Carleton for recruited athlete

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have direct experience? Culture, social life, career placement. DC is bright and motivated but not intensely intellectual, artsy, activist etc. Obviously the school is great academically but will it be a good experience?

Kids generally enjoy Carleton. If your son is not "intensely intellectual, artsy, activist, etc." now, he may be by the time he graduates. My DD's fiance was a recruited athlete at a top SLAC (they met there). He felt ill-prepared academically in his first year and struggled a little, but he was getting straight As by his third (and maintained straight As for his last two years). He has done extremely well in his career since graduating and earns far above the average for his graduating class. He has become much more intellectual and politically aware as he has matured and is now looking into a part-time "executive MBA." He hopes to use his (absurdly high) earnings to improve the world.

I can't say whether Carleton would be right for your son, but he might "look" different and have different interests as he grows and develops, and Carleton may lay a foundation for growth that may not be obvious now. A boy of 17 will not necessarily have the same interests he will have as a young man of 25. A liberal arts education is a transformative experience that can profoundly change people. My DD's boyfriend evolved from a party-boy jock to an extremely thoughtful, articulate, and socially aware young man in his four years at a SLAC, and he has continued to grow since graduating. It's been a wonder to behold The athlete culture might help your son find his niche at Carleton and integrate into the school. At my DD's SLAC, the athletes (particularly the guys on some of the teams) were kind of "jock-esque" while happily mixing with the artsy and intellectual types. Everyone got along well, and neither group seemed stifled or offended by the other. I suggest your son test his comfort levels with Carleton by doing an overnight visit.

It's not like my son is a meathead but I don't think he wants to debate Kierkegaard all day and night. So that is the concern, if Carleton is over the top intellectual/artsy/activist versus other SLACs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we were asking ourselves some of the same questions you are posing during our college search a few years back. We came across this piece by an admissions consultant. Perhaps it will be of some use. I agree with those recommending a visit, preferably while school is in session.

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

Thanks. That's quite a review. I wonder if anything has changed over the past 10 years.

Here's one quote: "relatively athletic and humble, exceedingly intellectual and ambitious student body." My student is there and finds this still to be the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's very woke. I'm honestly not sure if it's like Kenyon and some of the NESCACs where the athletes have their own bro culture that exists as kind of a separate entity within the larger woke campus culture. It's possible that schools like Carlton and Grinnell are so woke that it overpowers any efforts by the athletes to establish a more mainstream subculture. If I had an athlete kid looking at Carlton, I would implore him to spend a weekend there, preferably staying with a current student-athlete, so he could get a better read on the campus vibe.

OP: This is precisely my concern. I guess we will visit and find out. Thanks

St. Olaf grad and my dc is also considering Olaf. Carleton is culturally very different and while I don't agree with all the sentiment above, I think it tends to be very liberal in contrast to Olaf which is more moderate. Many years ago, when I was at Olaf, I would have agreed that Carleton's athletics/athletes were part of a subset of the school but not sure about now or what the vibe of that is. Northfield is a great college town, having just visited - this impressed my dc as it has enough plus the bus to MSP. The two colleges collaborate a lot - shared libe and van service between the campuses and downtown. Visiting is essential as it is also MN not the DMV and being prepared for cold (even if only intellectually) is important!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's very woke. I'm honestly not sure if it's like Kenyon and some of the NESCACs where the athletes have their own bro culture that exists as kind of a separate entity within the larger woke campus culture. It's possible that schools like Carlton and Grinnell are so woke that it overpowers any efforts by the athletes to establish a more mainstream subculture. If I had an athlete kid looking at Carlton, I would implore him to spend a weekend there, preferably staying with a current student-athlete, so he could get a better read on the campus vibe.

OP: This is precisely my concern. I guess we will visit and find out. Thanks

St. Olaf grad and my dc is also considering Olaf. Carleton is culturally very different and while I don't agree with all the sentiment above, I think it tends to be very liberal in contrast to Olaf which is more moderate. Many years ago, when I was at Olaf, I would have agreed that Carleton's athletics/athletes were part of a subset of the school but not sure about now or what the vibe of that is. Northfield is a great college town, having just visited - this impressed my dc as it has enough plus the bus to MSP. The two colleges collaborate a lot - shared libe and van service between the campuses and downtown. Visiting is essential as it is also MN not the DMV and being prepared for cold (even if only intellectually) is important!

There probably is a higher percentage of conservatives at St Olaf, but whether a school with a dry campus policy is more “moderate” might be a different matter.