Carleton College Top Questions

There is a very positive and active social atmosphere at Carleton. We do go to a small school, but that just means that you're more likely to want to get to know people, since you're running into them more often.

Dorm life is usually pretty good. Floors are usually pretty tight. Athletic events are not that big unless it is ultimate frisbee. Guest speaker every friday are pretty popular (convocation). A capella and improv. comedy are popular. If I am awake at 2 I am either doing HW or talking to someone on my floor. Big party days are wednesday, friday, and saturday. No frats/dororities. Tons of stuff to do outside of drinking.

Frisbee. Frisbee. Frisbee. Dorm life depends a lot of what door, and what floor your own. Some are known for being anti-social, others for partying, and others for everyone being friendly. People party/drink more then I thought they would. Afterall, Carleton is a very academic place. In a dorm there will be a party on your floor or the floor below on Friday and Saturday night. People also go out on Wednesday, depending on what their scene is. Certain sports are associating with drinking a lot, and hold progressives and parties more then other people. There is not greek life at Carleton, which I think is great. Last weekend I went to an Asian Fusion Concert at one of the halls on campus with my boyfriend, talked for a long time with a friend, chatted on the phone with my mom, played a game of intramural volleyball and did homework for multiple hours.

People party often, but it is the same thing all the time. Being part of a sports team can make all the difference. If you have a group, you are much better off.

Most Carleton social events take place on campus, primarily because Northfield is a small town with not that much to do except go to the bars or pubs. The parties are fun here, with the large parties mostly restricted to freshmen and sophomores. Upperclassmen usually have smaller parties of their own, where they don't have to deal with the younger kids. Both of these types of parties are extremely fun here, but I personally like to host smaller get togethers with close friends and acquaintances. My friends come from very different places and situations, but we all mesh extremely well together. I think that's because we're naturally outgoing and will talk to anyone. That's the way you have to be at Carleton or else I think you are going to have less fun. I always leave my door open during the day, so people can come and go as they please. I think that other people do too, at least during fall term, so they can get to know one another. When I am awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, there is a 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} chance I'm doing homework. There is so much work and so many other things to do that it is virtually impossible to do your homework during the day.

When students are home, their doors are open. That gives the general effect of Carleton. AS a subfree student, I find many opportunities that don't involve drinking. There are guest performers almost weekly and even if nothing planned is going on on campus, I still hang out with friends on weekends and we make our own dance parties or have movie marathons. There are no frats here, so everyone mixes more often, and this really influences the environment of the college. There isn't the same steriotype that comes with frats.

While there are usually parties sprinkled across campus, my friends and I find substance-free ways to entertain ourselves. Walks into town, movie nights, XBox games, laser tag, scavenger hunts, and a multitude of other options can be found with creativity and investigation.

Athletic events don't get nearly enough recognition on this campus, so if you go out for a sport, don't expect a huge crowd. For freshman, floor life is really important, and most of your friends in the next few years will probably be people that you met because you lived on their floor freshman year. There is no Greek system, which I think is a major plus for the school. The dating scene sort of sucks. There will be a few people who get a significant other in the first week of school and stay together forever, but the rest will realize how small of a pond Carleton is, and how inept at dating we all are. People here party a lot, but there is a surprisingly lack of pressure to. I have friends who never drink, but they feel comfortable going to a party with alcohol, because people accept that some people are dry.

We have alot of different clubs. We also have interest houses that have a lot of activity at them. Examples are the language house, farm house, scifi house. We have several theaters. We have a small theater that does student run activities.

Social life during the weekends is generally tame, if you ignore Wasted Wednesdays, Thirsty Thursdays, etc. The library is probably the place to be weeknights, to study, if you like studying. Friday and Saturday nights are another story, and there's always somewhere to go and get tanked, and even if no one really likes you, you can find a party. A lot of these parties devolve into skeez, however, and so dorm room parties with friends are usually more fun (although they also end up splitting as everyone wants to go to larger dance parties or whatnot). If you don't drink, you aren't entirely SOL, but you can do the "sub-free" activities, which are somewhat childish; go to parties and not drink, where you'll be bored and leave; or just do homework or watch a movie, which would be the best option. As far as dating goes, good luck: Carleton has a remarkable number of "socially disadvantaged peoples" who don't really know how that works. Expect to hook up with aggressive freshman and creepy upperclassmen, but not to date. A wise man once told me: "There is no dating at Carleton: everyone just hooks up until eventually they are married."

