Carleton College

Carleton College maintains a selective admissions environment, though its acceptance rate is relatively accessible when evaluated against its direct peers. In the 2027 U.S. News National Liberal Arts Colleges ranking, Carleton placed 16th, having shifted from 8th in 2018. For 2025, the college reported an overall admit rate of 20.4%, an acceptance figure that was higher than 77% of peer institutions in its comparison group of private liberal arts colleges. Meanwhile, the yield rate stood at 34.8%, which was higher than 40% of peer schools. Because well under half of admitted applicants ultimately decide to enroll, Carleton shares many accepted candidates with other selective liberal arts institutions. For families building an application strategy, these figures indicate that while Carleton remains an elite destination, its acceptance rate provides somewhat wider entry odds than the most restrictive liberal arts colleges in the country.

Carleton College expects strong academic preparation from its applicant pool, as reflected in the standardized test profiles of enrolled students. For the entering class of 2025, the median SAT score reached 1515, placing Carleton higher than 70% of peer schools in its comparison group of private liberal arts colleges. Applicants submitting ACT results demonstrated comparable academic strength, with enrolled students posting a middle 50% composite score range between 32 and 34. On the SAT, competitive applicants typically present scores approaching the upper boundaries of both the Reading and Math sections. While high test results align with the credentials of admitted candidates, successful applicants also demonstrate demanding high school coursework and strong performance across their academic curricula. Prospective students evaluating Carleton should target scores near or above these institutional midpoints to remain competitive within a selective national applicant pool.

Carleton College demonstrates distinct academic strengths within the liberal arts, though degree conferrals are distributed across several core disciplines. The top three undergraduate majors accounted for 36.6% of all bachelor degree recipients in 2025. The single largest discipline was Computer Science, which graduated 93 students, with international students making up 20.4% of those degree earners. However, program rankings show that size does not correspond directly to national standing: Computer Science was ranked 193rd in 2027 by U.S. News, placing it outside top-tier standing, whereas the college's economics program achieved a higher ranking at 62nd. Earnings data from 2023 reveal substantial salary divergence by field one year after graduation, led by Computer Science graduates who achieved median earnings of $88,594. For prospective students, Carleton offers substantial earning power in technical fields alongside traditional academic strengths in the social sciences.

Carleton College's undergraduate community features a predominantly domestic enrollment with steady international and Asian student representation across its classes. Among entering first-year students in 2025, international students numbered 54, representing 10.7% of the incoming cohort. Asian students comprised a closely matched demographic, numbering 53 students, which accounted for 10.5% of new freshmen. Across both first-year and returning cohorts, White students constitute slightly more than half of the student population, with Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students forming the remainder. Because the college enrolls no graduate students, all campus organizations, research opportunities, and residential communities are shaped entirely by these undergraduate cohorts. For incoming applicants, the campus profile provides an undergraduate-focused setting where international and Asian students maintain consistent visibility within a closely knit student body.

Carleton College educates an exclusively undergraduate student body consisting almost entirely of traditional college-aged students. In 2025, all 2,128 students were undergraduates, with no graduate students enrolled. Among these undergraduates, students aged 20 to 21 made up 46.8% of enrollment, while those aged 18 to 19 accounted for 43.9%. Students aged 22 to 24 represented another 7.9%, leaving virtually no representation in older age brackets. Because the vast majority of the student body falls within a narrow age span from 18 to 21, campus organizations and daily student life center on peers at the same stage of early adulthood, without the presence of graduate-level cohorts.

International enrollment at Carleton College has shown long-term stability over the past decade. In 2025, international students comprised 10.5% of the undergraduate population, holding steady compared to 2016 levels. This proportion placed Carleton higher than 40% of peer schools in its comparison group of private liberal arts colleges. At the graduate level, Carleton enrolls no students, maintaining a focus centered entirely on undergraduate degree candidates. Among degree recipients in 2025, international students accounted for 11.4% of all bachelor graduates. In terms of major selection, international graduates concentrated most heavily in Computer Science, where international students represented 20.4% of the department's graduating class. Other quantitative and social science programs, including econometrics and international relations, also drew notable international enrollment. For foreign students considering liberal arts colleges, Carleton offers a steady global presence with clear pathways into high-demand technical and analytical disciplines.

Families exploring higher education options near Carleton College have several institutions to consider within Minnesota. Located in the same town just 1.4 kilometers away is St Olaf College, a liberal arts college ranked 49th. Further north in the Twin Cities area, Macalester College is situated 32.9 kilometers away and holds the 28th rank among national liberal arts colleges. In the same metropolitan vicinity, University of St Thomas sits 33.3 kilometers away, ranked 156th among national universities, while the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is located 35.5 kilometers away and ranked 59th among national universities. These surrounding colleges offer prospective students alternative environments ranging from nearby liberal arts settings to large public and private research universities.

Campus safety records at Carleton College show a marked decline in reported safety incidents over the last decade. The crime rate per 1,000 students dropped from 30.3 in 2016 to 17.9 in 2025. Between 2023 and 2025, disciplinary referrals for substance violations constituted the largest share of recorded incidents, led by 90 alcohol disciplinary referrals and 21 drug disciplinary referrals. Beyond substance infractions, interpersonal misconduct accounted for other reported incidents, including 30 dating violence cases and 22 rape reports, alongside instances of sexual harassment and stalking. These figures show that substance policy violations and interpersonal misconduct represent the primary safety concerns on campus. Prospective students and families reviewing campus safety can see that while alcohol referrals remain the single most common incident type, total weighted rates have trended downward in recent years.