anything from The Postal Service to traditional Irish airs. There are also a number of choir ensembles, as well as an orchestra, a symphony band, a jazz ensemble, an African drum ensemble, and many other smaller groups for those who are musically inclined. Those who are interested can learn how to play the sitar, as Carleton offers music lessons to both beginners and advanced musicians for many different instruments.

Carleton offers a wide range of publications to inform, entertain, and educate the student body. The campus’ weekly newspaper, The Carletonian, has been an independent source of news since 1877. From the wacky and often cynical articles in the Carleton Literary Association Paper (the CLAP) to the heated political debates published in the The Observer, there’s something for everyone. There are also several more artistic and literary journals around campus for students to debut and share their work.

Carleton College Admissions

For a small private college in the Midwest, Carleton has boasted acceptance rates in the past few years that are as selective as those of its East Coast counterparts. Getting into the college is not an easy feat, and in 2005, around thirty percent of people who applied to Carleton were admitted. What does it take to get into such a place—high SAT scores? Perfect GPAs in Advanced Placement classes? Good recommendations? Maybe. Since the college prides itself on its diverse and well-rounded student body, admissions officers don’t just look for one outstanding quality in an applicant.

There are, however, certain qualities in any application that admissions officers do look for, and aspects about an accepted student that will set him or her apart from less qualified applicants. In order to select a group of students for an incoming class who will take full advantage of all that Carleton offers, admissions officers will review applicants’ academic backgrounds, standardized test scores, school and community involvement, and other unique accomplishments. Regarding the application-reading process, Dean of Admissions Paul Thiboutot reflects, “If I think about twenty-plus years of reviewing, there is an interplay among our evaluation of the strength of curriculum taken and grades obtained, impressions from the essay and overall assessment of the person’s engagement in the larger life of their school.”

One of the most important parts of any student’s application is his or her high school transcript. Admissions officers want to see that a student has taken challenging academics like honors, International Baccalaureate, or Advanced Placement classes, even if it means that the student has a lower GPA than if he or she chose to take easier courses. A broad range of harder courses on a transcript shows that an applicant is academically curious, can handle a Carleton-size course load, and is up for a challenge. Good grades aren’t everything, but they are something, and admissions officers will take them into consideration. Want to secretly hide away all of your ninth grade English and history grades? Take heart, admissions officers also look favorably upon academic improvement over the course of an applicant’s high school career. Keep in mind that officers also note any declining grades, especially in applicants’ senior years, so don’t succumb to any acute cases of “senioritis” yet.

Dean Thiboutot stresses that another extremely important aspect of the application is the essay. He states, “I know that a lack of effort in writing an application essay can have a negative impact in those final close deliberations or vice versa,” since it allows admissions officers to really “get a glimpse” of the applicant’s interests, sense of humor, ideas, and perspective on life. The essay also is a chance for applicants to show that they can communicate well in writing—a skill that will become invaluable at Carleton, even for budding math and science majors. You don’t have to produce a work worthy of a Pulitzer, but it would be a good idea to enlist a few teachers, parents, and/or friends to read through your essay before you submit it.

Despite what some students may think, Carleton is not just about academics. It makes sense then that students’ extracurricular activities and involvement in their school and neighborhood communities are also important parts of their applications. Carleton will probably not accept a student just because of perfect grades and a perfect SAT score if the student doesn’t show that he or she has other interests besides coursework. A perfectly “well-rounded” student doesn’t have to be the editor of the school newspaper, a varsity team captain, or the founder of a neighborhood charity organization (although it helps if you are any one of these), what is important is that a student shows a genuine interest in his or her community and/or enjoys helping and teaching others. Dean Thiboutot stresses that the admissions staff tries to undertake “a holistic evaluation of an individual, keeping in mind that we are not admitting some robot-like academic machine, but a human being with a host of interests, talents, and qualities that will be developed in the classroom and beyond at Carleton, from dining room conversations to exchanges while tossing a Frisbee.”

Admission officers also consider teacher recommendations, the college counselor recommendation, and standardized test scores. Carleton requires either the SAT or the ACT with writing and recommends that students take the SAT subject tests (scores on these tests can generally only help an applicant). Students for whom English is a second language should take the TOEFL.

