Admissions Factors
What Carleton Looks For
Carleton rates 8 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses, academic GPA, class rank, application essay, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent or ability and character and personal qualities.
How Carleton rates each factor
Each college sorts 18 factors into four levels on its Common Data Set.
Very important
Considered
The numbers behind the class
Overall admit rate
21.8%
1,480 of 6,796 applicants
Early decision admit rate
34.6%
Early decision admits equal 51% of the class
Admitted from the waitlist
9.9%
33 of 335 who stayed on it
77% of those who reported a class rank were in the top tenth of their class.
Frequently asked questions
What does Carleton look for in applicants?
Carleton rates 8 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses, academic GPA, class rank, application essay, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent or ability and character and personal qualities.
Does Carleton consider legacy status?
Carleton rates alumni relation as "not considered" in its 2025-26 Common Data Set.
Does Carleton track demonstrated interest?
Carleton rates the level of an applicant's interest as "not considered".
What is Carleton's waitlist acceptance rate?
335 students stayed on the waitlist and 33 were admitted, a rate of 9.9%. The number changes a lot from year to year because it depends on how many admitted students enroll.
What is Carleton's early decision acceptance rate?
Early decision: 263 of 760 applicants were admitted (34.6%), against 21.8% overall. Early pools include recruited athletes and other students with a strong tie to the college, so the gap overstates the boost for an ordinary applicant.
Source: Carleton’s own Common Data Set 2025-26, Section C. Last checked 2026-10-08. The ratings are the college’s own description of its process. Counts are for one entering class.
