Macalester College Top Questions

I Love Macalester, and I feel as if it takes a certain "breed" of student to come here.

I think I pretty much covered anything...oh, gotta plug my department: Anthropology rocks my socks off! The department is so cool and fun...anthro students are definitely the coolest on campus.

I think a student who loves to be in the middle of a vibrant, metropolitan city, constantly seeing new faces walking down the sidewalk, constantly meeting people from very very different walks of life, socio-economic status, completely different cultural backgrounds, etc, wouldn't exactly feel at home at Macalester. Macalester is located in the Twin Cities, which is an area. Campus is not in the middle of a dense urban area where you are likely to be overly-stimulated by multi-culturalism. Macalester's section of St. Paul, plainly put, is rather plain. However, if you're a student that is willing to get on a bus to remove yourself from campus and put yourself in a vibrant place (they do exist in abundance in both cities), Macalester might be for you. A short message for students who are not from the Midwest: the Twin Cities has more to offer than you realize! However, campus is not "in the middle of it all." You have to want to get to know and experience the Twin Cities to actually take advantage of Macalester's urban location, because there is plenty to keep you busy on campus. I love Macalester. It is tempting to stay and work there (not uncommon!). People who graduate from Macalester often choose to live within two miles of campus. However, those who don't stay in Mac-Groveland often go travel in Shanghai or Rome or Quito, because they obtained a serious travel bug from studying abroad, or studying Africa in the classroom. I found studying Africa inside a classroom frustrating. Leaving campus for a semester or two to travel, to study abroad, to do other work outside the U.S. characterizes the Macalester experience. It's hard not to think about that, as I find myself in Buenos Aires at this moment!

The liberal thing can be a bit scary for a conservative thinking about coming to Macalester. Don't let that stop you from coming. I came and I love it here. You will face difficulties during discussions in or out of class, but don't let that discourage you. Even though many people here won't give you the time of day when speaking your thoughts, you will be able to find the true liberals that will respect what you say. Even though they might not believe in what your saying, they will listen and discuss with you.

I really love Mac and have from the moment I visited as a senior in high school. I've met some amazing people and done some things that I'm really proud of. I can't imagine myself anywhere else.

Macalester is awesome and I am extremely happy that I'm here!

sorry, but its too long and I have no more time.

I found that international student seem to take more out of education here then domestics possibly b/c they know what they want when they come here, they have specific goals they are aiming for and macalester is just one stop along the way to these goals. where as not a lot of domestic students think about what they want to do in the long-term, make money, save the world, or whatever. you will get help here with answering these questions, but expect to make a decision quickly and know where it will take you.

Macalester really needs to treat its juniors and seniors better. I understand that the school has to look modern and shiny for visitors, but kitchens, TVs, laundry, food availability, and e-mail are all of a very poor quality.

Did I forget to mention that Macalester is in Minnesota? It is April 28th and the low for the night is 27. The high today was 39. April 28th!!! College is so much better when it's warm out. Go south.... you won't regret it.