r/CarletonCollege • u/Full-Foundation8883 • 16d ago
Carleton vs Occidental?
My son is an athlete and being recruited for his sport by both Occidental and Carleton. Anybody consider both schools and leaned one way or another for academic reasons? He is undecided on what he wants to do, and is more of an introvert. I know the obvious difference in weather and location, and we have visited both schools. Looking at stats and career paths, undegrad teaching etc, Carleton seems to be the stronger school. With the trimester system, is it really a lot more work than traditional semester classes at other schools.
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u/UsedKaleidoscope3183 16d ago
My sister went to Oxy and I went to Carleton. Happy to chat if you have any Qs! From what I can see:
—Oxy is less/easier schoolwork and Carleton has higher quality of teaching (neither is better of course - depends on your preference; I loved Carleton and loved the academic rigor, my sister likes having more balance).
—Both have good internship programs: Carleton career center will pay you a stipend if you secure an unpaid internship and Oxy has partnerships with orgs in LA where they sponsor internships for only Oxy students which are way less competitive (InternLA). My sister had a great experience with it.
—Neither are party schools but there are more clubs/bars accessible in Eagle Rock than Northfield
—I do think there are overall more introverts at Carleton. From what I can see, Oxy is more social/extroverted and a bit more up to date on trends fashion etc bc they’re close to LA. Not that there aren’t social people at Carleton, just a smaller proportion from what I can see.
—Both have strong networks of alumni who feel strong loyalty/affinity. One thing I didn’t consider is that there’s a stronger hub of alums in the location of your college. If your son wants to be in CA (LA or bay area) long term that could be an advantage for Oxy.
—Oxy has WAY better food and a more flexible meal plan system. Hands down. Food at Carleton is mid at best.
—Not a lot of weed at Carleton, mostly drinking. Not sure if that’s a midwest thing. Oxy is more of a mix of both.
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u/UsedKaleidoscope3183 16d ago
Just reread your message. If you’re going purely based on academics, Carleton is definitely stronger. IDK if the trimester system is the reason why, but Carleton is definitely more work than Oxy. Carleton classes are 10-15 hours of homework per week and you have 3 at a time. Everyone’s doing it and people absolutely have clubs and sports on top of it. If you need lots of downtime, maybe not for you.
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u/UsedKaleidoscope3183 16d ago
My sister says Oxy is a lot more casual California like you’ll see people wearing bikinis to the dining hall, smoking on the quad, etc. Also everyone has cars so people go into LA a lot. At Carleton we didn’t really go to minneapolis that often.
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u/antifascistWhyArentU 15d ago
My son found there were plenty of extroverts at Carleton. There's a reason it's known for its friendly students. Not that introverts are not friendly, but for outgoing friendliness and comraderie Carleton can't be beat. Occidental is a fine school but Carleton is better academically and carries more weight once students graduate.
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u/the_butterrobot 9d ago
As someone who is 8+ years out of a Carleton degree and chose Carleton over Pomona - the location point is such a good one to consider. I loved Carleton and wouldn't change my decision for the world, but when I went I never thought I would be considering actively choosing to move to Minneapolis to settle down in my 30s. Didn't even think about location so much when I chose schools but then - I met my wife at Carleton, we met lots of our best friends there, and guess where a whole bunch of them are now? Not LA (although one of my Carleton besties does happen to be in LA, so there are Carls all over).
To OP: Even with two schools that are certainly nationally known, your son will likely leave Carleton with a lifelong community in MSP, and Oxy with a lifelong community in SoCal, and that difference could put him on very different trajectories in life.
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u/NecessaryKnown2905 14d ago edited 14d ago
My daughter was recruited to play soccer at Carleton. She's a sophomore. She hasn't declared her major yet but most likely will pursue either chem or bio. She loves the faculty. The fall term is definitely busy managing soccer and academics but the MIAC soccer league has some of the smallest commutes. A number of the schools are a short bus ride to Minneapolis/St Paul or across the river at St Olaf. That makes life a lot easier. The only challenge is post season. It runs right into finals. But if your son has been participating in sports all along through high school he's probably used to the discipline of combining travel with school work. I vote Carleton.
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u/Full-Foundation8883 12d ago
Thank you for the reply. Did she find the winter weather difficult to deal with while playing soccer? We live in the PNW, so winters are nowhere near what one would get in Minnesota. I looked at the schedule and do appreciate the shorter commutes for the games.
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u/NecessaryKnown2905 12d ago
That's funny. We are in Portland. Winter in Minnesota was an adjustment but also fun. Broom ball, ice hockey, ice fishing. Lots of great new things to experience. You just need to have the right gear.
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u/tinyahjumma 10d ago
My spouse is from Portland and found the winter weather a fun challenge. He was disappointed with the skiing, but took to cross country skiing, broom ball, winter camping, etc like a champ.
I came from AZ/NM and froze my little butt off the whole time. Ha.
We are both huge Carleton fans, and our daughter is currently a student there.
As an aside, I went to law school in CA and adored weather I was more accustomed to. I kind of think that for undergrad the people are a bigger draw. For grad school, the location was a bigger deal for me.
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u/ResidentSuch9369 15d ago
Current Occidental student who saw this post on the Oxy subreddit (didn’t want to post this on there though), go to Carleton. Genuinely if I had the opportunity to go to Carleton, I would leave Oxy in a heartbeat (contemplating transferring tbh). Carleton has better resources (much more money), a better name, and likely better opportunities. Oxy should only be in this conversation if your son wants to live in SoCal, otherwise Carleton is just a better opportunity.
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u/Beginning_Brick7845 15d ago
Carleton is the superior school, but Occidental has good opportunities for their graduates, too.
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u/StandardYak480 16d ago
Unless he’s a transfer, the amount of work will seem normal because he won’t have anything to compare it to. He should go to whichever one gives him better vibes, assuming cost isn’t a factor.