Carson attended and played college basketball at Rutgers University for four seasons. During her college career, Carson played shooting guard and small forward for coach Vivian Stringer as the team entered the NCAA Tournament in each of her first three seasons. Carson was a key-member on the team when they won the Big East title in her first two seasons. In her freshman season, Carson was named a Big East Academic All-Star and won Big East Defensive Player of the Year in her sophomore season. Rutgers had finished second place during Carson's junior season and advanced all the way to the NCAA Championship Game after a 54–53 win over top-seeded Duke. They would end up losing to Tennessee in the final championship game. In her junior season, Carson won Big East Defensive Player of the Year for the second time, was named to the All-Big East First Team, the Big East All-Tournament Team, and to the Kodak All-American Regional Team. During her final season at Rutgers, Carson was the Big East Defensive Player of The Year for a third time making her only the second player in history to achieve such a feat. Following her senior season, Carson entered the 2008 WNBA draft.