Outdoorsy liberal arts schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our outdoorsy child was completely bored on our Carleton tour and struck it off his list 4 minutes into the tour. No mountains or geography of interest, just flatness for miles. It’s got some nice plants around campus, but nothing to satiate his interests. His now at Middlebury and recently solidified a great internship with optiver. Would highly recommend.

The tour does not enter the arb. It’s too large, so they recommend it to explore on your own. Some families skip it and never know what they missed.

We went. It’s nothing interesting or important. The school should honestly use it to expand. I guess it’s cool if you’ve never been in a forest before, but our family is from San Francisco and it just bored us

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An arboretum on campus with a forest (and river and prarie) is not interesting or important to you, and that’s totally fine. Many others like stuff like that, even many from San Francisco.

Even if they wanted to, I do not think the college could expand into the arb because of how it was deeded, but I don’t think they would need or want that. They have 200 additional acres for buildings, and some recent expansions involved purchases of properties on the other town side of campus facing the town. They highly value the preserve, which is both a top tourist attraction for that area of Minnesota and an educational resource. It is not uncommon for students and faculty to mention the arboretum as one of the things they like most about Carleton.

You can read more about in the link below. There’s every kind of poster on DCUM including those who think Runner’s World selecting Carleton’s arboretum as one of the top 10 locations for running in the entire country is totally irrelevant to an outdoorsy student. Ok, that’s nice, I have no quarrel with you, but others might find running, walking, biking, boating, and skiing through 15 miles of celebrated nature trails overlaps, at least in part, with their idea of outdoorsy.

https://mntrips.com/carleton-college-arboretum/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:University of Puget Sound in Washington state.

+1
Also some other colleges in the PNW, like Whitman and Lewis & Clark

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Carleton. The Cowling Arboretum, Lyman Lakes, and Cannon River are on campus (or run through campus) and make for great hiking, biking, running, and kayaking. In the winter there’s cross country skiing (and downhill skiing at an artificial slope 20 min away) in the Arb and skating on the Bald Spot. Lots of natural beauty!

Hiking in Minnesota is an absolute joke. The coasts are where this student needs to go.

Spoken like someone who has never been. There’s 15 miles of trails on Carleton’s campus, starting about a 1 min walk from the nearest dorm, almost all of which are out of sight of roads. Few if any of the schools you are thinking of can say the same. You have a narrow view of hiking and a the outdoors.

Would you like to elaborate on what schools I’m “thinking of?” Hiking isn’t just walking on flat trails either, and a student whose really outdoorsy would be bored out of their mind in Northfield.

Can’t say I know of others with 15 miles of trails starting at a dorm, but I’m willing to believe some might exist! But it would seem to me the burden of proof falls on those claiming MN has a poor outdoors scene. In fact the below ranking puts it well above average and ahead of all the NE states except Maine. That’s before adding the benefit of a college campus with its own arboretum, lakes, and river access.

https://www.culturalcurrents.institute/insights/best-states-for-nature-lovers

Being a nature lover and being a rock climber are...not the same thing. There is overlap, but they're not the same. DP

I haven’t seen a claim to the contrary. The thread is titled “outdoorsy liberal arts colleges.” There’s quite a bit to outdoorsy life beyond rock climbing. That would certainly involve a road trip if starting from Northfield.

Did you read the OP or just the title?

Sure did. That’s why I pointed out kayaking and not rock climbing as being available right on campus (unless you consider the indoor wall in the rec center!). There’s a lot of space between “Carleton has everything an outdoors lover could ever want right on campus” (which I never said) and “the coasts are where this student needs to go” (which someone else actually did say); unsurprisingly, reality is somewhere in between the extreme statement that wasn’t made and the extreme one that was. OP’s description of their kid sounded like our own, and they loved their time in Minnesota as many other avid outdoorsy types do. That seems more relevant to the thread than people who have never been blathering about how boring their narrowly imagined version of life there is. I think OP’s kid might like it there and a number of other places too. Ok?

Good post. (And there is rock climbing in southern Minnesota for those that want it.)

