Macalester

[Anonymous]

Happy Weekend. Could anyone share feedback on Macalester? We didn't make it to any upper midwestern schools so hoping those with first hand knowledge will share.

My liberal HS Senior seeks a diverse SLAC, not in the middle of nowhere, strong in the sciences, no greek life. 1390 SAT but will take again after more preparation. 4.25 weighted GPA. 3.75 UW.

I'm trying to persuade DC to add a few more schools to the list...

Without visiting, Macalester seems to fit the bill.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like Macalester! I'm an alum from a while back so my knowledge is not current. But they have strengths in the sciences and no greek life. Big emphasis on community service and a clear sense of values. It's in a residential neighborhood so I wouldn't call it urban, but there are amenities you can get to easily.

The lack of a greek life sets up a good campus dynamic, I think. I know that bad things must have happened, but it was so chill. My friends and I often comment how gentle our experiences were compared to what we hear about now. This may be the same at any SLAC, not sure, but I do believe that Mac's emphasis on public service and quirkiness attracts a more gentle kind of student on average.

[Anonymous]

Very few SLACs have big Greek life. Macalester is not special in that regard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very few SLACs have big Greek life. Macalester is not special in that regard.

East coast and southern SLACs have a much bigger Greek influence than most midwestern ones. THe cultures are quite different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like Macalester! I'm an alum from a while back so my knowledge is not current. But they have strengths in the sciences and no greek life. Big emphasis on community service and a clear sense of values. It's in a residential neighborhood so I wouldn't call it urban, but there are amenities you can get to easily.

The lack of a greek life sets up a good campus dynamic, I think. I know that bad things must have happened, but it was so chill. My friends and I often comment how gentle our experiences were compared to what we hear about now. This may be the same at any SLAC, not sure, but I do believe that Mac's emphasis on public service and quirkiness attracts a more gentle kind of student on average.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

My son is at the U (UMTC). I cannot say enough good things about the Twin Cities.

Awesome city to go to school. Tons of green space, tons of culture, nice people and a million urban things to do... theatre, museums, music scene.

And we drove past Macalaster - its nice there.

[Anonymous]

Visited Macalester with my DC.

He was not that taken with it, although I loved the area and the campus. He felt that it had mroe of a pre-professional vibe than he was hoping for -- much emphasis on putting your liberal arts education to work on real life problems / internships at least in the info session / tour.

That part really appealed to me, but my kid was drawn more to places like Grinnell / Kenyon / Carleton. I would have been happy if he'd wanted to apply to Macalester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Visited Macalester with my DC.

He was not that taken with it, although I loved the area and the campus. He felt that it had mroe of a pre-professional vibe than he was hoping for -- much emphasis on putting your liberal arts education to work on real life problems / internships at least in the info session / tour.

That part really appealed to me, but my kid was drawn more to places like Grinnell / Kenyon / Carleton. I would have been happy if he'd wanted to apply to Macalester.

My DS felt exactly the same way after visiting Macalester. He ended up at Grinnell.

[Anonymous]

My kid had the stats for Carleton, Grinnell, and Macalester. I told her if she got into all three I wouldn't pay for Macalester because it made no sense to pay the same money for a school that's clearly not as good as the other two. So she didn't even apply. In the end she got into the other two, and chose Grinnell both because she liked the vibe better than Carleton and because she gave her significant merit money. A very smart decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid had the stats for Carleton, Grinnell, and Macalester. I told her if she got into all three I wouldn't pay for Macalester because it made no sense to pay the same money for a school that's clearly not as good as the other two. So she didn't even apply. In the end she got into the other two, and chose Grinnell both because she liked the vibe better than Carleton and because she gave her significant merit money. A very smart decision.

My mom went to Grinnell and loved it, and I’ve visited Carleton and it’s bucolic. But OP’s kid doesn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere, so Macalester is a better fit in terms of location. It’s a five minute drive from my house, and has a nice sized campus in a semi-urban but easygoing setting. I went to the U and Harvard, and probably would have pulled my hair out in Iowa, and Northfield for that matter. Top notch SLACs, but other factors can really affect the experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very few SLACs have big Greek life. Macalester is not special in that regard.

East coast and southern SLACs have a much bigger Greek influence than most midwestern ones. THe cultures are quite different.

Which East Coast SLACS have big greek scenes? Some do but I don't think most do. And there are greeks at midwestern SLACs. Kenyon comes to mind. Denison and Ohio Wesleyan also have frats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid had the stats for Carleton, Grinnell, and Macalester. I told her if she got into all three I wouldn't pay for Macalester because it made no sense to pay the same money for a school that's clearly not as good as the other two. So she didn't even apply. In the end she got into the other two, and chose Grinnell both because she liked the vibe better than Carleton and because she gave her significant merit money. A very smart decision.

My mom went to Grinnell and loved it, and I’ve visited Carleton and it’s bucolic. But OP’s kid doesn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere, so Macalester is a better fit in terms of location. It’s a five minute drive from my house, and has a nice sized campus in a semi-urban but easygoing setting. I went to the U and Harvard, and probably would have pulled my hair out in Iowa, and Northfield for that matter. Top notch SLACs, but other factors can really affect the experience.

I realize that the other schools are too remote for OP's kid. If she is happy to pay more than what the school is worth so her kid can be in St Paul, well, so be it. It's her money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid had the stats for Carleton, Grinnell, and Macalester. I told her if she got into all three I wouldn't pay for Macalester because it made no sense to pay the same money for a school that's clearly not as good as the other two. So she didn't even apply. In the end she got into the other two, and chose Grinnell both because she liked the vibe better than Carleton and because she gave her significant merit money. A very smart decision.

Puhlease... Fit should be more important than relatively small differences in quality measured in some dimension. I say that as someone who graduated from Carleton. With your snobbish attitude I would worry that your kid (if such attitude were passed to your kid) might not fit the vibe for either Carleton or Grinnell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid had the stats for Carleton, Grinnell, and Macalester. I told her if she got into all three I wouldn't pay for Macalester because it made no sense to pay the same money for a school that's clearly not as good as the other two. So she didn't even apply. In the end she got into the other two, and chose Grinnell both because she liked the vibe better than Carleton and because she gave her significant merit money. A very smart decision.

Carleton and Grinnell are in the middle of nowhere. All things equal, Macalester is the best of both worlds. SLAC in an urban environment. If only there were more colleges like this, my D would be more open to SLACs! I love Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

[Anonymous]

Another SLAC worth a look is Kalamazoo.