Carleton College Top Questions

My absolute favorite Carleton tradition is the Silent Dance Party, which happens every term the night before finals. A week or so beforehand, someone makes an hour-long mix and posts it online so everyone can download it to their various devices. Then at 11pm that night everybody makes their way down to the first (and quietest) floor of the library with their devices ready--everything from iPods to laptops. Some people dress up; there's almost always someone in a gorilla costume. There's a collective countdown, and everybody starts the mix at the same time, the starts dancing! The only rule is you have to be silent, and respectful of the people studying instead of dancing. I whole-heartedly recommend participating, but if you don't it's also pretty funny to watch about one hundred students dancing to silence (you can also look up videos on youtube). The mob makes its way through the library and around a few buildings on campus before finally ending where they started at midnight. Most of the participants can't dance, but everyone gets really into it and it's totally ridiculous--the perfect way to blow off some steam before finals.

Beautiful campus, excellent academics, interesting students

Friendliness and tough academics

My school is best known for its small size classes and the top students around the U.S. it brings in. We are considered to be the Harvard of the Mid-west. We are also known for the for our difficult and alnalytical subjects and our ver demanding academics.

We are well known for being an expensive, liberal college that intensely focuses on academics.

Carleton homecoming tradition

Well, academically the sciences (especially Geology), but overall a work-hard, play -hard school.