Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.54
Liaison Sarah Fortner
Submission Date March 6, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Carleton College
PA-7: Affordability and Access

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.12 / 4.00 Alexandra Miller
Sustainability Program Coordinator
Energy and Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have policies and programs to make it accessible and affordable to low-income students?:
Yes

A brief description of any policies and programs to minimize the cost of attendance for low-income students:

Carleton College meets 100% of demonstrated need for all admitted students. The average financial aid award for students enrolling at Carleton in 2017-18 was $47,000. Carleton also works to reduce the amount of loans that a student has to take out and about half of all students walk away with less than the national average debt.

In addition, the TRIO office offers:
- Scholarship, fellowship, and other financial resource information and exploration
- Textbook, laptop, and reference lending library
- Coordination with Fellowships Office - Each year, Carleton students achieve some of the most prestigious awards for graduate study and travel in many parts of the world.

https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/sfs/prospective/


A brief description of any programs to equip the institution’s faculty and staff to better serve students from low-income backgrounds:

"Class Act" - engaging interested members of the TRIO/SSS and campus community in discussions about socioeconomic class issues and how they might impact the experience of TRIO eligible students at Carleton (organized and facilitated by TRiO/SSS peer leaders)


A brief description of the institution’s programs to guide and prepare students and families from low-income backgrounds for higher education:

Carleton College has many resources to prepare students from low-income backgrounds for higher education. Our Trio/SSS office works with 1st generation and low-income students to provide support throughout their time at Carleton and provides assistance for students seeking fellowships, internships, and graduate and professional schools. Carleton also provides Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowships, which provides a stipend for independent research as well as loan forgiveness if the student chooses to pursue a Masters or PhD.

Specifically, TRIO services include:
- Supplemental advising and mentoring (one-on-one meetings and individualized support)
- Professional writing assistance and tutoring available for all participants
- Peer mentoring program
- Social/Cultural programming
- Informational workshops (study skills, money management, library research, FAFSA and income tax support, etc.)
- Freshman retreats focusing on assessment, resources for success, and networking
- Sophomore retreat focusing on identity, self awareness and empowerment, cultural and spiritual connections, goals clarification, and the impact of these aspects of self on academic pursuits and achievement
- Sophomore Transition program (retreat, resume writing, choosing a major, exploration of career, internship and fellowship opportunities)
- Graduate and professional school exploration and preparation
- Beautiful house location for studying, socializing, relaxation, and community building


A brief description of the institution's scholarships for low-income students:

Carleton College is a partner institution with Questbridge, a naitonal 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works with outstanding low-income students to help them access top-tier educational opportunities. In addition to Questbridge, Carleton is a partner with the Posse Foundation, which works to identify public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Finally, Carleton meets 100% of demonstrated need for every student that attends the college. Typically, 55-60% of the student body receives need based aid.


A brief description of the institution’s targeted outreach to recruit students from low-income backgrounds:

Carleton participates in the Questbrige Conferences, which are held across the country in multiple locations every spring to expose low-income students to what Carleton can offer them. Carleton also provides need based scholarships for all of its seven summer programs. These programs are advertised to a wide range of non-profit offices across the country.


A brief description of the institution’s other policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:

Carleton prioritizes accessibility by insisting that, first and foremost, we meet every admitted student's demonstrated need 100%. Our Financial Aid team works diligently to assess the need of each student, and extends aid to ensure that Carleton is affordable for all students, regardless of family financial status. And when we do provide students with financial aid, it is overwhelmingly in the form of grant and scholarship (the College is set to award ~$53M in financial aid this year, in fact). Beyond that, Carleton has long been a TRIO partner institution, which makes additional institutional resources available for first-generation, low-income students. We also partner with QuestBridge, a national organization that helps high-achieving but under-resourced students find and afford colleges and universities with a proven track record of excellent, accessible financial aid practices.


Does the institution have policies and programs to support non-traditional students?:
No

A brief description of the institution’s scholarships provided specifically for part-time students:

Carleton does not have any part-time students.


A brief description of the institution’s on-site child care facility, partnership with a local facility, and/or subsidies or financial support to help meet the child care needs of students:

None.


A brief description of the institution’s other policies and programs to support non-traditional students:

N/A


Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (tracking accessibility and affordability)? (If data is not available, select 'No'):
Yes

The percentage of entering students that are low-income (0-100):
14.80

The graduation/success rate for low-income students (0-100):
91

On average, the percentage of need that was met for students who were awarded any need-based aid (e.g. as reported to the U.S. Common Data Set initiative, item H2) (0-100):
100

The percentage of students graduating with no interest-bearing student loan debt or for whom no out-of-pocket tuition is required (i.e. the percentage of graduates who have not taken out interest-bearing loans) (0-100):
56

Estimated percentage of students that participate in or directly benefit from the institution’s policies and programs to support low-income and non-traditional students (0-100):
100

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.