Carleton College Top Questions

The further one is from meeting the standard of being male, heterosexual, white, upper/middle class and Christian or Atheist, with a strong basis in American culture, the more uncomfortable one is bound to be on campus. The student groups who are the most vocal about their feelings of invalidation, powerlessness and marginalization are domestic students of color (as opposed to international students), LGBTIQ students, first-generation college students, and students from low-SES, urban backgrounds. Complacency is also a strong component of relative comfort levels on campus - I would not encourage students who think themselves to be politicized to attend this school. Students tend to wear 'comfy' clothes, such as jeans/sweatpants, t-shirts, sweatshirts/fleece, tennis shoes. When it is warm, select students choose not to wear shoes. A small minority 'dress up' on a regular basis, following fashion trends; a smaller minority tries to wear their difference literally on their sleeves, with items like capes or costumes. Different types of students interact superficially. The dining halls separate themselves in complex ways - by year, floor, shared sport, shared racial status, international status. About one quarter of the student body is from Minnesota. Many are from the surrounding Midwest - there is a large population from Chicago, for example, and many from Wisconsin. Carleton tries to represent every state with at least one student at the institution at a time. This means that there is one self-identified Native student. Another 13{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} is from abroad - from Botswana to South Korea to Cyprus to Ireland. Wealthy legacies support the school financially, upper middle class students make up the majority of SES backgrounds, lower middle class students are rare and a shrinking population due to new admission policies, and low-SES students are about 10-15{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body (estimation). Students would say that they are politically aware/active, though I do not agree with this self-assessment of many. Predominantly, students are of a Democratic, left-wing ideology. Students do not often talk about money, though there are silent assumptions made (ie: asking friends out to dinner, bars in town, concerts, etc ... regularly)

From my experience, Carleton's student body is everything. There is no group that is missing entirely; just those who need to be a bit more vocal. (For the most part, these groups are the most vocal, so it's evens out.) I don't think any student would feel out of place here; as long as he or she was willing to explore the community. There are student who wear button up shirts and ties to class, and students who wear old jeans and a "Geology Rocks!" T-Shirt to class. Some students talk about having trust funds, others about working 20 hours a week to pay their tuition. What's most amazing to me is that these students, all of them interact. Their is not a group of 'preps' who only see preps and only date preps and only take classes with preps, or any other groups of this sort. There are just people; people who are multi-faceted and proud. An anecdote about Carleton students: When I first got to Carleton, I ran across a number of people who I really felt didn't 'belong'; that is to say they appeared to be much different than myself. But as I got to know them, I realized that along with being amazing people, they were like me. This didn't just happen once or twice. It happened all the time. Eventually I realized that everyone at Carleton is special, and everyone here is similar. We aren't all the same, but we're able to eat a meal with each other, if we wanted. I've never met a Carleton student who didn't completely bowl me off my feet in some way, and I don't think I ever will.

In my personal experience, the Carleton College campus has been very supportive and understanding of religious preference or sexual orientation. I do feel that Carleton College could put more effort into incorporating minorities and low-income students into the rest of the student body. At Carleton, minorities tend to hang out with minorities; and, low-income students hang out with low-income students. The best part of Carleton's study body is their political awareness. Almost everyone votes on election days!

The student body is plenty diverse, with students from, literally, all over the country and the world. However, students from the better-represented minority groups, especially African-American and Asian students, tend to form clusters within those groups. Most students are middle to upper-middle class, but money is not flaunted. All students are quirky - some a little and some a lot. Geekiness will not prevent you from making a bizillion friends or being happy or getting laid. Being no fun will.

What kind of student would feel out of place: someone who wasn't open to other opinions/ideas/learning. Wear to class: depends. Some dress up. Some are casual. Some come on the way to/from workouts. Financial backgrounds: you have a range. Those who pay for all 4 years in one check, some who are waiting for their work study to come in to pay for tuition, and those in between. But you don't really know who is who...amongst your close friends you get an idea, but it doesn't matter like it does elsewhere in life.

Students are very liberal. Most students wear normal clothes - jeans, corduroys, T-shirts, and really fly Nike dunks. Most Carleton students are from Minnesota, Chicago, or the East Coast, but there is a good mix of locations, too. Students are incredibly politically aware - I learned what the primaries were when everyone in my dorm had to TV turned to CNN for weeks at a time. Students never talk about how much they'll earn one day.

No student would feel out of place here- you really run into ALL types of people, whether we're talking race, sexual orientation, gender, economic class etc. What do most students wear? No one really gets super dressed up, it's very casual. Low-maintenance artsy chic maybe? It's very relaxed but compared to some larger universities, I find that students are less sloppy than the typical sweat-pants-every-day thing... it depends on the person, but in general it's down-to-earth. MANY different types of students interact Students are very politically aware/ active, predominantly left. I was really nervous about this going into carleton because im ashamed to say taht i'm not super politically aware or active, but i found that you really don't have to be to fit in! No, students don't talk about how much they'll earn, at least not in my experience.

Its significantly more jewish than I expected. Bro's would be out of place here. The geography is fairly diverse. Same with finances. Students are politically aware, but not necessarily active. Liberal.

1. I have been involved with religious groups on campus. 2. I think most people would feel comfortable at Carleton if they realize it is diverse. 3. Clothes. 4. Yes, although cliques are prevalent at Carleton. 5. No. 6. Minnesota, Chicago, and international. 7. All different kinds. 8. A fair amount is politically aware. 9. Left. 10. No one really talks about it although I'm sure everyone thinks about it.

There is a strong divide between racial groups at Carleton. Most people are very open to other ideas and groups though. Most students wear casual attire to class. It definitely doesn't fell like a preppy place. Being an individual is important here, so whatever you choose to do is fair game. Many athletes are from Minnesota, while the entire United States is represented in the student body. Most students are quietly politically active, since they are busy with other endeavors, very predominantly left. More students seem to think they'll have trouble finding a job than think they will earn a lot of money.

here is a bit of segregation between races and other groups at carleton. there should be more bringing together of everyone. conservatives might feel out of place here. people wear casual clothes or just normal. not dressed up usually, but you can. a lot of students from the midwest, but also spread across the country. a lot of students have a lot of money or there are a lot that have full financial aid to be able to come here. very politically aware and active usually. left. people talk about the future but it's kind of a joke that carls sometimes don't get jobs (not true, but it's a liberal arts school thing, i think)

Carleton is a very liberal and open minded institution. No one is openly criticized for their actions, regarding race, religion, or group association. Dialogue is encouraged here at Carleton.

I am leader in the Carleton Christian Community. I co-lead the oldest bible study at Carleton. Though most Carls are not religious there is a definite religious curiosity and sense of openness. The Carleton Christian community itself is also very tight nit and supportive. The Chaplain hosts and Interfaith dialogue group and this year the Christian community started an Interfaith newsletter called Unshamed which accepts submissions regarding a particular faith issue, such as intellect vs. faith, for each issue. I would say a strongly conservative student would feel out of place at Carleton. Carleton students are very active in regards to liberal policy and there is not much of a Republican voice on campus. The LGBT community on campus is very active and very well perceived by the Carleton community. Students are not concerned with the money they will make once they are out of Carleton, or if they are they definitely do not talk about that openly.