There are always activities on the weekends, parties if you're into that kind of thing, plays, sub-free parties, and movies if you're not. There are almost always people to talk to in the lounges, Sayles, etc., even at 3 AM.

No frats but weekends have plenty of parties. "Sayles dances" (i.e., dances at the campus center) are popular for the underclassman -- less so for juniors or seniors. There are a good assortment of publications, theater groups, sports teams (varsity and club), and what not to keep people busy. Broomball is big. Frisbee is HUGE.

Carleton loves traditions. We have Schiller, RotBlat, the Beer Mile, 420 triathlon, Ebony, SUMO, and many many other events. There are definitely plenty of sober activities every weekend night (star gazing with our one-of-a-kind telescope, bonfires, concerts, weekend movie theater, Dasie Moses' Cookie house, puzzles), but in general, Carleton students like drinking. Room and house parties are in abundance, and there is always an excellent music show going on somewhere with a dance floor to forget about all your homework on. There is no Greek life at Carleton, which is wonderful. Most Carleton students are adamantly opposed any form of Greek life. We like to be more original than that.

Popular groups: a capella is extremely prevalent on campus, as are hip-hop dance groups, IM sports, and other various clubs. Doors open: only if they're in their rooms; occasionally some punk high school student will come and steal something, but theft won't be a problem for you unless you're completely naive. Closest friends: through repeated classes together and/or they're floormates. 2am on Tuesday: using computer/doing homework. Traditions/events: streaking, the mysterious appearing bust of Schiller, Primal Scream (wherein everyone screams out their frustration before exams). Fraternities/sororities: there are none.

There's no real pressure to drink or smoke here, although the majority of students do at least one of those activities. There's very little theft here, and security is a non-issue. There are a bunch of traditions here (streaking, Rotblatt), but they're not exclusive to upperclassmen. Plenty of activities are available for those not at parties on weekend nights, while those who do want to party can always find a good time.

Activities range from those sponsored by the school to those run by student groups, to informal events organized by individuals. School sponsored events like late night breakfast (the night before finals) are mostly traditions and are usually really fun. Students don't have much school spirit as far as athletics are concerned though a fair number of people play on sports teams. The school brings in art exhibits, musical performers, and guest lecturers. These are well advertised and pretty well attended. Student groups like a cappella and improv comedy are very popular, and when they have performances, the entire campus turns out. Partying mostly happens on Friday and Saturday nights. There is no Greek life here, but people know how to have a good time.

One of the most popular all-campus events is EbonyII - a dance performance comprised of a very wide variety of dances, ranging from serious to silly, hip-hop to ballet, large to small. It happens three times a year, three shows each time and every show is full to the brim! Socially there is almost always something going on - with early birds and night owls, a 24 hour computer lab, and tons of student spaces, there is always somebody around. Dorms vary from year to year, sometimes with close floor-mates other times with some more individuality, however there is always some sense of community should anybody seek it out. Some of the best school-wide traditions happen around finals time. Late night breakfast is the night before finals start. Staff and Professors serve a tasty breakfast at 10pm, and when 10 rolls around there is the primal scream - everybody just yells and basically vents the stress from the term that is building to a peak by finals. The nature of the campus is that there is always something going on, something for everybody, and people who seek out activities and people they are interested in will find them.

Activism is big on campus, but contrary to popular belief, not everyone is involved. Usually you can find the same group of activist-minded people at every event, which can get a little frustrating. That being said, the campus makes an effort to do a lot, which is commendable. However, a lot of the time it feels like what we do is inefficient because there are so many groups, we end up competing with each other, and St. Olaf, the other college in town.

Carleton students are involved in a huge variety of activities. Volunteer groups, political organizations, a cappella groups, bands, intramural sports... Athletic programs are not particularly strong, but there are still many committed athletes. For weekends, there are many activities that don't involve drinking. There are always concerts, plays, or movies that are well attended. The highlight of the social scene is campus-wide dances held in our equivalent of a student union. Students are very supportive of each other and go to performances and games to support their friends. Drinking at Carleton is very low pressure. Drinking on weekday nights is extremely rare because the academics make it almost impossible.

I met my closest friends from my floor last year, from screw your roommate(blind dates), and from classes. You can party as much as you want or not at all. if i'm awake at 2am on a tuesday i'm watching a movie or talking to my friends. last weekend i cooked with my friends, went out with my boyfriend and watched a movie.