If you can visit Carleton or contact an alumni admissions representative in your area, a good idea would be to schedule an interview. Carleton encourages but does not require admissions interviews, and the absence of an interview is not held against an applicant in any way. The interview is “a chance to meet someone who knows the Carleton experience well and can share reflections on that experience and answer question and hopefully deepen a prospective applicants understanding of the college,” Dean Thiboutot explains. Because of this purpose, interviews are pretty informal meetings and are definitely more like conversations than interrogation sessions. When preparing for an interview at Carleton, forget about your canned answers and instead think about what really interests you and why you care about it so much because that’s what your interviewers will really want to know about you.

Early Decision

Carleton has two Early Decision options for those who are certain that Carleton is their top-choice school. Early Decision is a binding agreement, and accepted Early Decision students will have to withdraw all other applications and not submit new ones. The Fall application deadline is November 15, and decisions will be mailed by December 15. The Winter deadline is January 15, the same as the Regular Decision deadline. Winter Early Decision will be notified by February 15. Regular Decision will be notified by early April, and no later than April 15.

Carleton College Financial Aid

Regardless of what a prospective student is looking for in a school, a college’s financial aid policy can sometimes outweigh almost any other aspect of the institution when that student is deciding to apply. Carleton knows this fact, and the Office of Student Financial Services claims that no student should hesitate to apply to the college because of its cost.

Carleton has a need-based financial aid policy, meaning that there is an expectation that the family will contribute as much as they can toward the cost of education. Of course, this contribution varies with each family. For the 2006–2007 school year, all Carleton students who demonstrated financial need had those needs met. Half of Carls receive need-based aid, and more than $33.5 million was awarded to Carleton students in 2005–2006. Nearly two thirds of that money was funded by Carleton grants and scholarships, which do not have to be repaid. Outside aid comes from federal and state grants and national, regional, and local scholarships. In each class, Carleton sponsors seventy-five or more National Merit and National Achievement Scholarships. Carleton does not, however, offer scholarships for athletics, the arts, or academic performance, since most students would be eligible for one of those anyway. Carleton also participates in the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Pell Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG Grant), and National SMART Grant programs, as well as the Perkins Loan Program, the Stafford Student Loan program, SELF Loans, and a number of other loan programs.

Most of Carleton’s financial aid packages consist of grants from Carleton and outside sources, a loan, and a work contract. About three fourths of all students work on campus, most as a part of the work-study program through their financial aid. First-year students don’t work more than eight hours a week, and upper-class students don’t work more than ten hours a week. Most students find that their work is manageable and often a rewarding part of their overall Carleton experience. From working in the Burton dining hall dishroom to writing press releases for the Media Services office, students are an important part of the “nuts and bolts” of the colleges’ operations. Because students only work part-time and loans are generally between $2,500 and $3,500, the bulk of financial aid awarded to students comes from Carleton’s grants—a testament to the fact that the college seeks to provide educational opportunities to academically qualified students, regardless of their financial situations.

Carleton College Students

Social Life and Activities

If you think that the process of “getting an education” at Carleton only applies to hours spent in the classroom or studying in the Libe, think again. Much of the “learning” that happens at Carleton occurs during the conversations between classes with a floor-mate, in late-night broomball competitions, or while trying to organize a campus-wide event with a group of friends. But really, what does happen when you get a community of almost 2,000 incredibly interesting and talented young people together? Something pretty interesting.

Residence Halls

Carleton is first and foremost a residential campus, so all first-year students and the majority of all students live in the nine residence halls (or dorms) on campus. Every dorm is coed and mixed by class year. Freshmen will live in one of seven dorms (they don’t live in two dorms because their layout isn’t conducive to proper freshmen “floor bonding”) and will be assigned to one or two roommates. Living in close quarters with a diverse group of people for an entire school year can be a challenging, yet ultimately rewarding experience. Dorm floors become small communities of their own, and many of them band together in intramural broomball games or as cast and crew of an annual campus-wide video-making competition called DVD Fest.

