Carleton College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Biology
Minor: Biochemistry
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Straight Female

Summary

I’m involved in Red Cross Blood Drive, I participate in pre-medical activities where medical schools come in and talk about what they’re looking for. There are occasionally speakers that come in and I attend as many of those as possible. I work outside of school as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at a nursing home, I volunteer at the hospital, and at a free clinic in Northfield.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Straight

High School Experience: Public high school in Wisconsin with a graduating class of about 68 students. Probably 60% of students went to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Biology
Minor: Biochemistry

Extracurricular Activities: I’m involved in Red Cross Blood Drive, I participate in pre-medical activities where medical schools come in and talk about what they’re looking for. There are occasionally speakers that come in and I attend as many of those as possible. I work outside of school as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at a nursing home, I volunteer at the hospital, and at a free clinic in Northfield.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
Being part of the pre-med community has been really positive for me. Having a supportive community there, and being part of the Red Cross Blood Drive makes me feel like I’m part of something bigger than myself, which has been powerful.

Academic Experience

Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
Most classes give you at least one problem set per class, especially in the Chemistry classes. There are typically two midterms and a final for most STEM classes and we’re on 10-week terms. For some classes, we have weekly labs, which are 4-hours long.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
I think the STEM departments at Carleton are really good at having office hours and truly being willing to meet with students and make sure everyone understands everything. Also, the programs with the TAs and the labs are really strong. They have office hours as well, typically at times when the teachers typically wouldn’t be there.
How would you describe the learning environment? Is it particularly competitive or collaborative?
I think it’s super collaborative. A lot of times people collaborate when problem sets can be done by a group of people. People are really willing to work together as groups.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re very accessible. I think it’s really nice having a lab with a professor who opens it up to more one-on-one discussions about things that aren’t strictly classwork so you can develop a really good relationship with them. Students are always welcome to come to talk in office hours.
What has been your favorite part of Carleton academically?
Once again, the collaborative environment. Some of the best friends I’ve had STEM classes with since freshman year. It allows you to form friendships around a shared love of learning.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I’m really happy with my choice. I was bouncing in between Biology and Chemistry as a major. I came in knowing I wanted to do something in the STEM field because that’s been a huge interest for me throughout my life. I was pre-med, so if you do biology or chemistry it knocks out a lot of the main requirements. I ended up deciding to do biology after looking at the course catalog and saw what was more interesting to me. I’m grateful I can do biochemistry as well, to get both of those skillsets.

Reasons to Attend

1) It’s a very supportive community where all the students and alumni really try and make everyone feel like they’re part of that community.
2) The professors are world-class. They care about the students and education in general.
3) You can be part of the Northview community and the downtown is accessible to walk to. There are cute coffee shops there.
4) There are a lot of clubs and activities for people to be part of, it’s a very active campus.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) If you don’t want to live in a small town or you’re looking for a bigger campus experience.
2) It’s not a place you can cruise by academically. There are very few classes that are known as an easy A.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Goodhue Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: James Hall with one roommate and two apartment-mates
Junior: Davis Hall in a triple
How was transitioning from your hometown to Northfield, Minnesota?
I’m from rural Wisconsin so the town itself wasn’t super different for me. This actually feels bigger than my hometown. The climate of the town is pretty similar.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I’ve never felt unsafe at Carleton. The security is amazing and there are a lot of streetlights.

Social Opportunities

What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you like to participate in?
I like the way Carleton does it, it makes me feel very safe. People don’t drink and drive at all because everything is within a block or two away because of the way campus is set up. I normally work one night of the weekend, either Friday or Saturday night, but the other night there are a bunch of events the campus puts on. They have The Cave, which is kind of a live music place I go to sometimes. There is the Midwinter Ball and a bunch of other fun community events put on by the campus. If none of those are going on, people normally have birthdays or get-togethers that are either hosted in their rooms or the surrounded townhouses. It’s an open and welcoming environment.
How happy are you with the weekend activities or nightlife at your school? Is there anything you would change if you could?
Right now, I’m really happy about it. I just turned 21 so we’ll see what that scene looks like now. It’s a good community for people there. I’m really grateful I have a car so my friends and I can go to the movies or go shopping if we want to. I think people with they had that option more.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
I was really lucky to meet them on my freshman floor. My closest friends were right down the hall. Another one of my close friends I met during New Student Week before classes start, but then we really became close in a Chemistry class.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Carleton?
I think it’s really good. People do split up by major and academic fields, and then the sports teams hang out a lot together. I think within that, everyone’s really welcoming and nice to each other. People always say hello to each other when they’re walking past each other, even if they don’t know each other very well. Overall, it’s a welcoming community.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I think, for the most part, they do. There’s a bunch of programs and houses for different races. There’s a house for the Latina community and other communities too. I think other groups that hang out together based on ethnicity or sexual orientation, but they’re not exclusive. [The undergraduate population is 8% Hispanic, 5% Black, 60% White, and 8% Asian.]
To what extent do athletes and non-athletes mix socially?
There’s a lot of mixer parties and there are parties when it’s pretty exclusive. The people on the teams are really close, but outside of a party setting, people mix pretty freely. The people in classes all hang out and study together. But, in some social events and nighttime activities, the athletes do hang out together more.
How would you describe the student body?
I think everyone tries to be welcoming and nice to everyone. It’s also a very activist campus. When Angie Craig was running for office, it was a huge thing. Everyone was talking about it and everyone was very politically and socially involved. There’s also an underlying core of being environmentally friendly. They’re really into composting and recycling. Some people are very granola and like hiking and stuff. [See Carleton Admissions Blog article, “First Weekend Frenzy.”]
How do you like the size of Carleton in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [Carleton has about 2,000 undergraduates.]
I love it. There are two or three degrees of freedom, so anyone you’re talking about is someone’s freshman roommate or you have some distant connection to them, which I really like. It’s nice to be able to go to places and recognize the people around you. It makes me feel part of things because you know the people you see in your day to day life. Because it’s small, the professors know you better too, and the class sizes aren’t as big.
Do people generally seem happy with Carleton by senior year? Do people leave loving Carleton?
For sure. I think people are super proud of being from Carleton and love the community and memories they’ve made during it. I remember I was wearing my Carleton sweatshirt before I went to Carleton and I was out at a restaurant and a lady bought me a milkshake when she saw it. I think people who come from Carleton are really proud and passionate about connecting with other people who’ve gone to Carleton.

Careers

Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
I’ve shadowed five doctors from the alumni network and everyone has been super responsive. If I email anyone, they email back within a couple of days. They’ve always been welcoming.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
They’ve been super helpful. The summer after my sophomore year I went to Duke for the summer and did an internship there. It was something I was passionate about and the career center sponsored my internship there, which was an amazing process. They were super transparent about the whole thing. They gave me a stipend and paid for my housing in North Carolina. For this coming summer, I applied to a couple of biomedical companies but was in Italy when applying to them. Someone I had worked within the career center was nice enough to meet with me over Skype to go over my resume and cover letter. I ended up getting one of those internships for this upcoming summer. It’s been incredibly helpful throughout all the processes for my career development.
Have you learned any computer programs or languages through your coursework that will be helpful to you professionally?
I’ve learned a lot about Excel in my science classes. They do a good job of walking you through it while letting you explore it and challenge yourself. I learned a little bit of R in my probability class.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how accommodating was the office to your needs?
Yes, I’m on financial aid. They’re very responsive and nice about everything. I had a complicated situation in my freshman year and everything was confusing, but they were really nice about everything and talked us through what we needed. They gave us information about what was missing and they were generous with everything. They continued to be amazing and communicative about everything so far.