Carleton College

Date: Feb 23 2006
Major: Undecided (This Major's Salary over time)
For a certain type of individual, Carleton is the only place in the world to be. I have never been happier or more enthused about learning and life in general. The academics are amazing, but there is absolutely none of the snooty competetiveness that you pick up at most other good colleges. Several of my floormates are in my math class; we wake each other up in the mornings if one of us sleeps through the alarm. Look out for each other. Very much a community, supportive feel. I will say, to be happy here, you have to be eager to learn and self-motivated. There isn't much in Northfield, so if you are dependent to fast city life, I wouldn't recommend you come here. Likewise, you won't find a great weekend party/sorority/fraternity culture here, if that is what you want. Kids who do look for that end up binge-drinking on saturday nights in sweaty parties, I hear. I actually ended up on sub-free, so I haven't touched on that side. Weekends, we make our own fun, I guess. Sneak into the academic buildings and watch movies on the big screens, bake cookies, make movies, ballroom dance, build snow forts, all sorts of disreputable stuff. I feel the defining characteristic that sets Carleton apart, for me, at least, is just that sense of quirky, self-motivated creativity. Yeah, I know you find that everywhere in some degrees, but here, that is the culture. Exemplified by DVDfest, which has films on its website, if you'd like to go watch them. Ours is the one with the Lord of the Rings vegetable spoof. I couldn't be happier at Carleton, but I was lucky enough to find my perfect school. Look for a place that just seems to fit, and I would highly recommend visiting campuses. I chose Carleton partly for the feel, and I would have made a different decision if I'd just gone off admission brocures. Every professor here is amazingly accesible, and I've made connected with all of them on a personal level. good luck in your college search!