Carleton does accept up to 36 credits toward the Carleton degree from the following: College Board Advanced Placement credits, International Baccalaureate credits, or approved pre-matriculation credits (credits earned in college-level courses taken before graduation from high school or before matriculation at a college or university).

These credits may not be applied to distribution requirements (sometimes known as "gen-eds"), though they can be used to begin at a higher-than-introductory level in a variety of subjects.