Class of 2028 FAQs!

As all you readers out there likely know, it’s college decision season! Early decision applicants have gotten their letters, and regular decision applicants just received theirs within the past couple of weeks. In my work for the admissions office, I get to talk with accepted students from the incoming class of 2028, and I’ve noticed you all have a lot of questions! So I figured I’d make a centralized post to address some of your most common queries…

Dorms and Dorm Facilities

Freshmen will live in one of seven dorms: Burton, Cassat, Myers, Musser, Goodhue, Nourse, and Watson. Each of these buildings has its own benefits and (charming, quirky) drawbacks, but that’s a whole blog post on its own. You will most likely have a roommate, unless you have an accommodation for a single room. You will be matched with your roommate(s) via a preference/living style questionnaire, which you will fill out over the summer! (Also, you can decorate your room pretty much however you want, as long as it doesn’t cover the smoke detectors/sprinklers, have an open flame, or damage the room itself.)

Each dorm building has its own washers and dryers, which are free to use any time you want! You will have to provide your own detergent, but I think you can manage that.

Every dorm has bathrooms on every floor — some have single-person gender neutral bathrooms, some have bigger bathrooms that can be gender neutral or not, but regardless, you will always have access to a bathroom.

Each floor of each dorm has its own kitchen (fridge, stovetop, oven, microwave), mini lounge (TV, couches, tables), and water fountains. Also, each individual room comes with its own microwave and mini-fridge!

Dining Halls & Food

As a freshman, you will get 20 meal swipes per week (3 per day on Mon-Sat, and 2 per day on Sundays). Once you finish your freshman year, you can choose any meal plan — 20, 15, 10, 5, or 0 swipes per week. Additionally, each meal plan comes with a certain amount of dining dollars, which you can use at the multiple campus cafes.

The cafes (Sayles, Weitz, and Schulze) are open every day (Schulze only during weekdays) and you can buy snacks/meals/drinks with dining dollars, Schillers (a Carleton currency), or regular money!

The Carleton food services are happy to work with allergies and dietary restrictions, including religion-related preferences or timing differences. For more questions, feel free to reach out to bonappetit@carleton.edu, our food provider!

Things to do in Northfield (+ Transportation)

While there are plenty of things to do to keep you occupied on campus, there are also options in downtown Northfield! There are a variety of restaurants and coffee shops (ask me which one is my favorite…) as well as small, local stores to check out! There is also a public library, a few different religious buildings, and ways to interact with the local community.

There is a bus that runs every day from Carleton to a few other places: St. Olaf, the JustFood Co-op, Cub and Target, Aldi, a local cinema, and a couple restaurants. This bus service is free to use!

To get to the MSP airport, the Mall of America, or the Twin Cities, you can take the Northfield Lines buses (usually around $35 each way), one of the local ride services (similar to Uber or Lyft), or if you have your own driver’s license, you can become a campus driver and borrow one of Carleton’s cars!

Wrapping Up…

I know you probably have so many more questions about life at Carleton, but I can’t fit them all in this blog! So, if you’re wanting to ask something that isn’t answered here or on the Carleton College website, please feel free to email me at allenf@carleton.edu and I will be happy to help!

Felix (he/him) from Washington, DC is a freshman at Carleton this year interested in geology, environmental studies, and art history, and is excited to explore campus and all it has to offer throughout his first year. Felix is an officer of Carleton Birders as well as an editor with the blog this year, and participates in the Carleton Association of Nature and Outdoor Enthusiasts (CANOE), the Carleton Disability Alliance (CDA), Carls with Artistic Taste (CAT), the Equestrian Club, and the Gender & Sexuality Center (GSC). In his free time, Felix enjoys exploring the outdoors, drawing and painting, and listening to music (currently enjoying Hozier, Car Seat Headrest, The Velvet Underground, TV Girl, and Elliot Smith).