Tell me about St Olaf's and Carlton
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Anonymous
| You don't hear about these schools a lot on DCUM- Our kid is interested- Interested in what the DCUM crowd thinks |
Anonymous
Why would you care about what this crowd thinks? Visit, do the research and formulate your own opinions, this is not a place to add relevant information to decision making. |
Anonymous
| I remember back in 1952, when St. Olaf's most active volcano threatened to erupt. Luckily, there were some Druid priests who were in town for the opening of Stonehengeland. They said they could stop it if they could sacrifice the town's dumbest virgin. I don't know why I raised my hand. It must have just been the excitement of the moment. But they said the only way to prevent the eruption was for me to crawl through their legs, up the volcano, while they gave me my birthday whacks. Well - and you're not gonna believe this - it turns out they weren't Druid priests at all. Just a bunch of Shriners looking for a good time. |
Anonymous
|
Well, for starters it's CarlEton. And if you do a search there's actually plenty on this board about it. It's generally considered the best liberal arts college in the midwest (although Grinnell gives it a run for its money), on par with the very best liberal arts colleges anywhere else, but it's slightly less selective and a little more laid back because of its Minnesota location.
St Olaf is a tier below, a good school for sure but with a religious affiliation. My understanding is that even though the schools are in the same town they don't interact much with each other. |
Anonymous
If you like these, especially St. Olaf, and you like the small town feel, also check out Gustavus. Unfortunately, I don't have any helpful, recent notes about the schools, but they are all good schools. In the 90s, Carleton was known for more of a national draw than any other of the MIAC schools (MN intercollegiate athletic conference, generally small LACs in MN), who were heavily MN/WI/IA/Dakotas in student population. I know a number from around here look at Macalester these days. At that time, Carleton was also known for being more of a pressure-cooker than other MIAC schools. I am an alum of Gustavus. In hindsight, it was too rural and small for my taste, but I was able to be an athlete and got a really good education. |
Anonymous
| We visited both last summer and liked them a lot. The town is very cute. My child wound up applying to a different Midwest SLAC early decision. |
Anonymous
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Carleton is more like Grinnell - really super liberal and intense academics (but in a cool midwestern way, bien sur)
St. Olaf is friendlier, no less smart but less intense about it, fewer east coasters They have a really different vibe -your kid will like one or the other, but prob not both. |
Anonymous
| My kid looked seriously at St. Olaf as her next best option if her ED at another school didn't pan out, but she ended up getting in to her first choice. She was drawn to St. Olaf because of the Enduring Questions program specifically. She liked the school as a whole (although the winter freaked her out a little) and I think she would have been happy there. |
Anonymous
Depends on how you define "no less smart." The stats for entering students suggest otherwise. There's a reason why Carleton is ranked 9th and St Olaf 62nd. |
Anonymous
Whatever the reason is, it’s spurious and doesn’t matter in terms of what the educational envelope one will get. Both are very good schools with different strengths. A student should go to the one adhere s/he is more likely to thrive. |
Anonymous
These are both terrific schools. A friend’s daughter went to Carleton, loved it, and met her husband there. The two of them now run a farm in Virginia. Go figure. Since you’re interested in these 2, do yourself a favor and investigate Grinnell. It’s a really special place. Not better but a kid will get an education at Grinnell like s/he will not likely get anywhere else. See if it appeals to you. |
Anonymous
| At last check, Carlton was in Bel Air, CA. |
Anonymous
Love it, and the Fresh Prince was slapping him! |
Anonymous
That's all well and good, but it doesn't make the statement that the students at St Olaf are "no less smart" any more accurate. The criteria for admissions to Carleton are much more stringent. By your logic, no students at any college are any smarter than at any other college. |
Anonymous
| Great schools but MN gets 5-6 months of winter (with at least 2 of those months regularly getting below zero) so make sure your kid is ok w that. |