The chief overseers of the floor living communities are Resident Assistants, or RAs. RAs are upper-class students who have all applied for the job and have been trained to handle many of the situations that might arise in a dorm environment. Two RAs are assigned to live on each dorm floor, and they are good resources for first-year student making the transition to life at college.

Upper-class students progressively get more living options as their seniority grows. After their first year, students can apply to live in special interest houses like the Sustainable Living house or the Jewish Interest house. Some juniors and seniors can apply for Northfield Option, which means that they can live in privately owned houses or apartments in town. A few lucky seniors (and maybe some very lucky juniors and sophomores) get to live in college-owned townhouses, the cushiest campus living.

Clubs and Activities

At the beginning of every school year, each student is given a Lagniappe, Carleton’s very own daily planner. It’s a good thing to have around campus because schedules can get complicated very quickly. Besides class periods, assignment due dates, and readings to follow, a Carleton student will probably want to keep track of things like club meetings, performances, volunteer events, intramural games, and dates to hang out at the local coffee shop. All students are part of the Carleton Student Association (CSA), and elected officers form a student government that influences college policy and allocates funding to student organizations. There are over 150 “official” student organizations on cam- pus to satisfy just about everyone’s interests, whether it be religious, athletic, political, artistic, cultural, intellectual, or just plain goofy. If there isn’t a club for a particular group of Carls, they can easily start their own.

Students often find a sense of camaraderie in the club that they join because they are drawn together by a collective enthusiasm, and sometimes passion, for a particular subject or cause. Because students have a broad and often unique range of interests, it’s hard to peg people into certain groups. The captain of the rugby team might also be involved in the outdoor enthusiast association and the campus alliance against gun violence, or the awkward guy who helps you out with your calculus homework is also a member of a comedy improv group.

Being Nigerian means so much to me and I wanted to make sure that I did not forget that when I went to college. Joining AFRISA [African Students Association] was like meet- ing all of my brothers and sisters and getting to know a place I had not seen in so long. Its role is to make sure that the spirit of Africa that lives inside every African student on campus has a voice . . . and that voice is heard. — Love Anani,’07, biology major

Carleton Student Interest Houses

Wellstone House of Organization an Activism

Seeks to create a diverse community of students with experience in a variety of different areas of grassroots political or social movements who can foster organization and activism at Carleton.

Queers and Allies House

Helps to foster the growth of the LGBTA community on campus and to provide an alternative living situation that is comfortable for members of the LGBTA community.

F.I.S.H. House

A place to share the Christian faith by living the Christian faith.

Culinary House

A resource for culinary learning and experience.

CANOE House

Enhances appreciation and the exploration of the outdoors through adventure-type experiences.

La Casa Del Sol

Educates the Carleton and Northfield communities about the many questions, concerns, and cultural traditions of Latinos in the United States as well as Latin America.

Green House

Brings together diverse individual and group environmental interests, serving as a central gathering place to address environmental issues.

Farm & Parr House

Fosters awareness and appreciation of sustainable agriculture and sustainable living.

Jewish Interest House

Serves to provide Jewish students with a culturally comfortable space and to educate all Carleton students about the Jewish culture.

Womens Awareness House

Explores and celebrates the diversity of women and their special needs in the Carleton Community.

Multicultural Center

Is a comfort zone and social area for students of color as well as an educational space for those majority students interested in multicultural concerns.

Science Fiction House

Offers a variety of Sci-Fi-related activities such as book discussions, craft projects and movie nights.

Language House

Housing and programming space for French, Spanish, German, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese languages.

ASIA House

Sustains Asian students and community members and serves to educate the general public at Carleton and in Northfield about issues facing the diverse Asian-American community.

Freedom House

Serves both to provide African-American students at Carleton with a culturally comfortable space and to educate all Carleton students about African-American cultures and issues.

Community Involvement

Northfield’s population of just over 17,000 people includes students from the town’s two colleges, and this inclusive measurement goes to show how much the town relies upon college students to be involved residents. But what does it mean to be a Carleton student and also live in a small town in the middle of cornfields? First off, there’s plenty of opportunity to get invested in a small but vibrant community. Carleton’s Acting in the Community Together (ACT) office is a place that helps students find service opportunities in the Northfield area. From playing with puppies on Friday afternoons at the local animal shelter to traveling to rural Arkansas to help out with a Habitat for Humanity project during spring break, the ACT office gives Carls plenty of opportunities to get involved and stay involved.

