Excited to see this thread ..want to learn more about Carlton and Macalaster


How important is Demonstrates interest in terms of visiting ? It’s pretty far, so wonder if we could visit after admission if child were accepted

This is a great thread.
NP here: anyone know about the physical sciences at these school? How would those departments rank of the three?
Kid interested in maybe biochem and history double major…

I grew up in Minneapolis and know many people who went to these schools.

St. Olaf - great for anyone interested in music or math. Typical undergrad is well-rounded and academically inclined but not obsessively so.

Carleton - More intense academically than St. Olaf. Draws a nerdier crowd. In spite of being in the same tiny town, Carleton and St. Olaf kids don’t mix much socially.

Macalester - Totally different vibe because it’s in St. Paul, albeit in a residential area. Anecdotally, I’ve always been more impressed with Macalester grads than Carleton grads, although they’re about the same academically as far as I can tell.

Carleton (#11) and Macalester (#17) both do really well on this alternative ranking that looks at the classroom experience, diversity and student happiness. It includes both universities and LACs.

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/blog/6/

Anonymous wrote:Mostly midwesterners at all three or draws more broadly? My kid is mostly interested in New England liberal arts schools, small, selective etc. Trying to branch out a bit for the list.

I have a kid at Carleton. Athletic recruit who visited pretty much every Nescac school before settling on Carleton. I would say that Carleton has everything that the best Nescacs do, except the prevalnce of really rich kids and often snotty attitudes. It is a real gem and my smart and athletic kid is thriving. Highly recommend.

St. Olaf is about 10% international kids. My kid there has an even mix of midwestern, non-midwestern and international friends. But he loves meeting people from elsewhere. About 3/4 of students study abroad, and all of those get some financial support to do so. Lots of merit awards and those are good for abroad, too. Olaf runs a math focused study abroad program in Budapest.

It's almost 3000 students, so bigger than the others. Music, math, bio, nursing are strong majors. And they do teach Norwegian. Carleton is near downtown, St. Olaf 15 minutes up on the windy hill, so kids get into town less in winter, but it's doable. Northfield is idyllic.

My kid is headed into a phD program and has been very well supported there. He might have thrived at Carleton too, but didn't apply, with the added cost. St. Olaf is a very kind place where he easily found his people. And he likes the balance of it. The other two have different vibes, probably worth a look at all of them if you're flying out.

Carleton academic calendar is on trimesters. The classes move very quickly. According to my DC you can’t really just catch up for midterms and finals. They are too compressed.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is interested in Macalester, but we haven’t had a chance to visit. Does it have a true, distinct campus? Kid loves the feel of Brown as a campus in the city; is Macalester at all similar?

I’ve never been to Brown but we visited Macalester recently and yes, the campus is distinct and very nice. There is a lovely neighborhood surrounding it, with shops and restaurants very close to campus. It’s a few miles to downtown St Paul in one direction and downtown Minneapolis in the other.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Merit aid at any of the three?

I believe all three do, but Carleton's merit awards are just the 2k/yr for National Merit and for Hispanic Recognition scholarships.

We also found Carleton to be generous with financial aid for our "doughnut hole" family.

My DS applied to Macalester two years ago - I was super impressed with the school during all our research. I work with a young woman who chose Macalester over a T25 school because of merit aid and loved it there. Like the PP, I was surprised by the number of international students. DS went elsewhere but I remain a fan.

He didn't look at Carleton because it seemed out of reach. And St. Olaf was too remote.

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?

Uff da!

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?

Financial ones. St Olaf is less selective and more generous with merit aid.

Anonymous wrote:Merit aid at any of the three?

I believe all three do, but Carleton's merit awards are just the 2k/yr for National Merit and for Hispanic Recognition scholarships.

Merit aid at any of the three?

Anonymous wrote:My kid is interested in Macalester, but we haven’t had a chance to visit. Does it have a true, distinct campus? Kid loves the feel of Brown as a campus in the city; is Macalester at all similar?

Yes, Macalester has a distinct campus. It's small, about 50 acres, because it's fairly urban, about halfway between the twin cities.

The other two are about 45 min away and much larger and rural (about 1000 acres for Carleton and 350 for St Olaf.)