Carleton College

Carleton College is a private, nonprofit school located in the small town setting of Northfield, MN, less than an hour from Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Founded in 1866, Carleton College enrolls 1,940 undergrads and no graduate students. The institution runs on a other academic calendar.

As of 2021, the total market value of the school endowment was $868,695,391. The school spends $32,108 for each full-time student enrolled.

Admissions Facts About Carleton College

Acceptance rate: 21%

Mean ACT score: 32

Offers early decision.

Doesn't offer early action.

Get ready! The 2022 regular decision application deadline for Carleton College is January 15

All regular decision applicants should hear back March 31.

Want to score 32 or higher on the ACT?

Access ACT practice tests and study tips and see upcoming ACT test dates.

What's the acceptance rate at Carleton College in 2021?

Carleton College is a very difficult school to get accepted to. The acceptance rate at Carleton College is 21 percent. In 2021, Carleton College admitted 1,460 of the 6,892 people who applied.

The mean ACT scores is 32.

Is Carleton College a good school?

The definition of a "good school" is different for different people. Admissions difficulty and admitted student statistics can give you a sense of how selective a college is, but they don't say much about the quality of the education or the student experience.

Retention and graduation rates

About 94 percent of students who start at Carleton College come back the next year. Out of the 511 students who started at Carleton College as first-time freshman, 455 graduate within four years.

Carleton College's six-year graduation for undergrads is 483 percent. Compare this to the average six-year graduation rate for colleges and universities in the U.S., which is around 61 percent for public schools and 67 percent for private.

Job outcomes and student debt

Job placement rates after graduation, average starting salaries, and the debt students graduate with can all give important clues about the value of a degree from a specific school. Within six months of graduating, 62 percent of graduates receive at least one full-time job offer.

Recent grads have an average starting salary of $42,000 a year. In 2020, students graduated with an average of $20,025 in student loans for each student with debt. For context, compare this number with the average national debt, which is around $36,000 per borrower.

Based on this information, how does Carleton College sound? Remember, a school that is perfect for one person may not be the right school for another! So the real question to ask yourself: is Carleton College a good school for YOU?

Interested in applying to Carleton College?

Click the heart icon at the top of this page to save Carleton College to your own personal list of colleges.

The deadline to apply to Carleton College for Fall 2022 is January 31. All applicants should hear back from Carleton College by March 31.

Read on to find out more about the admissions requirements and deadlines, student life, academics, majors and more.

Still researching colleges?

Visit the College Confidential forums to join the conversation about Carleton College and get personalized recommendations for colleges and universities that offer what you're looking for in a school.