<t time of the year - the weather is starting to turn, homework is starting to take a toll on our physical well-being, and sleep is difficult to come by. Some of you incoming freshman may be intimidated by the work load. Many students here, as we all know, are not from Minnesota, or even the United States for that matter, and adjusting to this college thing may be difficult. I'm sure I am not the only one here who has felt stressed out or had doubts run through my mind about whether or not I am capable of balancing my various extra-curricular activities.
Although I am not proud of it, I have found myself asking “Am I really supposed to be here? Do I really think I am capable of doing well at one of the most challenging liberal arts colleges in the country?” If you have found yourself asking similar questions or feeling overwhelmed, I am going to (hopefully) reassure you a bit that this is where you are supposed to be- Carleton College in Northfield, MN.
Let’s start out with some basic statistics. In 2008, 2.7 million students graduated from high school. For some, that was it! Yippee, high school is over, and now it’s time to find a job or just bum around in Mom and Dad’s basement playing video games. Obviously, this thought did not cross many Carleton students’ minds (or maybe it did…). In any case, out of the 4,146 colleges in the United States, 4,898 students decided it would be a good idea to apply to Carleton College.
Students from the Midwest, students from Texas, Florida, California, New York, students from other parts of the world decided that they were interested in attending a very unique, challenging, and prestigious liberal arts college in Northfield, MN. Students that have never seen snow, students that have never flown, students that have never even been to the United States before decided to take the time to fill out the application for Carleton College (well, technically the Common Application but you get the idea).
There are 1,937 students enrolled at Carleton. More than twice that amount of students applied for Freshman admission alone. So, of those 4,898 brave souls that made the move to apply here, only 487 were actually accepted, enrolled, and are now here.
Look around you. That person walking next to you could be your future husband or wife. The person that sits behind you in your math class could be your nurse someday. The kid that lives a few rooms down from you could be your best friend in the whole entire world. Even better, look at the face staring back at you in the mirror- it could be the face of a future doctor or lawyer, an influential politician or journalist, an up and coming musician or artist.
So out of the millions of students that have graduated high school in the past four years, and out of the 4,146 colleges in the country, and out of the 195 countries in the world, and out of the 18,000 or so applicants to Carleton over the past four years, 1,937 were accepted and made the decision to attend Carleton. So, you are here for a reason, whether you know it yet or not.