Choosing Carleton: Looking Back on Four Years

This spring, my younger brother has been through the process of deciding what college he wants to attend, which has me thinking about what it was like to decide to go to Carleton back in 2021. I spent so much time trying to ensure that I would make the “right” choice for myself. Basically, get ready for an almost-graduated-senior to nostalgically reflect on the college experience.

When looking at colleges, I wanted my college experience to have everything be the best it could be, the best classes, professors, opportunities, abroad programs, people, activities, internships etc… I basically wanted college to be perfect. Which meant I spent hours and hours looking at school after school (including reading Carleton’s blog), trying to decide which one would be the best for me.

At the end of my college search, I ended up applying to Carleton through Early Decision. Because I was accepted during the first round, by December 15th, I had already committed to a school: Carleton.

I was stoked, of course, I got into my first-choice school, but I also started doing a bit of overthinking. I was thinking things like… what if Carleton isn’t the right school? What if I don’t fit in with other students? What if nobody shares the same interests as me? What if I don’t like the classes? What if staying in Minnesota isn’t a good idea— should I have gone further from home? What if I do poorly academically? What if I’m homesick? Essentially anything and everything I was worried about.

In some ways, I was right–I did get homesick, Carleton was hard, sometimes I struggled academically, it took me a while to develop good friendships, and I didn’t find my place on campus right away. At first, I questioned my college choice: was Carleton wrong for me? I started thinking about all the other schools I had looked at— did I commit to the wrong school? Freshman year me probably would have said maybe. Me now? I would say I can’t imagine going anywhere else. I know that is terribly cliché, but I mean it.

If I hadn’t chosen Carleton, I would have never declared  Geology as a major (I was going to major in Political Science!). If I hadn’t chosen Carleton, I would have never quit track to play ultimate frisbee (a sport I didn’t even know existed) and met all my amazing teammates. I never would have studied abroad twice, never have failed some things so I could learn how to succeed, never have taken classes in things I wasn’t comfortable in, never have known the fantastic professors I get to work with— the list goes on for a while.

Perhaps most importantly, I would have never met all of the amazing, wonderful people that make up Carleton’s campus. The other day, I was talking to a friend, and I realized that I have so many people in my life that I am struggling to fit them all in! This spring is one of the busiest terms I’ve had, and I have so much going on in my life that I am having to do a bit of “Tetris” scheduling to do everything I want to do. Which sounds a bit ridiculous— my freshman year self could never imagine having so many friends that I wish I had like 8 extra hours in the day so I could see them all. I am so grateful for the Carleton community— they are what makes Carleton so incredible.

As I near the end of my undergraduate experience, I like to think about an Instagram reel that my mom once sent me (thanks mom). It was a video of Dr. Ellen Langer, a professor psychology at Harvard. Dr. Langer was discussing how to make the “right decision.” She says a lot, but the thing that has stuck with me all this time is this quote: “Rather than waste your time being stressed over making the right decision, make the decision right.”

I switched my major, the sport that I played, my post-grad plans, and more. Even though I was worried about making the wrong college choice, in the end, I chose a school that had all the resources to make it “right”. Essentially, I had to commit to the decision I made and make it the right choice. That’s not to say you shouldn’t ever shift your life focus or your path or whatever you want to call your vague plan for life–that’s part of life! You grow and you change. But when I did make a choice, Carleton was there to help me make it the “right choice”. And as I look back on the past four years, I could not be happier with my decision to attend and stay at Carleton.