Where is there rock climbing that’s accessible from Northfield? I guess you’re counting indoor gyms in the Twin cities?

DP. Red Wing is about a 45 min drive from Northfield.

https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105812663/red-wing-aka-he-mni-can-barn-bluff

PP was arguing that the outdoors needs to be right at your door, not a “road trip” away.

Re-read. The claim trails and lakes are on campus, but real rock climbing was a road trip. But it’s typical after all the claims there’s no rock climbing in southern Minnesota you would move the goal posts when hearing it’s less than an hour away!

Why are you derangedly screeching for Carleton? It’s in the plains, and the rock climbing there is so-so, not that great for an outdoorsy student.

I’m not. I am trying to offer actual information in response to OP’s query and a litany of misinformation from a small number of people making sweeping generalizations about how the Midwest or plains state schools couldn’t possibly appeal to outdoorsy types like OP’s kid.

OP has told us their child wants an LAC with an outdoorsy feel. They indicated an interest in kayaking and rock climbing. Carleton is an LAC with an 800 acre arboretum, 15 miles of outdoor trails, and a river with kayaking, all on campus. It is 45 min from a site with class 5 (technical) climbs graded from easy to very difficult. Are there other schools that can say *all* this? Probably, but not many, and I am sharing what I know about this school cause OP’s kid sounds similar to my own in this regard, and my kid (who came from a very outdoorsy part of the country in SoCal) loved it. I am doing for OP and other parents what I appreciated people doing for me when we did our college search and offering suggestions and information.

Does this mean Carleton is the best school for OP’s kid? No; there are many things that go into a college search. There could be any number of reasons why they might be happier elsewhere. Carleton has cold winters; it’s rural (though not really remote); the trimester system isn’t for everyone; some find it too academic; etc. But in the opinion of all those I’ve personally known who have visited, it has a ton of nature and appeals to those who like to be immersed in it. It also has easy access to the very activities mentioned by OP.

There is no one school that’s right for everyone. Carleton definitely isn’t an exception. But I strongly disagree
with claims that it can’t appeal to those who want to participate (rather than observe) lots of outdoor activities. Will it not appeal to some outdoorsy types? Of course! I never stated otherwise. But a few posters seem heck-bent on pushing the narrative that no outdoorsy kid would love a rural college in MN or other plains-state school. That’s simply not true generally, even if it’s true for some.

'

NP here, thank you for this information, it's helpful. I have no idea why your posts triggered such weird responses. Some of us do appreciate them!

Re - Carleton/outdoorsy kids, my sister was there in the 90s and was classmates with Jimmy Chin ( climber/filmmaker if Meru, Free Solo etc). Apparently he was off climbing every weekend and discovered his love for it in college so the outdoorsy climbing kids seem to have some great resources if they know where to look

The outdoors club at Carleton (CANOE) is very active. Last year they did an ice climbing trip, for instance. Other trips have included dog sledding, snow shoeing, and lots of canoe trips. Geology is also a very popular and strong major at Carleton, with lots of field trips. Some are day trips, but there are also frequent multi-day field trips free to those who have taken a geology class.

[Anonymous]

Why are people still trying so hard to push Carleton down everyone’s throat? We get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are people still trying so hard to push Carleton down everyone’s throat? We get it.

NP. Seems like that's a change, and it's probably due to someone going into details to counteract your preconceptions. That's probably why.

[Anonymous]

Lewis & Clark is very outdoorsy and the kids there all have an outdoor week together before classes start as freshmen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people still trying so hard to push Carleton down everyone’s throat? We get it.

NP. Seems like that's a change, and it's probably due to someone going into details to counteract your preconceptions. That's probably why.

My preconceptions on what? I haven’t said anything about Carleton.

