Carleton College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Biology – on the pre-med track
Minor: Biochemistry
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Heterosexual Male

Summary

I’m a student-athlete, I [have a leadership position] in the Carleton Pre-Health Association. I volunteer at the hospital and the retirement community in town.

Background

Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

High School Experience: All-male private boarding school in Pittsburgh, PA with a graduating class of about 60 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Biology – on the pre-med track
Minor: Biochemistry

Extracurricular Activities: I’m a student-athlete, I [have a leadership position] in the Carleton Pre-Health Association. I volunteer at the hospital and the retirement community in town.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
My sport takes up a lot of my time, but the biggest thing I do that I enjoy is working at the hospital. Carleton has the Carleton Center for Community and Civic Engagement, and I’m one of the people that leads communication between Carleton and Northfield Hospital in Minnesota. That’s been particularly important to me because I’m trying to go to medical school, so being in that environment is something I enjoy and is something I try to prioritize.

Academic Experience

Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
As someone who’s pre-med, you get a lot of everything. You’re not just taking Biology classes, I’m also taking Chemistry. Overall, it’s a very high workload that consists of a lot of problem sets. Carleton really likes to incorporate essays and writing materials in labs, even in STEM classes. There is a lot of group work and creating presentations. Exams are between 15% – 25% of your grade, then we have a mid-term and a final. They also keep track of your participation because of how small the classes are. [The average class size is 16.]
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
Every professor in my major is incredible. I feel like I’m getting the superb academics the school promised, in the sense that the teachers are very available. You can go into the Biology building and all of them have their doors open. If they aren’t there, you can email them and they’ll meet with you. There is a variety of classes. In Biology, the major forces you to take one of each Biology class such as ecology, physiology, and molecular biology. The broadens your experience. As someone wanting to go into medicine, I wasn’t thrilled about taking an ecology class, but I did it and I enjoyed it because I loved the professor so much.
How would you describe the learning environment? Is it particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s more collaborative. Unless you’re close friends with someone, most people won’t discuss their grades. It’s more of a taboo topic and you just don’t really bring it up. I think people realize that one person’s success isn’t going to hurt another person. They don’t really grade on a curve here.
How accessible are your professors?
Every single professor I’ve had has been very receptive to responding to emails and setting up meetings. For a seminar class, I had a meeting with a professor for 2.5 hours. A lot of them encourage you to do that because they understand that’s how a lot of people learn.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I was between Biology and Chemistry. I liked the organic side of chemistry and how it is related to life. Some of the things in the chemistry major weren’t that and I thought if I like the life aspect of chemistry and I already got that, I might as well continue with biology which is exclusively that.
How is managing both your sport and your coursework?
It’s certainly not easy, but I knew that going into it. If I didn’t think I was capable of doing it, I wouldn’t have done it. With that being said, my sport puts me on a really regimented schedule where I have to do certain things at certain times. I actually had my best term while in season.
Have you used academic accommodations? If so, how helpful were they?
I broke my hand during pre-season and needed someone to write for me because it was my dominant hand. I used disability services and they had a special notebook that had a carbon copy paper that would write notes through. Depending on the class, she or he would give me the notes afterward. They also gave me more time for tests while my cast was still on.

Reasons to Attend

1) The world-class education you can tell you’re getting.
2) The excellent career development office and alumni office. I’m out in Davis, California living with an alumnus that’s hosting me. I’ve met with six Carleton alumni in a town that’s 2,000 miles away from Carleton.
3) If you want to go on to professional or graduate school, it’s a great place. People know Carleton and something like 90% of applicants get into medical school.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) If you want to go to school in a city.
2) If you’re particularly concerned about politics and don’t fit within the status quo of the students here.
3) If you want a larger school.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Burton with two roommates
Sophomore: Evans Hall with two roommates
Junior: Cassat Hall before going abroad for the winter
How was transitioning from Pittsburgh, PA to Northfield, Minnesota?
I knew I wanted to go to a different part of the country and see something else. As someone wanting to go into medical school, if I end up getting into a school far away from home, I have to be willing to do that. I also needed to realize the world is bigger than what I was used to. It is good, but I miss the hills and rivers of Pittsburgh that I was used to. I think Pittsburgh is a little greener too. Minnesota is very flat, which I don’t like, but I like the town and it’s very safe. It’s cozy, and I’ve met a lot of very nice town people.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I’ve never felt unsafe.

