Carleton College Top Questions

a fair number of cliques, but also a healthy sense of inter-clique social interaction. people generally have small friend groups, but through clubs and classes and activities you’re always meeting new people. tons of activities.

Some of the best, some of the worst. At times, it can seem as if you are in a really boring small town, as it turns out to be sometimes. Other times it can be really good. The best parties and the most well-attended parties are thrown by upperclassmen, and everyone attends, but there's still a social hierarchy that's dependent on class year.

Pretty good - lenient policies promote good events. An unusually good music scene for rural Minnesota.

Winter sucks for everyone, everyone is really crabby. It's as much as you put into it - you can have an awesome social life, but you can also lock yourself in your room, not meet anybody, and think it's really lame here.

Social life is varied - there's a lot of opportunity to run your own thing. An occasional problem is that everyone is running there own thing, while it may be better if there were fewer activities.

Social life at Carleton is diverse and whatever you want it to be. People support each other's performances and sporting events, they have parties, they play board games, they make cookies, they camp in the arb-- but mostly, people hang out with their friends and do whatever is fun for them. We don't have Greek life, which changes the shape of social life on campus a lot. Carleton students also tend to be extremely active in organizations, clubs and teams. We have lively intramural sports, five frisbee teams, and countless active campus groups. The students do a remarkable job balancing school, social time and extracurriculars without getting totally overburdened.

Possible, and not completely non-existent. You can make fun where you want to. We're not completely devoid of activity.

A lot to do on the weekends. Too much, in fact. A variety of things.

Kind of weak, but it has its great moments

so much fun! The parties are really great and people spend a lot of time outdoors doing fun things like running and playing frisbee and stuff like that. There are not frats/sororities which is nice because then everyone can hang out together and nobody will be excluded. Athletes tend to hang out together a lot because we have a lot in common. People party all the time--Wednesday nights are huge along with the weekends. We have really fun Island parties during the spring term on this island on our lakes on campus.

Frisbee is huge here but other varsity sports receive an equal amount of attention. Most students play a varsity or club sport and almost everyone is involved with an extracurricular. Everyone feels safe enough to leave their doors open (we live in Northfield, come on dude). People hook up all the time, some people date. You meet people in classes, on your floor and through your sports and friendships last a long time. In general, everyone is accepting and open to other people on campus and there are few cliques and exclusive groups. Annual traditions include the Beer-Olympics (a school-sponsored weekend of combined drinking and athletic competitions), Mai-Fette (a weekly Wednesday bonfire party on an island in the lake in the Spring) and the Halloween costume competition. Last weekend I was sober on Friday night since I was playing with a band in the school-wide battle of the bands. On Saturday we went out on the campus to different parties and events. For people who don't drink, every weekend is still packed with events and activities. People aren't pressured to drink if they don't want to.

Carleton students definitely work hard, but we're also known for playing hard. For the most part, Carleton students are pretty responsible anyway, so when it comes to partying most people know how to keep it on a controllable level. That said, we do have a lot of fun, and there is a wide variety of activities to do on any given night of the week, including activities that do not involve alcohol. My friends at other schools always give me a hard time about Carleton's size, and assume that I know everyone on campus, but I honestly meet new people all the time. It can be hard to keep many secrets, but I doubt any community of 1900 people would be much different in that respect.

There are parties Friday and Saturday nights, but other activities are always out there: concerts, plays, comedy shows, etc. Guest speakers every Friday before noon, speaking on various subjects, and numerous speakers at the library every week. Awake at 2am on a Tuesday? You're studying. Probably have a paper due the next day and/or had three or more meetings that day. Each year has a formal dance in the winter and an international festival every spring. Spring concert also. Students are very trustworthy, for the most part; many leave backpacks and laptops unattended for up to an hour in the library and return to find them still there.

There is always something going on. ACT also tries really hard to put things together for students, like going to the Cities and that kind of thing. Other organizations also try to do the same.

Frisbee is HUGE here, and so is being a democrat. There is a LOT of drinking that goes on here, so much so that you could get blackout drunk every friday and saturday night for a year and never have to pay for alcohol. That being said, you won't be pressured to drink. There is also a vast amount of weed, although that is less visible than the booze, for obvious reasons. But besides drugs, there's tons to do: there are student theatre productions all the time, there's a student-run radio station, there is a huge arboretum to get lost in, they play new movies in the science lecture hall (for free) every weekend, there is live indie music every weekend in the Cave (the student-run concert venue/bar type place), there is a brand new state of the art rec center with a climbing wall, and more clubs and organizations than you can think of. And, at the beginning of every year they have an activity fair and all the organizations have booths to inform the freshman.

There are a bunch of interest related groups and clubs on campus, and they're a great way to meet other people with shared likes. I'm in ebony II, which is a dance group that is mostly jokish dances, and open to absolutely anyone with any level of experience. There is usually good support for atheltic games (although the only actual good team is the Men's Ultimate Frisbee Team, known on campus as CUT). Some fun traditions include Late Night Breakfeast, which is at 11 PM on the night before finals begin, Mai-Fete, which is a party every Wednesday night in the Spring Term on a island on campus. There is no Greek Life, yet there is a bunch of parties going on pretty often.

Most people drink to all hell on the weekends, but are studious during the week. There are lots of activities that people can do and usually people to do them with. In my opinion, there is something for everyone...from partiers to stargazers, to sci-fi lovers. As for the social life...it can be very awkward. And as a very un-awkward person, I have trouble getting to know people in a way that isn't so intrusive. For example, I would consider it totally normal to ask someone I don't know very well, but am interested in getting to know (whether as just a friend, or more) to go get coffee. But I think that most people consider that a date, oo la la. I just think that it's a way to get together and talk in a busy lifestyle. Sometimes it's hard to keep ahold of friends when you don't see them often. So I usually have to make times to meet them and actively pursue the friendship with phone calls amd coffee visits. I met my closest friends on my floor and in my major. However, I do have very good friends from everywhere. It just depends on who you are and how you make friends. As for not drinking, I don't do a lot of it and there are plenty of things to do without it. Or you can just do the drinking things and not drink (like dances), which is usually what I do. Most people don't pressure. On Tuesdays at 2am I am usually doing homework, if I am awake. On a weekend I would probably be watching a movie or out. And I think that's true for most people. I have lots of fun. I do things I want to do and find people who want to do them with me. I love hanging out with friends and talking and walking. I think Carleton is great because it has something to do for each mood I am in.

The social life is good and fluid. The activities could be better organized but the school is working at it and students, being motivated, are always looking to make their activities better run and more fun.

There are a lot of different groups on campus. Because Carleton doesn't have a Greek life, some student groups get their own houses. For example, political activists might choose to live in WHOA, students very involved in the Jewish community can live in Reynolds, gardeners might apply to Farm House, and sci-fi and anime fans can meet up at Benton. Campus is very safe; most people leave doors open and unlocked. Athletics aren't the most popular events, but they still have attendees like the gender-neutral cheerboys. Partying actually varies from term to term. In spring, some people party almost every night, while in winter students tend to huddle in their own dorms. Non-alcoholic evening activities include student and guest concerts, plays, guest speakers, or spending hours talking with your friends at Sweet Lou's Waffle Bar (open until 2 AM) in downtown Northfield.

Lots of activities to get involved with, but do not come here if you are looking for a social scene in college. Parties are terrible and lame. It's nice that there is no greek life, but the party scene just flat out sucks.