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"Students who participate in collaborative learning and educational activities outside the classroom and who interact more with faculty members get better grades, are more satisfied with their education, and are more likely to remain in college. ... Those are among the major findings of the latest annual National Survey of Student Engagement." -- The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 17, 2006

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Academic Support Center

The mission of the Academic Support Center (ASC) is to support and guide all Carleton students in their pursuit of academic excellence. ASC programs and services provided students with individual and group opportunities to develop as active learners. ASC professional and student staff challenge students to explore their own ideas through critical thinking and problem-solving.

We engage in this process by acting as listeners, collaborators, guides, and facilitators. The ASC provides assistance through the Carleton Writing Center, individual ESL tutoring, the Prefect Program, and the Math Skills Center. We also offer individualized academic tutoring and study skills coaching by request.

All ASC programs and services are free. The Carleton Writing Center and the Math Skills Center are open to all students. For help in other areas, please refer to the appropriate web page. If you are not sure where to turn, contact Robbie Groth, Program Assistant, Academic Support Center, or Kathy Evertz, Director of the Academic Support Center.

What's It Like to Use the Math Skills Center?

Kaitlin Randolph ('12) has produced a three-minute video tour of and introduction to the wonderful world of Russ Petricka & Co.! Watch it here.

 

Are you working on a personal statement for a fellowship, scholarship, or application to grad, med, or law school?  Click here for advice from those who've tried and succeeded!

The Best Places to Study: Top Picks From Experienced Students

The Noisiest Places (if you're someone who likes or needs white noise)

  • Sayles Snack Bar/Great Space
  • Blue Monday
  • 4th Libe (not as noisy as the Snack Bar or Blue Monday)
  • The Cave for coffee night, five days a week!  Good music, good people, good coffee!
  • If you like white noise and/or distractions, it's hard to beat upper Sayles, which is now much more comfortable with the new furniture and has the added convenience of a ready supply of caffeine just a floor below.  Only drawback is that sometimes it can be hard to find a space during peak hours.

The Quietest Places

  • Sayles classrooms
  • For buckling down and getting to work: study rooms on first Libe
  • Chapel basement or balcony
  • 1st floor Hulings near the fish tanks
  • The Libe:  the fifth floor, the third floor near the mac lab, the study carrels near the windows on third and second... and the tables on first.
  • The lounge in the OIL office
  • When it's nice out: the Von Trapp memorial in the Arb, Stewsie Island, the Bald Spot
  • The picnic table by the river (behind Archer House)
  • Lyman Lakes (if you like being outdoors)
  • The lounge next to the Math Skills center in the CMC (yes, even English majors use it!)
  • The Writing Center annex (206 Scoville)
  • Out of the way (but with some traffic/nice windows):the Boliou front lounge (also good on rainy days)
  • Seldom-used computer lab: basement of Willis
  • Grassy spot away from campus but with Carleton wireless: the grass in Central Park in front of Parish House
  • If you are in Watson, use the Watson dining room, or as my floor used to call it, "the zen room." Hardly anyone goes down there unless they're having a dinner party. 
  • For sciences, the link in Mudd and Olin (it's quiet but has access to help)
  • The Libe, for obvious reasons -- specifically the desks by the colorful lights on second and third.
  • You can't beat the dorm main lounges!  Not every dorm has them (the ones in the Complex, for instance, don't) but if you live in Nourse, Myers, Goodhue, or Evans (not sure about Musser or Watson) they are large, comfortable, have both tables for writing/working space and couches if you prefer to read them, and are almost always close to empty even in peak hours!
  • Most of the dorms and houses--including Parish and Goodhue in particular, have "study rooms" in the basement that can be a nice intermediate step between one's room and leaving "home"
  • Frank Shigemura Room (Willis)
  • "The Rookery" (Library)
  • On cold days:the third floor Laird lounge
  • Nourse Lounge (1st Floor Nourse)
  • Quietest places with pretty views for reading: window seats on 1st Libe, under the back stairs
  • Quietest places with pretty views for writing: Window carrels on 1st and 2nd Libe

Study Spaces Where You're Likely to Meet Classmates

  • Lower Libe (likely to find other students)
  • Math Skills Center (very likely to find other students)
  • CS Labs (for CS work only, nearly guaranteed to find other students)
  • The lounge or common area for the subject you're studying, such as the Classics Lounge or the Asian Studies Lounge. There you are more likely to meet with other members of your class, and you are also closer to the professors' offices if you get really stuck, or need help from them.

Best Places to Study Off Campus

  • Bittersweet Coffee (the best!)--also good for comfort-food-fueled studying
  • Blue Monday
  • The Hideaway
  • The picnic table by the river (behind Archer House, downtown)
  • Grassy spot away from campus but with Carleton wireless: the grass in Central Park in front of Parish House

Contact Information

Academic Support Center
Scoville Hall 203
One North College St
Northfield, MN 55057
(507) 222-4027
(507) 222-5463 (Fax)

Student Line:
(507) 222-4142