Macalester College Top Questions

Mac is very open and accepting if LGBTQ students. In fact, this year we're pioneering an "all-gender house" where students who associate themselves with any gender, or no gender, can live without having to define themselves. Students are generally informal, some wear flip flops and a hoodie, some wear designer clothes. It's all up to your personal preference. Mac students are generally left or center, we don't have a lot of republicans. People are geared towards human rights, ending racism and any other discrimination. While all opinions are respected, you probably won't get away with being openly, aggressively homophobic here.

Macalester has a huge international student population, but it is a little lacking in the area of domestic diversity. Most domestic students are economically fairly well-to-do and the majority are white. Students are very open to people of different religions, sexualities, etc, but sometimes there does arise a lack of understanding of people from different socioeconomic levels who do not tend to be well-represented at Macalester. Most students are politicall aware, but not all are active. Most are left-leaning, some are apathetic, and a very small number are conservative. Most students don't talk much about how much they'll earn one day!

Mac students are serious about academics and serious about extracurriculars and civic engagement. But the reason I love most Mac students is that we don't take ourselves too seriously, we're a pretty light hearted bunch. Mostly, we're just happy to be at Mac together learning and living together.

Macalester's student body seems to be changing from crazily liberal, pot-smoking hippies to a still liberal group with a few more jocks and Republicans in the mix. The freshmen classes have gotten progressively better-looking over the past four years, but the average Mac kid is still not a "looker." Clothes come mostly from the Salvation Army. Homosexuality is totally accepted. There are a lot of international students but there's a significant divide between domestic and international students. Most students seem to come from fairly wealthy families, but probably less wealthy on average than other private liberal arts schools. The financial aid is great. Students tend to be politically and environmentally aware, but this is a generalization and is certainly not true of everyone. There are a lot of groups at Mac; sports teams tend to stick together.

very open to all people tables in the dining room: 1) a bunch of students who are all on sports teams 2) international students 3/4 random mixes Liberals dominate

As a group students tend to be pretty socially aware, and politically active, and take others for who they are. If you are an outspoken conservative you might feel a little intimidated, but people really want to hear what others have to say, especially if they have different views. Most students are from the midwest, or northeast, but there is a real mixture. What I like best about Macalester is that they do make an effort to have a financially diverse population. Unlike a lot of liberal arts colleges I visited in the east, not everyone is from the upper-middle class. There is a real mix. If a Mac students was talking about how much they'll make one day, they are probably joking about how poor they'll be working for some non-profit while trying to change the world.

Macalester students are generally middle to upper-middle class and very liberal. Most types of students would feel accepted here, except conservative students may feel out of place and forced to be on the defensive all the time.

there are some divides that exist on campus- but the administration is trying to make systemic changes to address those. LGBT students mix with athletes, mix with music majors, mix with environmental activists, mix with economics majors. most students are fairly relaxed in what they wear to class, but take their eduction very seriously. again, it is difficult to type-cast macalester students. you can see a sweater vest, a sundress, sweat pants, skintight jeans, and Teva sandals- all from walking down an all boys hallway.

As an LGBT student of color, I have no problem on campus. There are lots of places for me to talk about myself or my identity if I want to, but it's not required or forced on me. The school is small enough that different kinds of people all interact with each other - there's no room for cliques.

We don't actually have that much racial diversity on campus. Of course, I come from a very diverse town, so I'm privileged in that way, and Mac is a step backward in terms of my interaction with other races. But I think that for many people, it's a step forward. We do have a good amount of religious diversity, but we're highly lacking in the born again and evangelical department. The LGBT community is very present and very accepted. I would echo the same sentiments about socio-economic diversity as I did for racial diversity. People who would feel out of place at Mac: people who think homosexuality is a sin. People who are not politically aware and don't want to be. Conservatives (unless they're looking to sharpen their argumentative skills). People who think prayer should be mandatory in public schools. People who are uncomfortable with the use of marijuana. Most students do not "dress up" to go to class. Four tables of students in the dining hall: the Internationals. the Athletes. the hipsters. the gamers. Macalester students are mostly from Minnesota, nearby Midwest states, the Northwest and the Northeast. Students are politically aware and active. Or at least they pretend to be for fear of being thought ignorant. The question about political views here is not: Are you left, right or center? It's: How far to the left are you? And of course being Green is also very common. Students talk about how much they won't be earning any time soon.