After an unengaging first year at a large East Coast University, Zubeyda Shute ‘25 decided to transfer to Carleton. As a commuter, it had been difficult to form close bonds with her peers, and the institution hadn’t provided many social or career oriented opportunities. But now as a residential student at Carleton, she is happy to be constantly bombarded with emails and notices about student life. She greatly enjoys “that they change campus per season with the ice rink and events that only happen in certain terms. These things and opportunities would not have happened to me before transferring.”
Because this wasn’t her first time applying to college, Zubeyda was keenly aware of what she wanted when she began looking to transfer. She recalls “liking the atmosphere of Carleton, not to mention hearing that it was ranked No. 1 in undergraduate teaching and publicly stated it was 100 percent need-based.” She couldn’t bother applying to schools where the aid would be less than adequate because she’d already had the disappointment of having to decline acceptances in the past. She notes that it’s difficult to afford higher education when the common narrative is that her part-time job at Dunkin’ Donuts should cover full tuition.
Zubeyda is Muslim, which means that she cannot accept loans with interest. Although accommodating loans exist, they are few and have thousands of applicants. Wary of anything too good to be true, she was happy to find that “the Carleton financial aid department was really welcoming and I was able to really talk to people. When I mentioned the no interest loans condition, they completely removed the interest as a mandatory thing for me.” She says she deeply appreciates that her financial aid was evaluated in this respectful manner.
She was initially worried about having the capacity to take full advantage of all the opportunities Carleton has to offer while doing well in her schoolwork. Thankfully, Zubeyda and her counselor “made a term-by-term plan that covers what sort of classes I want to take and when I want to get certain credits done.” She’s currently planning on a computer science major and philosophy minor but is excited to “study abroad and have the chance to do all the fun things that genuinely make me happy.”
As Zubeyda reflects on her time at Carleton, she emphasizes how different her life would have been and how much she would have missed if she’d stayed back East or if she couldn’t afford to be here.
“As someone who applied for a lot of scholarships outside of what the schools provided and got next to nothing, I’m super thankful that people here are willing to give aid to students who really cannot afford to be here otherwise,” she says. “So thank you so much!”