Social Opportunities

What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you like to participate in?
In season, I’m pretty limited because I have a game and practice on Saturday and Sunday. Otherwise, I like to volunteer at the hospital when I have more free time. If it’s a nice day, I’ll go outside and hang out with my friends. It’s a beautiful campus and there’s a lot of nature and areas you can walk around like the arboretum. You can throw a ball around on the quad. For nightlife, there are parties, especially if you’re on a team or part of a club. I’m not super involved and don’t go to all the parties every weekend, but they have them. There is no Greek life on campus, so sometimes people have them in their dorm room, but a lot of people have townhouses on campus who hosts parties in their living room.
What is the impact of sports teams on the nightlife?
Some sports teams are more exclusive, but for the most part, everyone is invited to [their parties.]
How happy are you with the weekend activities or nightlife at your school? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’m happy. Most of the time I’m pretty busy working on homework or problem sets. By the end of the week, I’m so tired from working that sometimes I’d rather just be in my room playing video games or watching a movie.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
I met my closest friend by being in a musical with my roommate.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Carleton?
I’d say people are very inclusive. You can go out basically anywhere and people would be mostly accepting and let random people in. For the most part, I’ve found that everyone is really smart here. Some people are less outgoing than others. It’s very much a bubble compared to the town, but, for the most part, I found really good people and I love the team I’m on.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I’d say it’s pretty good. The [La Casa del Sol House] is the cultural house where Hispanic students can live, and there [is a cultural house] where the African-American students can live. They have parties and you’d expect the majority of people at those events are of that [demographic]. Everyone is invited to those, so I would say that people mix pretty well. It doesn’t ever feel like people are trying to exclude others on the basis of those other things. It’s common to see diverse groups of friends on campus. [The undergraduate population is 8% Hispanic, 5% Black, 60% White, and 8% Asian.]
How would you describe the student body?
Everyone is very smart. They use the word, quirky, but I think sometimes that means being kind of socially inept. For the most part, people are highly intelligent and very intellectual and have good conversations which are something I enjoy about the student body as a whole. From a political standpoint, I’d say they’re very [liberal], and that’s noticeable based on some of the people you talk to.
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.]
That was a big reason I chose Carleton to begin with. I wanted a small school, so with the small classes that come out of that, I think it’s been a very positive influence.

Careers

Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
It’s been great in that regard. In biology, it’s pretty difficult to find a research experience, especially one of those summer programs you can apply to. I met Carleton alum who came back to do a 30-minute session where you meet with them for an informational session. I met with her and it turned into an hour-long conversation. It ended up getting me a research position over the summer. The next summer I had another Carleton alum come who was in an institution and was the head scientist. I reached out to her and said I was interested in her work, and I ended up in another position. I’m currently in an externship program that allows Carleton parents or alumni to host students for our winter break.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
It’s been great in helping me find opportunities. They have not directly given me opportunities, but I have found opportunities through the career office having the people come to Carleton and having the externship program. Otherwise, they’ve been really good at answering any funding questions. I’m applying for funding because if you apply to work somewhere and it’s not paid, you can apply to Carleton and they’ll fund your summer experience.
Have you learned any computer programs or languages through your coursework that will be helpful to you professionally?
I use Excel in a lot of classes. During this externship, I learned R, which I hadn’t learned in statistics classes at Carleton.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, accommodating was the office to your needs?
I receive financial aid, and they’re responsive. I’m going abroad in the winter on a non-Carleton program, but you end up paying the same price you’d pay for a term at Carleton which is nice.