Carleton College Advising Handbook FAQs

Where do I get my books?

You will be able to purchase textbooks, manuals, and all necessary materials at The Carleton Bookstore located in the Sayles-Hill Campus Center. Most instructors hand out a list of required texts the first day of class; the bookstore also has a complete listing of required and recommended texts for each course. Once you’ve registered, you can order or look up the textbooks for your classes on the bookstore website: www.carletonbookstore.com. Just follow the textbook links. You can also call the bookstore with questions at 1-800-799-4148 or email them at bookstore@carleton.edu. If your placement in certain courses (e.g., foreign language) will not be definite until early in the term, it is advisable to delay purchase of these textbooks until exact placement and registration are confirmed.

What has to be done to fulfill the writing requirement?

Carleton's writing requirement has three components. First, you must successfully pass an argument and inquiry seminar - a writing rich course. Second, you must turn in a portfolio by the middle of your sixth term at Carleton. Information on the portfolio can be found at Carleton's Writing Program web site. You will also be receiving an actual portfolio when you arrive on campus. Third, you must complete another writing rich course sometime before you graduate. All writing rich courses are designated by a WR2 and are offered in most departments.

Will I have an adviser to help me register?

You will be assigned an academic adviser after summer registration, but before you arrive on campus. To advise you over the summer we have a number of staff and students to help you -- their numbers are listed on your New Student Checklist, which was in Mailing #1. In addition, the Course Navigator on the New Students site will help you organize your registration decision-making process.

O.K. So I'll take three courses my first term. How do I know which ones to take?

All students must pre-register online for one Argument and Inquiry Seminar, specially designed for first-year students. In order to enroll in one, you can find the link on the New Student Checklist on the New Student Website. Or through Course Navigator (see the New Student Website, under Registration, at http://go.carleton.edu/new). Almost all students who have not fulfilled the language requirement enroll in a language class sometime during their first year. If you place into Spanish 103, for instance, you'll wait until spring term to enroll. If you decide to start Japanese, you'll want to enroll your first term.

What else? All departments have courses designed for incoming students. For complete course descriptions, see the academic catalog.

You will meet with your adviser during New Student Week and have a chance to drop/add courses you have registered for before classes begin.

What is "scrunch"?

"Scrunch" refers to Carleton's Satisfactory/ Credit/No Credit (S/Cr/NC) grading option

How do I know what courses are available?

Consult the Registrar's office website at: www.carleton.edu/campus/registrar/schedule.html

What are the departmental policies on AP scores and placement?

See the Prior Credits Policy on the Registrar’s web site.

What are Curricular Distributions?

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Curricular Exploration requirements require you to take 36 credits in six different areas. The specifics of this will be available in the Academic Catalog, but you needn’t worry about these requirements too much at first: no matter what you take your first term, you will inevitably be fulfilling some requirements.

Global Understanding requirements require you to take six credits in a course that deal with International Studies and six credits in a course that deals in Intercultural Domestic Studies as well as earn proficiency in a language other than English.

Quantitative Reasoning requires three courses designated as a “Quantitatively Rich Encounter.”

Writing requirements require you to take a first-year "Argument and Inquiry" seminar, an additional six credit writing course, and submit a revised writing portfolio the spring of your sophomore year.

Physical Education requirements require you to take four terms of physical education, all of which can be fulfilled by participating in approved club sports.

What do those letters at the end of course descriptions mean?

Requirement Codes as indicated on each course description or in schedule of courses

Pertains to students matriculating Fall 2010 and thereafter:

AI = Argument and Inquiry Seminar (6 credits required)
ARP = Arts Practice (6 credits required)
FSR = Formal or Statistical Reasoning (6 credits required)
HI = Humanistic Inquiry (6 credits required)
IDS = Intercultural Domestic Studies (6 credits required)
IS = International Studies (6 credits required)
LA = Literary/Artistic Analysis (6 credits required)
LP = Language Proficiency, in a language other than English
LS = Science with Lab (6 credits required)
NE=No Exploration Credit
PE=Physical Education. (Four terms of physical education, all of which can be fulfilled by participation in approved club sports)
QRE = Quantitative Reasoning Encounter (3 courses required)
SI = Social Inquiry (6 credits required)
WR1=Designates the Writing Component of an AI Seminar
WR2 = Second Writing Rich Course (6 credits required)

Pertains to students who matriculated prior to Fall 2010 (see 2009-2010 Carleton College Catalog)

AL = Arts and Literature (12 credits required)
HU = Humanities (12 credits required)
SS = Social Sciences (18 credits required)
MS = Mathematics and Natural Sciences (18 credits required)
RAD = Recognition and Affirmation of Difference
WR = Writing Rich
ND=No Distribution Credit

What should I do to prepare for placement tests?

The purpose of the placement tests is to make sure you get into the right course for you. Cramming for them is not going to be useful -- to you or to us. Reviewing a subject you probably haven't looked at for three months, though, is a good idea.

Do I have to take the placement tests?

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Certain SAT II scores may exempt you from some placement tests. For specifics on other placement tests, view the Placement Testing information on the New Students site and Carleton’s Prior Credits Policy on the Registrar's web site.

When do Carleton students declare a major? If I already know what I want to major in, can I declare a major early?

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Carleton students declare majors spring term of their sophomore year. Students cannot declare earlier. Why not? We expect you will spend at least part of your first two years exploring the different fields of study that are part of a liberal arts curriculum. It’s amazing how often interests change on encounter with different subjects at the college level! We really want first-year students to strive for variety and exploration in all the distribution groups. We know, though, that some students enter college already planning to major in a certain field, while others have narrowed the possibilities. If you think you know what you want to major in, check the department web site to see if the department you are considering has suggested particular courses or sequences appropriate for first-year study.

Are courses at St. Olaf available to me?

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Yes. By special arrangement and if space is available, students may take courses at St. Olaf College which are not offered at Carleton. These courses count as part of the total credit load for the term. Contact the Registrar's Office for more information.

What do I need to know about the 3-3 calendar?

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You may have already noticed unusual features of Carleton's calendar. In some ways, it resembles the quarter calendar some of your friends or siblings may be on, but there are significant differences. Our academic year is divided into three terms—roughly ten weeks in length—with the school year running from early September to early June. Students generally enroll in only three six-credit courses each term (credits for participating in music and drama activities are extra). You register three times a year, changing courses each term after talking with your adviser.

What does this mean in practical terms? For one thing, while students at semester schools have to fit their course work into eight terms over four years, Carleton students have twelve terms. A student planning to major in chemistry at a semester school probably needs to start chemistry the first term of the first year—the second semester at the latest—or the student will run into trouble fitting in all the requirements. Because you have twelve terms at Carleton, you can enter a major a bit later; in fact, Carleton students don't declare majors until the end of the sophomore year. As a result, Carleton professors recommend you spend some of your first year trying out new subjects.

What is a concentration?

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Students may elect to complete one of Carleton’s 16 concentrations in addition to a major. A concentration is an integrated interdisciplinary program that may strengthen and complement a major, but a student majoring in any department could potentially participate in any concentration. Concentrations bridge the boundaries of academic disciplines, promote communities of learning, and relate academic studies to the kinds of issues and opportunities students confront outside of Carleton.