Intense. Also, people don't keep their academic lives to themselves. They talk to their friends about the ideas they are learning about in class, and their friends talk back.

Difficult but also within a very accommodating and supportive framework. It's OK to struggle, it's OK to fail. Professors are there to help you get better and to learn. Everyone is good at "their thing." Even if you are SUPER BAD at something like math (like me), no one on campus will judge you for that. Teachers and other students are there TO HELP. The only expectation is that you to work hard, and to care about the work that you do.

Very challenging (in the best way possible). I do not like to characterize it as hard because I am afraid that it sends out the wrong message... Professors here are not going to give you an easy pass, but this will be manifested through intellectually stimulating assignments -- not busywork. This characteristic makes virtually all of the classes enjoyable.

Academic life at Carleton is challenging. Carleton primarily builds its reputation on academic prowess and it takes this responsibility very seriously. All students here have excelled in high school and most graduated near the top of their classes. This makes for a classroom where students perform to a high standard and go beyond it. At the same time however, students are really open to learning together and I have never felt like I couldn't approach someone else for help.

Academic life at Carleton is rigorous. What separates it from being the same kind of daunting "rigorous" as in high school is that you have a lot of time to do the work. Most classes meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This means that you often have all of Tuesday and Thursday to complete an assignment. Only taking three classes means that you can only have three classes worth of work to do, which is great compared to the 5 or 6 classes in high school. Also, having classes spread out over the day allows you to do work at different times. The fact that classes are only 10 weeks means that you start right away and go at a steady pace. This might seem a little overwhelming at first, but it is not hard to keep up once you realize that you need to!

We work hard for our weekends.

Academics at Carleton are rigorous - there's no way of getting around that. Professors expect you to have not only completed the assignments, but put a good bit of thought into them too. Although it takes a little extra time, the reward of interesting, intellectual classroom discussions makes the extra work well worth the effort.

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.