Carleton College
Northfield, MN · Private nonprofit20.4%
Acceptance rate
1,491
SAT Average
$27,320
Avg net price
2,019
Enrollment
| All fields, 2024-25Bachelor’s 517 |
| Bachelor’s 93 |
| Bachelor’s 83 |
| Bachelor’s 75 |
| Bachelor’s 56 |
| Bachelor’s 40 |
| Bachelor’s 37 |
| Bachelor’s 23 |
| Bachelor’s 23 |
| Bachelor’s 23 |
| Bachelor’s 15 |
| Bachelor’s 15 |
| Bachelor’s 15 |
| Bachelor’s 9 |
| Bachelor’s 9 |
| Bachelor’s 1 |
NCAA program details
- Primary division
- Division III
- Primary conference
- Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Projected sponsored sports20
Athletic participation
398 unique student-athletes · 16 varsity teams
Fall Early Decision
This is a great option if Carleton is your first choice. If we offer you admission through Early Decision, you are required to withdraw all other applications and enroll at Carleton.
Binding · Decision released by Dec 15
Winter Early Decision
This is a great option if Carleton is your first choice. If we offer you admission through Early Decision, you are required to withdraw all other applications and enroll at Carleton.
Binding · Decision released by Feb 15
Regular Decision
Decision released by Apr 1
· Apply with Common App, Coalition, or QuestBridge App
Published on-campus price, 2024–25
- Tuition
- $68,457
- Required fees
- $435
- Food and housing
- $17,586
- Books and supplies
- $938
- Other expenses
- $1,788
- Total
- $89,204
- $74,2752019–2019–20
- $77,1002020–2120–21
- $78,3152021–2221–22
- $81,3502022–2322–23
- $84,8932023–2423–24
- $89,2042024–2524–25
Net price by family income, 2022–23
Students of all incomes paid $27,320 on average. Grants and scholarships covered the rest of the cost.
Net price covers first-time, full-time students who received federal aid.
Need-based aid, 2025–26
- First-years with need-based aid
- 57%
- Average share of need met
- 100%
- Average need-based grant
- $66,762
- Required forms
- FAFSA, CSS Profile, and CSS Noncustodial Profile
Sources
- IPEDS Institutional Characteristics · National Center for Education Statistics · 2025–26
- IPEDS Admissions · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024–25
- College Scorecard · U.S. Department of Education · 2025-10-03
- Application process · College websites · 2026–27
- NCAA Projected Sports Sponsorship by School · National Collegiate Athletic Association · 2025–26
- Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act · U.S. Department of Education · 2024–25
- Common Data Set · Reporting institutions · 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26
- IPEDS Completions · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024–25
- IPEDS Student Charges · National Center for Education Statistics · 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
Every figure below is read directly from Carleton College’s own reported data, with no scores, ratings, or estimates added. Derived from 5 Common Data Set filings (2021–22 to 2025–26).
Carleton College admitted of applicants, a admit rate. Of those, enrolled, a yield, across 5 years of Common Data Set filings.
Carleton College runs two binding Early Decision rounds. ED applicants were admitted at versus for the regular pool, a edge, and ED admits fill of the class.
The enrolled class is roughly international, and about of its domestic students come from out of state. Carleton College admits in-state applicants at 34.7%, out-of-state applicants at 39.3%, and international applicants at 4%.
Enrolled first-years by geography
518 first-years
Admit odds by pool
Test scores are considered but not required. Of enrolled first-years, submitted an SAT and an ACT, down from 33.7% in 2021–22.
Some students submit both an SAT and an ACT, so the two shares overlap. They don’t add up to a single “submitted a test” rate.
SAT composite
39.4% of the class submitted an SAT
Middle 50%
Shape smoothed from reported percentiles and score bands
ACT composite
24.7% of the class submitted an ACT
Middle 50%
Shape smoothed from reported percentiles and score bands
ranked in the top tenth of their high-school class, among the 30.5% who submitted class rank.
High-school class rank
Among the 30.5% of first-years who submitted class rank. Shares are cumulative — students in the top tenth also count in the top quarter and top half.
Carleton College rates 8 factors "very important." Each column reads strongest first.
Academic
- Rigor of secondary school record
- Very important
- Class rank
- Very important
- Academic GPA
- Very important
- Application essay
- Very important
- Recommendation(s)
- Very important
- Standardized test scores
- Considered
Nonacademic
- Extracurricular activities
- Very important
- Talent / ability
- Very important
- Character / personal qualities
- Very important
- Interview
- Considered
- First generation
- Considered
- Geographical residence
- Considered
- Volunteer work
- Considered
- Work experience
- Considered
- Alumni/ae relation
- Not considered
- State residency
- Not considered
- Religious affiliation/commitment
- Not considered
- Level of applicant's interest
- Not considered
Carleton College leaves 2 Common Data Set answers blank — each one hidden below with what it would tell you.
Without the GPA spread, a family can’t see where their transcript lands within the class.
Without the average GPA, there’s no single midpoint to place a transcript against.
Does disclose: SAT / ACT score bands (C9) · Admissions factor grid (C7) · Early Decision applicants & admits (C21) · Students admitted off the waitlist (C2)
Carleton College’s sticker drops once grant aid is applied, and what a family actually pays depends on income. of first-years received need-based aid; a family with no aid pays the full sticker. The school meets of demonstrated need, split into .
What aid recipients pay, by income
net price
Bars read against the $96,087 sticker. Each figure averages only families who received federal aid in that income band (College Scorecard); $27,320 across all aid recipients. Aid share: 293 of 518 first-years in the 2025–26 Common Data Set.
How need-based aid is determined
Cost of attendance − expected family contribution = demonstrated need
Forms a family files to be considered
What that meant in 2025–26
Cost of attendance $96,087
Averages among the 293 first-years awarded need-based aid.
Merit aid reached of the class, or of enrolled first-years. For international applicants, Carleton College offers need-based aid only (no merit for nonresidents): nonresidents received aid, averaging .
Carleton College admitted students off the waitlist, about of the class.
95.9% of Carleton College’s first-years return for a second year and 91.2% graduate within six. Median earnings ten years out are against of median federal debt, roughly a earnings-to-debt ratio.
Sources
- Common Data Set · Reporting institutions · 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26
- College Scorecard · U.S. Department of Education · 2025-10-03