St. Olaf, Macalester, Carleton: thoughts, differences, experiences?

[Anonymous]

My kid didn't apply to Macalester because the strong social justice vibe wasn't his thing. He watched a YouTube video put out by the school and didn't think it would be the right fit.

All three of the colleges are small and finding the right vibe is important.

My kid really liked St. Olaf. He found the students there to be friendly and the staff even friendlier.

My kid disliked Carleton more than any other college he visited. I've posted on here before about how rigid and unaccommodating staff were. He sat in on a class and the students were uninvolved. I think Carleton has a lot going for it. It wasn't the kind of experience he was looking for. If you tour the school, find out how difficult it is to get into classes you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid didn't apply to Macalester because the strong social justice vibe wasn't his thing. He watched a YouTube video put out by the school and didn't think it would be the right fit.

All three of the colleges are small and finding the right vibe is important.

My kid really liked St. Olaf. He found the students there to be friendly and the staff even friendlier.

My kid disliked Carleton more than any other college he visited. I've posted on here before about how rigid and unaccommodating staff were. He sat in on a class and the students were uninvolved. I think Carleton has a lot going for it. It wasn't the kind of experience he was looking for. If you tour the school, find out how difficult it is to get into classes you want.

Sorry, that's a bummer. Our kid thought there were more random acts of kindness when visiting Carleton than experienced during the rest of his tour across colleges put together. That included staff, professors, students, and even folks in the town restaurants, shops, and hotel. He was literally serenaded by the college choir at one point in his visit. He enrolled thinking his expectations might've been set to high but was repeatedly blown away every term by just how generous professors were with their time, encouraging students to contact them after hours and on weekends with questions. We thought maybe it was just him, but when we visited for family weekend we kept hearing the same stories from other parents. Even faculty who weren't teaching any of his classes went out of their way to get to know him and offer useful career advice. But fit is a personal thing. I hope your child ended up with as great an experience as ours somewhere else (St Olaf?).

[Anonymous]

Yeah, my kid is having an absolutely wonderful experience at Carleton. But Mac and St Olaf are great too. Visit and see what feels right!

[Anonymous]

St. Olaf was hands down the best admissions experience my child had. She loved the admissions folks and really wanted to go there. When she visited, it just did not click (and it was not because it was -9 when we visited). The vibe of the students was just not right. She is not a musician and I worried that would be rough because like 50% of the kids are involved in music. We are also not religious, but she was fine with the religious piece (which seems to be relatively minor). Too bad, it was a great place and they gave her tons of merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the obsession with ROI and high paying jobs on this board. It's all fear based. Plenty of people without trust funds major in education or social work and live full lives. But maybe they don't drive fancy cars and take expensive ski vacations every year. This area is so out of touch with how most Americans live.

Wrong. There is no way that you can raise a family in the DMV as a social worker or a teacher without marrying rich or having family wealth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does Carleton do athletic recruiting in any meaningful way?

Yes, but it seems the athletes are pretty academically inclined compared to some places.

It’s not a sports oriented school, in case that’s important to your DC. Definitely have them visit and attend a game.

[Anonymous]

Which one is not athletic of the three? Anyone have a kid participate in a crew team at any of them?

[Anonymous]

None of the three are athletic. All D3 and all more academically focused. When I was at Carleton, the relationship between athletes and non-athletes was very good, but that was a long time ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which one is not athletic of the three? Anyone have a kid participate in a crew team at any of them?

I don't think any of them have crew. I would agree they aren't really athletic compared to D1 schools. But I think that's maybe overstating things with regards to other D3 schools. The situation is a little more nuanced, at least with Carleton. Here's what I recently posted on the "NARP" thread:

NP. My kid didn’t feel there was a significant divide at Carleton. He was not an athlete but had a fantastic experience and loves his alma mater. If anything he felt there was less of a divide in college than at his private high school. About 1/3 of his closest friends were athletes. Carleton is odd in that athletes don’t seem to be treated differently and games don’t dominate the social calendar, but there’s maybe more participation than you would guess. Beyond the usual NCAA sports there’s quite a bit more going on, starting with ultimate, the biggest sport on campus (multiple teams of different levels, with the top competing again d1 schools and the bottom just being casual intramural). Every student gets a frisbee during first year orientation (after personalizing, then thrown at random into a heap in the middle of the central quad; everyone picks one and finds the owner over the first term.) Beyond sports there’s a lot of physical recreation, like hiking (and sometimes skiing) every weekend through the stunning 800 acre arboretum, one of the most impressive things I’ve seen at any college. There’s also a PE requirement, club sports, outdoor ice skating, and frequent dance lessons to get ready for the winter ball. Here’s an interesting review by a college counselor I found back when we were searching that touches on the sports scene there.

http://garthrobertson.com/a-visit-to-carleton/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the obsession with ROI and high paying jobs on this board. It's all fear based. Plenty of people without trust funds major in education or social work and live full lives. But maybe they don't drive fancy cars and take expensive ski vacations every year. This area is so out of touch with how most Americans live.

Wrong. There is no way that you can raise a family in the DMV as a social worker or a teacher without marrying rich or having family wealth

You're either a troll or have abnormal 'needs' or are grossly unaware of how to make a budget. There are tens of thousands of teachers in the DMV who are making it work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you think your kid might want to work in the Twin Cities, going to any of these three schools is a really good thing. Will they ricochet back to the DMV? UVA may be a better option.

My kid has a few friends at St.Olaf doing physics. The Lutheran church actually funds scholarships every year for physics majors, $10K awards, which was unexpected to hear about.

Chemistry instruction seems strong, with access to equipment I never got to use at my large university, like NMRs. I think that is shared with Carleton, and Carleton hosts a fancy shared microscope? Not sure of the particulars, but there is some sort of agreement.

My kid has dined at the Carleton cafeteria, because they use the same company and swipe cards work at both. You can take a class there, but with their trimester system it gets complicated. I think there was a joint symposium for kids who did summer research? But no, not a lot of mixing socially.

These schools would present well for kids who want to work in Chicago as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Comment basically correct re Carleton and St Olaf. St Olaf is also more isolated while Carleton is right in town. I graduated from St Olaf but would probably recommend Carleton of the two unless you are really interested in music or Norwegian. I don't think there is really any other reason to prefer St. Olaf. Maybe religious ones?

Ice hockey and math majors?

[Anonymous]

We have visited all three of these places over the course of the last four months with our HS junior DS. All three colleges are special places that are quite unique but they also rhyme to some degree. As one of the admissions officers at Macalester said during the Mac presentation about college choice and the application process: it is a fit to be made, not a prize to be won.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:St. Olaf was hands down the best admissions experience my child had. She loved the admissions folks and really wanted to go there. When she visited, it just did not click (and it was not because it was -9 when we visited). The vibe of the students was just not right. She is not a musician and I worried that would be rough because like 50% of the kids are involved in music. We are also not religious, but she was fine with the religious piece (which seems to be relatively minor). Too bad, it was a great place and they gave her tons of merit.

They give incredible merit. I think it’s an unbelievable value. Maybe even unbeatable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have visited all three of these places over the course of the last four months with our HS junior DS. All three colleges are special places that are quite unique but they also rhyme to some degree. As one of the admissions officers at Macalester said during the Mac presentation about college choice and the application process: it is a fit to be made, not a prize to be won.

Hear, hear!