<oking to chat in Gujarati over coffee in Sayles? Ride the Cannon in an 11-foot-long sailboat—built from scratch? Go wolf-tracking on the weekends? (What is wolf-tracking?) Luckily, the class of 2012 has arrived, and the 493 fresh-faced first-year Carls are brimming with talents, interests and experiences that run the gamut from the out-of-this-world (airplane flying, go with the pun) to the inspirational (founding a nonprofit) to the plain ol’ capital-q-Quirky (officer in a DDR club).
But despite their varied pasts, dazzling resumes and seemingly endless supply of exciting adventures to talk about—I mean, who hasn’t climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro?—this class does have some things in common with each other and with the rest of us here at Carleton.
According to Dean of Admissions Paul Thiboutot , “this class keeps up fine traditions and excellent abilities of previous classes, and are parallel to measures of last three or four classes at Carleton.” Thiboutot noted that the class had some impressive statistics regarding admission figures. In addition to racking up similar numbers of students in the top tenth of their class, not one student in this year’s entering class was in the bottom half. “Not that we’ve had many in the past,” said Thiboutot , “but this year every single student was in the top half of their class.”
Additionally, after last year, the College “was expecting the yield [of students] to go down, but it didn’t; the acceptance record was the lowest in the history of the school (27%), which is the most selective numerically that we’ve had.” Translation: these new Carls have earned their (Dacie Moses) cookies.
Other notable trends from the class of 2012 include especially worldly. Thiboutot reported that this year’s class has 38 international students, among the highest number the College has seen, from countries including Nepal, Bosnia, Bangladesh, Mynamar and Senegal. Additionally, twelve students delayed a year before starting Carleton; many of those students spent the year abroad.
So the next time you’re looking to play broomball with a U.S. Figure Skating Championship-level skater, or discuss the next picks for your radio show with a violinist who has played at venues like, oh, the White House, look no further than the class of 2012. Sure, they might shake hands and introduce themselves to everyone, or not know where the SCIC is, but with talents, credentials and interests as impressive as the Carls of 2012, how could you resist? Bring on the future!