Exploring Carleton

Now that all college acceptances are final, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all students in the Carleton class of 2022! It is certainly an exciting time for you all, as high school comes to a close and the next chapter in life is set to begin.

College is a time to explore, a time where students can pursue their academic interests and take responsibility in shaping their education. Carleton recognizes the importance of this individuality, but as a liberal arts college, Carleton emphasizes the idea of breadth with depth, and offers an extremely wide range of courses, encouraging students to take risks and explore new and unique topics. This serves as the basis for the core requirements — which I’m sure you’re familiar with — but I would encourage you to go beyond the requirements and to really apply yourself by taking unfamiliar classes. Many students end up majoring in subjects completely different to what they thought they would major in prior to enrolling; you never really know if you truly like a subject until you take a class and Carleton offers a great platform to foster intellectual curiosity.

Many incoming students are nervous to take college classes. While there certainly is an adjustment period for some, the adjustment comes quickly when students figure out how to manage time and utilize resources. Others seem to adapt very easily. Although the workload can be heavy, classes are definitely manageable — there are numerous places to get help and ask questions.

Many of you may be familiar with scrunching classes at Carleton, but for those who aren’t, it is definitely something noteworthy to mention. The Carleton website states as follows:

In order to encourage exploration into unfamiliar, risky areas of the curriculum, Carleton offers students the option to take courses under the S/Cr/NC option. S/Cr/NC grades have no grade point value and do not count toward student GPA. A continuing student may elect to take up to six credits per term on a S/Cr/NC basis with a maximum total of 30 such credits being allowed during the student’s four years at Carleton. The limits of six and 30 credits do not include mandatory S/Cr/NC courses. The grade of S means the equivalent of at least C- work; Cr means D+, D, or D- work; NC means F work.

Scrunching most certainly isn’t a method to make classes easier — there are a few drawbacks — but it definitely helps provide some sort of a safety net to assist students and encourage them to challenge themselves.

Carleton offers a fantastic range of classes; your four years will pass by quickly here and it is vital to make of the most of your time here. Prioritize which classes are most important, while also considering new and intriguing disciplines. So, I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and take risks.

See you in the fall!

Alvin

Alvin is a west coast kid at heart (coming from San Jose, California), but is excited to start many adventures here in Minnesota. He plays for the soccer team here at Carleton and loves exercise. If he’s not on the soccer field, in the gym, or out on a bike ride during his free time, he can be found in one of the lounges playing Exploding Kittens, or in the music building playing piano. He is a potential economics major with an interest in computer science and mathematics.