A: I’m a writer for the web team (I write articles for the web magazine, Shout, and blog for Admissions). I think it’s an incredible job, because I thought I would have to wait until after graduation to make money writing. I’m getting to improve my journalistic writing, which I’d never done before, and write for a blog that’s read by people other than my friends.

A: I honestly have not seen anyone rejected or treated badly in a social situation. The only way you wouldn't fit in is if you were intentionally offensive or unfriendly. The student body seems very funny, relaxed, and open.

A: When/where am I going to study abroad? I really want to, and I only have one more year where it'll be practically possible, so I'm currently frantically applying to different programs. I really want to study in a Francophone country, because I think after ten weeks speaking French with native speakers I could probably break that last wall of communication and become fluent.

A: When I looked at Carleton at first, I was sure I wouldn't get in. The students featured in the admissions materials seemed intimidatingly amazing. Don't limit yourself to those colleges where you think you'll get in easily, because you might be pleasantly surprised. Also, apply to schools that seem interesting to you regardless of how well-known they are – none of my friends had ever heard of Carleton, but now that I'm here, I can't imagine going to an East Coast school that everyone at home would have recognized.

A: Reed, Bard, Middlebury, Colorado College, Beloit.

A: Carleton was the only one of my top-choice colleges to offer me any financial aid. They gave me enough aid to make coming here manageable. I was thrilled.

A: I live in Goodhue, which is the most out-of-the-way dorm (you have to cross a bridge over the lake to get to the main campus). People always complain about how far away it is, but it's only a three-minute walk at most from campus, and besides, you get amazing views of the sunset over the lake when you walk back across the bridge in the evening. Some of the people on my floor have become like family; we help each other out with practical things, pull pranks on each other, and keep each other company while we study. I think this kind of floor bonding is one of the best things about Carleton.

A: My most interesting project so far has been a paper for French Cultural Reading with Christine Lac. It was an 8-page paper, written in French, about the characteristics of and cultural issues surrounding the language of the banlieues (French housing developments, often slum-like and inhabited by immigrants). I got to read all about the language, which was fascinating – I love learning about dialects of English, so learning about a dialect of French was both harder and more fun.

A: Carleton offered every subject I might have wanted to study, which is a lot of subjects – the major deciding ones were archaeology and film, which weren't offered at several of the other colleges I looked at. The atmosphere also seemed fun and down-to-earth, and I wanted to experience a different part of the country after growing up in New England.

A: It’s fairly laid-back – people have a lot of activities and work, but they don’t run around like chickens with their heads cut off (except maybe during finals week). The dorms are all very nice, and people tend to form close relationships with their floors. The food is variable but mainly good. People are always looking to have fun, whatever that may mean for them. I love how the small campus makes it so that you see your friends multiple times a day, even if you don’t have classes together or live near each other. My favorite campus phenomenon is when everyone comes out of their cocoons at the beginning of spring term. We all start wearing very little clothing before it's at all justified by the weather, and you're constantly bumping into people you know walking around, because everyone wants to be outside.

A: I was expecting people to separate into social groups the way they did in high school, but this hasn't been the case at all. I can talk to anyone, and I couldn't point out any groups or label them with what they do or enjoy if I were asked.

A: I remember the brochures stressing the humility of Carleton students, which I think I didn’t believe, because it’s sort of an oxymoron to declare in an admissions brochure that students are humble. I’d just like to say that I’ve found this to be 100 percent true. No one brags about their accomplishments or tries to one-up anyone else in terms of how hard their classes are or how much stuff they’re doing (which I saw in high school all the time). Even when people have genuinely amazing skills, they tend to downplay them. The result is that you feel like you’re going to a school full of perfectly normal people who just happen to do really impressive things.

A: I love the Bald Spot, especially lying in the grass at night and looking at the stars. I’ve done this quite a bit and it never gets old (where I’m from, there’s too much light pollution to see any stars). I’m also fond of the LDC (Language and Dining Center), because it’s where I get to see my friends at the end of the day, and sit around for way too long drinking tea and laughing (hopefully not at the same time).

A: Lately my main hobby has been writing and directing a feature-length film with my roommate. "That's not a hobby!" you say. "That's a nightmare!" True. But it's been a lot of fun, especially since we decided to do it all on our own, so we have full control over how it gets done. Other hobbies: singing, playing flute and saxophone, dancing (especially in Ebony II), baking things without the proper ingredients, wandering around and observing.

A: I blog for Carleton admissions.

A: People take their academics very seriously here, and everyone has at least one subject that they really love. People are generally very engaged – there’s no one taking the class “just” to fulfill a requirement.