Kids and faculty are willing – eager - to come from all across the world to a sleepy town in the middle of the Midwest to spend four of the most vibrant years of their lives. I remain surprised at the strong pull Carleton exerts on kids from Paris, New York, the West Coast, Hong Kong, and on and on. That is really, really cool, and it speaks to the strength of Carleton’s faculty, facilities, reputation, and personality.

There's such a variety of different pleasant smells here! When the wind blows from the Malt O'Meal Factory and they're making chocolate cereal, the world smells delicious. Those are good days.

While I came from a very diverse high school in St. Paul, I was surprised by the fact that I met so many people with beliefs outside of what I was accustomed to. Before coming to Carleton, I had never explicitly met a vegetarian or a vegan, had never heard of hummus, and knew next to nothing about environmental issues and being "green". Needless to say, it was a pleasant surprise, as I knew there were still a lot of things that I could still learn about the world outside of class.

I thought Carleton would feel smaller than it does. Carleton has a relatively small student body, so it surprised me that as a junior, I'm still meeting new people on campus.

The buildings here have airlocks. I think they are actually called lobbies, but they look like airlocks. Instead of keeping air in, they're designed to keep cold out, which was a new concept for me. People on the street will make eye contact with you. The administration here actually works. I can ask Student Financial Services a question about a scholarship and get a detailed, relevant answer from a human being. It's refreshingly different from a public high school.

I knew I was going to a prestigious school, so I thought it might be a competitive atmosphere. Yet Carleton students are some of the most humble people I have encountered.

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 so far. 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.

I'm surprised how even though I'm extremely busy with work, I can still manage to have fun and socialize.

I knew I was heading to a great college but I never thought that classes would have such a huge influence on my personal life. Introduction to Islam during my freshmen year taught me more about a religion [about which] I knew most of the fundamentals. The things I learned about the history, philosophy, and theology of Islam reshaped my approach to religion and helped me have a better understanding of the interactions between religious groups and politicians in my home country. Second, I never thought a French class would be one of my greatest learning experiences in college. Cultural Expressions of West Africa's Mande with Professor Cherif Keita made me passionate about cultures from neighboring countries to Senegal. I spent more time exploring the relations between the cultural norms and values of the Mande and the outcome of political crisis in countries where the majority are Mande than studying for my probability final exam. That was the extent of my enthusiasm for the subject.

The small closed community and the high level of interaction with professors.

I was surprised by how nice everyone at Carleton is. I didn't expect that so many people at a school known for the intelligence of its students would also be the most open and inviting people I've ever met.

This may seem silly, but I was surprised to feel that I wanted to get to know and have lengthy conversations with the vast majority of people here. People here do not fit into groups as students typically do in high school. I remember meeting football players who were Classical Studies majors and French majors who were also pre-med.

People constantly defy my expectations. When I first came to Carleton I would meet people and think I had them figured out, only later to discover something fascinating about them that came as a total surprise. Maybe you'll meet a "football jock" who turns out to be a singer/songwriter in his spare time, or a "geeky math nerd" who is also captain of the rugby team, or a girl you assume is vain but who is actually one of the most compassionate people you know.

I was surprised by just how much there is to do at Carleton. You'd have to make an effort to be bored around here. Between the plethora of student-run organizations to the constantly buzzing campus hot spots (including the Libe), Carleton always has an activity for every different type of person.