Grinnell is a harder admit (at least in RD) |
My DS considered all of these and we visited all. Agree with visiting St Olaf as a safety. And Grinnell. You can fly into Minneapolis and see Macalester, St Olaf and Carleton and then go to Grinnell in one trip. That is what we did. Separately visited Oberlin and Kenyon in a different trip. |
Thanks! |
I live in the twin cities. This is accurate. It is very residential and doesn’t feel very urban. |
Where did your kid wind up going? We’re looking for a SLAC in an urban area in a blue state so Macalester seems great on paper but I would like more diversity as well. |
I cannot fathom how there is any decision to be made between Macalester and Kenyon. Macalester is just the better school, for just about anything, by a mile. Oberlin is so out there, that that would have to be your vibe. But Mac and Kenyon? Not even worth fretting over for a minute. Unless Kenyon was offering full-ride, it's just not even a choice. |
Wesleyan. We visited all schools on this list, and oberlin was his runner-up to Wes. The school's history on race is almost unreal and inspiring and the college president spoke at an admissions event and she was so impressive. But Wes is closer to extended family and is stronger in his sport. He and we liked Occidental a lot too and I think he would have been very happy there. Amherst has a great reputation for Black students, but was a little out of range. Hope this helps. |
Very helpful! Thanks. And I hope he loves Wesleyan. |
Thanks. He does. Lots of good options, but helps to figure out your values and priorities. |
Two of my kids loved Mac when they applied. One ended up at a similar college on the East Coast and another at a similar college on the West Coast, but Mac is super cool. The Twin Cities are amazing and the culture of Mac is great (artsy, progressive, service focused, international and communal but still practical). Not as intense as Carleton. Not as pretty as Carleton. Much better than Carleton at allowing kids to interact with the real world while in college. |
Pretty extreme statement. As an HYP grad, I never heard of Mac until kid’s college search process, yet well aware of Kenyon. |
So odd to hear this as we just took a science tour at Kenyon and heard that a large number of students hail from the nyc , Ne boarding schools and LA. Hardly the Midwest suburbs! So funny we got such different impressions and info. It is very remote, that I agree with and seems to self select. |
Agree. Extreme and wrong. |
Yes! This was evident on our recent tour. Our guide was a science major and felt it was a really great program (he was getting two degrees - one in music and one in biology I believe) Number of kids going to their first choice for grad school was very high. My son isn't looking at sciences so I don't know much about it for any of the schools. Oberlin seems very different (at least on the surface) from other colleges. Super liberal and really accepting of everyone. I was very impressed. My son is being recruited at Oberlin and Macalester and hopefully Kenyon. Haven't been to Macalester but the distance is not a plus for us. Kenyon is a really nice campus. Seems like a great school. Absolutely zero to do nearby. I drive on a dirt road to get there! Academics seem first rate at Kenyon. I'm sure you know everything about everyone by the time you graduate which could be good or bad. I think any of the three would be great for a science major. |
Seriously?
Kenyon, Oberlin and Mac for STEM? you are trolling, right? |