Macalester College Top Questions

Class participation is common and expected in all disciplines (including natural sciences). Mac students have intellectual conversation outside of class. The workload is not too much, but there are high expectations. For example, you may only have one big (10+ pages) paper per semester, but it had better be the best damn paper you have ever written... so you may spend the amount of time that a 20 page paper normally requires.

Academics at Mac is good, probably on the same level as you'll find anywhere. The education here can be shaped into whatever you want to get out of it; if you want to gear towards a profession or grad school and have extensive research experience, all you need to do is ask. If you'd rather float through and take it easy, a kind of $160,000 pleasure cruise, you can do that too. It is what you make it. Discussion classes that actually have pertinent, engaging discussions are fairly hard to come by, although whether that's due to the students or professors I can never tell. Most of the time people just make dumbfuck remarks because they like the sound of their own voice. That might be a little harsh, because I just got out of one those classes 20 minutes ago and am still grating my teeth over another wasted hour, but people do have a propensity for stupid comments. I have had good discussion classes, one in particular taught by Professor Cooey called "Jesus, Dissent and Desire" was extremely interesting and Paula fostered very good discussions. Professors at Mac are, by and large, extremely good and very open, friendly and helpful. I don't have a bad thing to say other than that some of my professors have been pretty boring, but those ones have been kind enough to let me sleep through class. Geology (which is my primary major, followed by German) is the most amazing department at Mac, the professors are hilarious and great.

Professors do know students names, because class sizes are so small. Professors tend to get overwhelmed if there are more than 25 students in a class. Students are engaged with their academics, they aren't afraid to bring their questions to professors or to talk about them in the cafeteria. It really is a model for a liberal arts institution, where intangible skills and thinking are emphasized more than jobs, unless you are an economics major.

Academics are generally good at Macalester. Professors usually know each student and are willing to personally spend time them. Every class has a different dynamic, depending on the department. Science classes tend to be more focused and down-to-earth. Humanities classes are often full of people that talk to hear their own voices. Some classes are more open to differing opinions than others. I dislike Macalester's academic requirements. They are heavily biased toward humanities, especially toward things like poli sci and international studies. The requirements for "quantitative thinking" are pathetic in comparison. The large number of general education requirements, in addition to a major, make it difficult to take courses that interest you but aren't required for graduation.

Our classes are large for a school of our size, primarily because we don't have very many permenant faculty. Our profs are switching to a system that allows them to go on sabatical (a year off w/no teaching/campus interaction for research) once every 3 years instead of once every seven. This means more visiting profs (who are actually mostly grad students from the U of M - other schools would call them TA's), lower academic standards and the guarantee that if you do find a mentor at Mac they'll be gone for one full year during your 4 years at Mac. Other schools provide a much higher quality of education, Mac's is only getting worse.

Academics at Macalester are simply great. Classes are really small (one of my classes this semester has 4 students in it) and you get to know the professors very well, if you feel comfortable doing so. Mac students are not particularly competitive but we LOVE to have long, intellectual discussions on anything and everything, bouncing ideas off each other. Usually these discussions end up being pretty hilarious. The environment in the class room can be relaxed but the level of performance professors expect is very high. I went to visit a friend in Harvard and felt completely comfortable participating in a discussion with people three years older than me. Mac professors don't like it when students just go on about something without substance, they are supportive and love initiative but they expect a high standard of involvement and effort. Professors often eat lunch with students and sometimes hold get-togethers in their homes. I don't feel pressured to decide what to do and have not yet thought of a job when I graduate, but the resources to find internships or a job are available for everyone. I really feel free to explore and learn without necessarily having to ask "am I going to make money with this?" I'm 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} pleased with the academics here.

Most students study a LOT. Most classes here, and certainly upper level classes, require tons of reading and lots of out-of-class work in order to master the material and get a good grade. Macalester students definitely have lots of intellectual conversations outside of class as well. Class participation is common in most classes when it is invited by professors; some classes are more lecture based. My major is Anthropology, which has a friendly department, offering tea and hot chocolate for anyone who stops by, and several computers that students can use, as well as a lounge for doing homework. My minor is Creative Writing, which also has a great faculty.

It's tough, no doubt about that. Expect to spend much more time our of class studying and reading and writing and preparing than you actually spend in a classroom. Mostly, be prepared to think outside of the bubble.

Professors always know your name. Students are encouraged to look for connections between classes, which certainly happens in environmental studies and this makes the department a lot stronger. There are a lot of great professors and a few mediocre ones. Students mostly love participating, sometimes a little too much, which occasionally seems to irritate professors. Students aren't competitive in the traditional sense but they do love to talk a lot and will have lengthy discussions at the slightest provocation. Academics are definitely geared towards learning for its own sake; as a senior I feel totally unprepared for a job but would definitely say that I have a strong understanding of topics related to environmental studies.

know profesors by name favorite class: catholicism least: organic chemistry many intellectual conversations not competitive economics is big/very good/well-known/rigorous been to some professors houses for dinner not geared toward getting job in most cases