Am I a good fit for Macalester?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Macalester College
1

Hi all,

I am a first-year undergraduate student looking to transfer for personal reasons you can read about here (http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/17954948). I have a few questions about Macalester and I was hoping some students/alums/parents could fill me in.

  1. How LGBT-friendly is the college? If I came out, would students be accepting? Can I obtain gender-neutral housing?

  2. How good is the financial aid?

  3. What is the neuroscience program like? Can anyone “on the inside” tell me about how strong it is? Do you feel it’s prepared you for “the world beyond?”

  4. What are the disability services like at Macalester? I had no trouble transferring my learning disability accommodations from my high school to my current institution - is Macalester a supportive environment for people like that?

  5. How is the campus vibe? Is it laid-back, high-stress, preppy, hippie, or something else? What kind of students does Macalester usually attract?

  6. Is alcohol/drinking prevalent on campus?

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

  • deepseafish
2

Full disclosure- I am neither alum/student nor parent, but rather have many friends who are, so this information is more second than first hand. That said, Mac is exceedingly LGBT-friendly in contrast to most campuses (outside of, say San Francisco). Transgender issues are still somewhat new territory, so some unforeseen issues may arise, but staff and students are open to discussion and working things out. See http://www.macalester.edu/multiculturallife/lgbtq/transatmac/ if you haven’t already for more resources.

I can’t speak to gender-neutral housing, as I’m not familiar with their housing policies.

Financial aid depends greatly on your family’s EFC. I would say that you should expect to come out with some debt, but not unreasonable in contrast to other LAC’s.

No direct experience with neuroscience, but their biology programs in general are exceptional for an LAC. We have many of their undergrads participating in research projects at the U of M, and the labs they have on campus are top-notch.

Macalester is very supportive and encouraging for all students. You should also have no issue transferring your disability accomodations.

Campus vibe is (IMO) liberal and academically rigorous. Not high-stress and not competitive, but there is a definite expectation of effort, support and quality from the students. Not preppy in terms of mind-set, but not hippie in terms of clothing. Nicely dressed hippie, I guess. People who know they are smart and are neither ashamed nor needlessly proud of that fact, and are genuinedly curious about a range of study. Not a lot of partying… more the hang out in a coffee shop, or listen to some local music scene.

You’d be hard pressed to find a campus where alcohol isn’t present, but it’s not big at all on campus. Next to no ‘parties’ in the traditional college sense. If anything, I’d say there was more pot (which is illegal in MN, but you might not know it) than booze on campus. A large group of drug/booze-free students as well.

Sorry I can’t give you more first-hand information, but hopefully this helps a little. Good luck!

3

Just a note on Neuroscience- there are very few job prospects for people with only a BS in neuroscience, especially from an LAC. You are looking into either graduate school (more research jobs) or medical school (more medical jobs), right? I would personally choose to go to a larger research university to prepare for grad or med school.