Carleton College Top Questions

There is no way to sugar coat it...Carleton academics are tough. However, if you learn how to manage your time and avoid unnecessary distractions (YouTube and Facebook), it is possible to succeed at Carleton. Also, the professors are pretty good about helping students meet the standards of the course.

expectations are high, and people talk a lot about doing work, but you really have no idea what that means. you don’t know your friends grades, you don’t know how much work they do. academics are hard, but i think people generally find a way of keeping up with classes and balancing social life. its still a challenge, though.

Solid in general, and pretty rewarding. Some of the professors, particularly the visiting profs, can be subpar. The best professors, though, are incredible, on par with the best professors anywhere.

Widely ranging in quality and ease. Grade inflation. I've had more good than bad professors.

More difficult than other colleges, but it's about how much you want to put into it. It depends upon your major - there are some majors that are going to be easier than others, and you won't have to do as much work.

Profs are committed and accessible, and there's a lot to sample and try. The distros reinforce that in a good way.

The professors here have really made my academic experience priceless. They have open office doors and go by their first names. I haven't been blown away by all of my professors, but there have been a couple who I've bonded with, a few who have been inspiring, and others who are just good teachers.

Hard, rigorous, fast-paced.

I enjoy the discussion-based classes, which is most of them. Professors are laidback and create a fun atmosphere in classes.

Pretty good. The geology professors are incredible. Same with art. I can't speak to any other departments.

hard but interesting and engaging. there is no competition for grades. Lots of class participation. People study all the time and sometimes not at all. There are definitely intellectual conversations between students outside of class.

We call our professors by their first name and they all know our names. They usually invite us to their houses at the end of each term and class sizes are usually under 25. The academics are strenuous and many people struggle to accommodate but there are tons of outlets and resources for student help like the math skills center, the write place, professors office hours, TA sessions and office hours. There is a large variety of classes and people take courses across many disciplines. We feel that our Carleton degree will set us up extremely well to get a top notch job when we graduate.

First of all, I love my major. While I have enjoyed almost all of my classes outside of my major, as well, I am most acquainted with the Religion department and professors, and thus I am more capable of discussing them as a whole. All of my Religion professors past and present have been fantastic and caused me to become extremely interested in a subject that I never would have expected to pursue. They are genuinely interested in their students, as well. One professor I had studied and memorized all of her students' ID pictures and names prior to coming to the first day of class, and then proceeded to tape-record them on the first day as they talked about where they were from and why they were taking the course. She listened to that tape every day on the way to and from work. Talk about dedication.

Classes are hard. If you don't want to study and learn, don't come. Professors learn all their students names no matter how large the class. It is possible to spend time outside of class with a professor; they are extremely willing to do so, but time is limited. Few students care how their friends are doing specifically, only in a supportive manner. Classes are geared toward finding your passion and then shaping it to be career-worthy. But passion comes first, job second. Major requirements are easy to fill and many students have a second concentration/minor or even a double major with no added stress. Almost all study abroad for at least one term, if not two.

The academics are definitely the best part of the school. All of my professors know my name and have me call them by their first name. Classes are tough, but generally very interesting. Classes are generally pretty small, 15-30 students. Students definitely have intellectual conversations outside of class, but it's not as if we discuss Hawthorne in english class and then carry that conversation outside of class. Rather, it's not uncommon to discuss politics of environmental issues or something like that. Students are not competitive, which is great. I've been very happy with the professors. They show far more of an interest in teaching and in connecting with students than at any other school I looked at. Education here is definitely geared toward learning how to think creatively and how to write well.

There is all levels of intensity when it comes to academics at Carleton. There are classes that are tough and some that are just right--good balance of homework. The professors are great, or at least in my experiences. I have only had one professor that I just didn't like. He was intelligent, but his teaching pedagogy didn't work with me. Overall, the academics at Carleton can get to be overwhelming but at the same time if you talk to your professors on time and explain your situation they often understand and try to help you out. At the end of the day everything get done!

Students are competitive with themselves and cooperative with their peers. There is plentiful intellectual conversation in the dining halls, dorms, etc.

Personally, I found my freshman year of carleton easier than my senior year of high school. The classes can be challenging, but everyone comes here with a cooperative, rather than competitive point of view, and everyone works together to get shit done. The professors are extremely knowledgeable in their subjects, and will help you if you ask for it. In fact: all the faculty at Carleton have weekly office hours where you can go in and talk to them about anything you want. In fact, its the norm for the students to call the professor by his or her first name; so, "Jeff" is more common that "professor Johnson". One thing that is infinitely annoying, however, is that language classes are only offered one level each term, sequentially, so if you miss a spanish class you need you need to wait a year to take it again.

Most of the classes are small, so the professors try to learn your name and a lot about you. However, since the terms are so short, there isn't always time for close relationships to develope between students and faculty. the courses are pretty much all challenging, and require a lot of work. Taking only three classes per term helps you concentrate on those subjects. Pretty much every student has intelligant things to contribute to class, even those who don't speak very often are really quite smart. Everyone does their work; there are very few slackers.

I have had generally very good experiences with academics here at Carleton. In my department, the teachers are all good, but different, so there is a range of teaching styles and personalities, which makes it fun. They all know me and we talk sometimes during lunch or between class, etc. Outside of my major, I still say hi and chat with other profs I've had, which is really sweet. Some classes have more discussion and some less. I generally tend to be less talkative in class, but that's my personality. Sometimes a class can bring me out, though. But generally, there is a lot of discussion. Students I don't think on a whole are competitive, but I have heard that some people in the administration think that it is very good to be competitive. Personally, it stresses me out and I want to do well for myself, so that I learn, not to get a better grade than the other people in my class. That's just stupid and NOT what Carleton is supposed to be about (the whole learning thing). On that note, I do think students are interested in learning for learning's sake, though I hear stories about econ or bio majors that they just want to get a job that makes them lots of money. I think, though, that I don't get exposed to many people like that, given my activities and major.