Carleton College

The most important thing our students gain is how to learn for a lifetime. Critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, effective communication: these are the tools that transform a collection of facts and figures into a way of understanding the world. Learn more about academic life at Carleton. Carleton’s student body is notoriously difficult to categorize, but if we had to choose just one word to describe them, it would be curious . They’re an intellectually insatiable group that approaches learning with enthusiasm, energy, and a uniquely Carleton brand of playfulness. Broad-ranging interests are common, and friendships seem to cross all traditional boundaries. When people visit Carleton, they’re often surprised by the warmth and closeness of the campus community. Somehow they expect a leading liberal arts college to feel more formidable and competitive. But as our students and alumni will tell you, there’s just something different about Carleton. Maybe it’s our small size. Or maybe it’s the round-the-clock proximity of so many creative minds. Whatever the reason, Carleton is a place where students are likelier to cooperate than compete — and where working hard doesn’t mean forgetting how to play. Learn more about Carleton campus life. “If you take that kind of exuberance beyond the purely academic realm, as we regularly insist on doing at Carleton, you will begin to grasp the purposefully playful, even zany, sense of humor that imbues this college. We carry out our practical jokes, hold silent dance parties on tables in the library, and run in madcap pursuit of busts of German literary giants. “By making a point of not taking ourselves too seriously, we show ourselves honestly to friends and colleagues and create community across boundaries that might otherwise divide us.”