Many students work as peer leaders in many different offices on campus. Carleton’s Resident Advisors, Intercultural Peer Leaders, Gender and Sexuality Center Associates, Student Wellness Advisors, Chaplain’s Associates, and Student Departmental Advisors are constantly working to make Carleton a welcome and inclusive campus for all students. They frequently host guest speakers, panel discussions, open houses, movies, and other events to educate and inform the entire campus community.

Making the Most of Campus

Since Carleton is a full-time residential college, the social scene is very campus-centric. In any given week or weekend, there are countless speakers, exhibits, community meetings, movies, presentations, gatherings, festivals, performances, and parties to attend. Sometimes it can be quite overwhelming. If there’s one thing Carls know how to do, it’s how to have fun, both inside and outside of academic activities.

Carleton does a good job of providing various types of events and social opportunities for its eclectic student body. The social atmosphere on campus is pretty laid back, and most feel that they’re free to do what they want, with whom they want, and when they want. On a Friday night, Carls can watch and talk about Anime movies, sled down icy hills on lunch trays, or catch up with friends at a party, among a million other activities. There aren’t any sororities or fraternities on campus, and the vast majority of social events on campus are open to all students. Members of the CSA-sponsored “Party Crew” will even help any group of students put on a unique all-campus party, whether it’s a Bar Mitzvah or a Luau on Mai Fete Island.

The social atmosphere on campus is pretty liberal, and xenophobic, homophobic, sexist, and racist attitudes are not tolerated inside or outside the classroom. But students aren’t just tolerant, and the college itself makes an effort to help student organizations that foster campus inclusiveness. In fact, Carleton was one of the first colleges in Minnesota, and perhaps the United States, to give institutional support to a campus Gender and Sexuality Center and the Queers and Allies House. Since Carls are such a diverse bunch, it can sometimes be difficult to truly understand a roommate or a classmate, or even a group of peers, but it’s a challenge that students want to tackle (and do) on a daily basis.

Carleton College Athletics

A good majority of students will play varsity, club, or intramural sports during their time at Carleton because, really, Carls would rather be inthe action than just watching it. Whether its varsity soccer or intramural dodgeball, Carleton students will support their teammates and make lasting friends inside and outside the field, court, or pool.

There are twenty-one NCAA Division III varsity teams at Carleton who compete in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, one of the strongest Division III sports conferences in the country. Men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and women’s soccer and volleyball have been particularly successful in the past few years. While varsity sports are a large commitment, student athletes are no different than their classmates—they’re still the students singing in a cappella groups, finishing late-night projects in the lab, and laughing with friends over French fries in Sayles. Some sports teams can be a bit insular, but many athletes would argue that sports teams become close groups of friends, almost families of their own.

If a sport isn’t played at the varsity level at Carleton, it’s probably a club sport. Club sports range in intensity, but most seem to strike a balance between serious competitive play and just having fun. Some of the most intense club sports are the Ultimate Frisbee teams. Both Syzygy, the women’s squad, and CUT, the men’s squad, have made it to the national championships year after year. Other popular club sports are men’s and women’s rugby, cycling, hockey, lacrosse, and equestrian teams.

Most students get involved in intramural leagues, which are truly open to any student with any type of sports ability. Many students get involved in intramurals through their dorm floor teams, and others get involved through academic department squads. One of the most beloved intramurals is broomball—the perfect excuse to run around late at night in subfreezing weather and not feel cold. For those not wanting to brave the cold more than they already have to, there are also frisbee, sand volleyball, 3 on 3 basketball, dodgeball, indoor soccer, and tennis intramural leagues as well.