[Anonymous]

Just look at the Dean’s List recipients (top 10% of class, GPA~3.9) and you’ll get a sense of what kind of school this is. Aggregating students of all grade levels who got this honor, here are the estimated ethnic group percentages:
- Likely White: 63.5%
- Likely East Asian: 14.2%
- Likely South Asian: 4.7%
-Likely Hispanic/Latinx: 2.0%
As you can see, little to no BIPOC people are inducted, especially black students (0%). For a school that claims to be supportive of diversity, the numbers show that a majority of the students who thrive here are white. This is because of an implicitly academic system at this small midwestern college. Don’t be fooled by their claims of diversity and inclusion. When the curtains fall and you only consider grades and academic support, it is clear where the real bias is. Not a great place for fostering academic and intellectual growth in ALL.

Anyone to speak on the clear racism against Asian and black students? We saw very few students of color on our tour! Concerning that this is what’s being promoted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Carleton is near Ivy level, it’s very unlikely op’s child will get in anyway. Id recommend Beloit.

Beloit is a great school and there is plenty of rock climbing and kayaking around southern Wisconsin, not to mention skiing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our outdoorsy child was completely bored on our Carleton tour and struck it off his list 4 minutes into the tour. No mountains or geography of interest, just flatness for miles. It’s got some nice plants around campus, but nothing to satiate his interests. His now at Middlebury and recently solidified a great internship with optiver. Would highly recommend.

The tour does not enter the arb. It’s too large, so they recommend it to explore on your own. Some families skip it and never know what they missed.

We went. It’s nothing interesting or important. The school should honestly use it to expand. I guess it’s cool if you’ve never been in a forest before, but our family is from San Francisco and it just bored us

.

An arboretum on campus with a forest (and river and prarie) is not interesting or important to you, and that’s totally fine. Many others like stuff like that, even many from San Francisco.

Even if they wanted to, I do not think the college could expand into the arb because of how it was deeded, but I don’t think they would need or want that. They have 200 additional acres for buildings, and some recent expansions involved purchases of properties on the other town side of campus facing the town. They highly value the preserve, which is both a top tourist attraction for that area of Minnesota and an educational resource. It is not uncommon for students and faculty to mention the arboretum as one of the things they like most about Carleton.

You can read more about in the link below. There’s every kind of poster on DCUM including those who think Runner’s World selecting Carleton’s arboretum as one of the top 10 locations for running in the entire country is totally irrelevant to an outdoorsy student. Ok, that’s nice, I have no quarrel with you, but others might find running, walking, biking, boating, and skiing through 15 miles of celebrated nature trails overlaps, at least in part, with their idea of outdoorsy.

https://mntrips.com/carleton-college-arboretum/

Do you have some sort of intellectual or emotional disability that stops you from doing anything but promote Carleton incessantly?

[Anonymous]

Dartmouth
Hamilton
Skidmore

[Anonymous]

OP asked about LACs for climbing…

https://www.collegexpress.com/lists/list/colleges-with-strength-in-climbing/513/

Of the US News “national LACs” those in the climbing collegiate series are:

Bowdoin
Carleton
Colgate
Smith
US Air Force Academcy
US Military Academy
US Naval Academy
Warren Wilson College

[Anonymous]

Hampshire College. It was my dream school (and so neat, they design their own majors). Only good for self-starters.

[Anonymous]

College of the Atlantic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Just look at the Dean’s List recipients (top 10% of class, GPA~3.9) and you’ll get a sense of what kind of school this is. Aggregating students of all grade levels who got this honor, here are the estimated ethnic group percentages:
- Likely White: 63.5%
- Likely East Asian: 14.2%
- Likely South Asian: 4.7%
-Likely Hispanic/Latinx: 2.0%
As you can see, little to no BIPOC people are inducted, especially black students (0%). For a school that claims to be supportive of diversity, the numbers show that a majority of the students who thrive here are white. This is because of an implicitly academic system at this small midwestern college. Don’t be fooled by their claims of diversity and inclusion. When the curtains fall and you only consider grades and academic support, it is clear where the real bias is. Not a great place for fostering academic and intellectual growth in ALL.

Anyone to speak on the clear racism against Asian and black students? We saw very few students of color on our tour! Concerning that this is what’s being promoted

What does "likely' mean here? How is someone Likely White?