Many students will do a pilgrimage to Carleton’s fairly new Recreation Center, especially in the winter months. The Rec Center features a fully equipped fitness center, as well as a climbing wall, a bouldering gym, multipurpose courts, racquetball and squash courts, and a dance/yoga studio. Students can sign up to take classes like yoga and kick boxing through the Rec Center. There are also two lap-swimming pools on campus available for student use. In the fall and summer months, Carls will take advantage of the seemingly endless running trails in the 880-acre Cowling Arboretum, or Arb (President Oden claims to have run on every single one of them). In the winter, students can check out cross-country skis from the Rec Center and explore the miles of trail while hurling a few snowballs at friends. Whatever the sport, Carleton students will stay active all year long and make like they’re having fun doing it.

Carleton College Traditions

Late Night Breakfast

On the last night of reading days before the first day of finals, staff members, like the Dean of Students, serve all Carleton students plates of scrambled eggs, pancakes, and cinnamon rolls to refuel those needy brain cells.

Schiller

Forty years ago the bust of Friedrich von Schiller was stolen from the Office of the President. Students steal the bust from one another, knowing that whoever has possession of it must show it at campus events. Rumor has it that Schiller’s taken trips around the world in his 40 year vacation.

Rotblatt

In 1964, a group of sophomores created a new intramural softball league and named it after ex-White Sox pitcher Marvin J. Rotblatt. The tradition of playing an annual game of one inning for every year Carleton has been in existence began in 1967. Every spring assorted loonies still gather in an attempt to complete a marathon game.

Dacie Moses House

Dacie Moses, a long-time employee at Carleton, was known for inviting students to her house for cookies and conversation. She donated her house where, now, two students live each year. It is still a shared gathering spot. Whether to bake cookies (which must be left for all to enjoy), share brunch, or maybe catch one of the a cappella groups practicing, this house provides a sense of “home” for many.

Carleton College Alumni

After four years at college, students sometimes struggle to realize that they will have to continue with life outside of the “Carleton bubble.” After initially having to get over the fright of reality beyond dorm life, ten-week terms, and dining hall meals, most Carleton alums realize that their undergraduate education has provided them with the tools to succeed in “the real world.”

Mostly, I feel really lucky to have something in my life that I’m that passionate about and to be able to really pursue it. I don’t feel like I chose—I didn’t have a choice. I can never notbe dancing—it’s like I’m addicted to taking dance classes. When I realized I could never go even for a couple weeks at winter or spring break without dancing, I realized this was maybe something I should consider making the focus of my life. — Laura Grant, ’06, political science/international relations major

More than half of all Carleton alumni earn advanced degrees, with approximately seventy percent going on to graduate schools within five years of getting their Carleton diplomas. Many Carleton grads do not go straight to grad school and instead decide to enlist in programs like the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and Teach for America. They also might work for a few years to gain some practical experience before considering more school. Some Carls see the few years after graduation as a time to pursue a passion that they discovered and fostered while at Carleton. Many Carls also take advantage of postgraduate fellowships, like the Watson, Mellon, and Fulbright fellowships. These competitive opportunities are definitely once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Carleton alumni have a strange, yet wonderful, knack for congregating in certain areas around the United States, including the Minneapolis area, New York City, and San Francisco. In fact, Carleton’s alumni network is incredibly strong, and the fact that Carleton continually ranks high among the nations’ private liberal arts schools in alumni giving shows how much Carls care about their college community, even after leaving Northfield. The alumni network is an amazing resource for recent grads to have, no matter where in the world they’re living or what kind of career they decide to pursue.

Prominent Grads

• Thorstein Vehlen, 1884, Economist
• Pierce Butler, 1887, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• Michael Armacost, ’58, Former U.S. Ambassador
• Barrie Osborne, ’66, Film Producer
• Dr. Mary-Claire King, ’67, Medical Genetics Researcher/Professor
• Jane Hamilton, ’79, Novelist
• Jonathan Capehart, ’89, Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist

Carnegie Foundation Classification

Baccalaureate Colleges — Arts & Sciences

General Characteristics

Highest offering	Bachelor's degree
Calendar System	Trimester
Years of college work required	N/A
Variable Tuition

Special Learning Opportunities

Distance Learning
ROTC — Army / Navy / Air Force	— / /
Study Abroad
Weekend College
Teacher Certification