Any Questions?

<p>Hi all! I am a current freshman at Macalester and just logged on here to see that there have been quite a few new questions what with the second semester well under way! If anyone has any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer just about anything! Caf food, weather, classes, sports, weather, the Cities, the weather... Did I mention that we tend to get a lot of questions about the weather? (:</p>

<p>Even if there are no questions, I wish you all the best of luck in the coming months and hope you all have a great time come September!</p>

<p>Hi grizzzlybelle, and thanks for offering to answer questions. Mine are more general. What were your expectations about Macalester before you arrived, and how has Mac met those expectations? Is it what you thought it would be? Did anything disappoint you? What surprised you? What exceeded your expectations? Also, as a first-year student, how much help do you have from professors and advisors to guide you in selection of courses, majors, etc.? Thanks so much!</p>

<p>“What were your expectations about Macalester before you arrived, and how has Mac met those expectations??”</p>

<p>When applying for colleges, I tried not to have too many school-specific expectations. Overall, I wanted a school where professors were easily accessible, there was a strong school connection (I hesitate to use the phrase “school spirit,” only because for me it conjures up ideas of athletics games, Greek life, etc.), and the community of students was interested in the world as a whole.</p>

<p>Just about all of my professors here have been extremely open to students. Some prefer scheduling appointments while others have open office hours all the time. As a first-year student, most of my outside-of-class professor interaction has been with questions I have about class content, and all of the professors I approached outside of class were more than happy to help me understand something. Every student at Macalester is required to complete a senior capstone or senior seminar (I’m not too familiar with what the specifications are, but it generally varies from department to department) in their junior or senior year. Many of the seniors I know have a very good relationship with their advisor, and this process of capstone/seminar was made much easier because of this relationship and the easy accessibility of professors.</p>

<p>“Did anything disappoint you?”</p>

<p>There must be some larger list of things that I wish the school could change, but right now I can only think of one thing. I came to Macalester hoping to perhaps join an athletic club sport, which I did. After many months of playing and loving it, and discussing club sports with other students on campus, we generally agree that varsity athletics get a very large chunk of change and that other sports do not. Perhaps a varsity athlete (from any school, college or high school level) could chime in here, if they see this? We are D-III athletics, and the “joke” (not really a joke…) is that our varsity teams never win anything. Zip. Nada. Nilch. It’s kind of endearing how badly we do. Going back to my main point, it seems a little excessive how much funding the varsity athletics are given. They get t-shirts, jackets, nice equipment, prime time for practices, and transportation. I’m not saying that they should have all of these things taken away (I don’t actually even know how much they pay for things like t-shirts and jackets, if they pay), but that club sports should get some more funding. A friend of mine is on the Club Ultimate Frisbee team – which last year went to nationals, and might do so again this year – and they literally get almost nothing. They must pay for their own discs, jerseys, and transportation. (In two weeks, they are driving to Georgia for a tournament.) Their practice times are 6:30-8 AM on Wednesdays and 10:30-midnight on Mondays.</p>

<p>“What surprised you?”</p>

<p>I think the generally quirkiness of the student body surprised me. A lot of the time in guidebooks and on websites, Mac is described as having a big devotion to athletics, the global community, etc… which we are! But, I think we can usually also be pretty grounded. People love eating cheese here. Just love it. For anyone who receives Macalester mailers with funny inserts – if you can’t find some kind of humor in those, you may want to consider if you’d fit in as well here compared to other places. Last semester, there was a cow on campus and people were encouraged to go out and pet the cow.</p>

<p>“What exceeded your expectations?”</p>

<p>The amount of community and help there is available on campus truly exceeded my expectations. Every student can get 10 free counseling sessions at the Health and Wellness center per year. Our Dean of Students is always out and about and open to talking to students. (For example, a friend of mine very much wants to graduate in 3 years and had a long conversation with the Dean of Students about if this was possible, what were her reasons, what she would do after three years… all because he was in his office when she walked by.) There are collectives aplenty (Queer Women, White, Mixed, Asian, Working Class, just to name a few) and if you think there’s a group of people who don’t have one, you can make your own to discuss your place in society. The GSRC (Gender and Sexuality Resource Center) has office hours from 7-midnight Sunday - Thursday, and they are always open to talk about gender, sexuality, and any issues you have had with any of those.</p>

<p>“How much help do you have from professors and advisors to guide you in selection of courses, majors, etc.?”</p>

<p>Ok. Every student at Mac has an official advisor. First-year students (until you declare your major, or officially change your advisor) have their advisor assigned to them based on what your first year course is, and each first year course has a maximum of 16 people. Some people choose their first year course based on what they would like to major in, others because the class sounded interesting. I am one of the latter, and my First Year Course advisor has extremely minimal knowledge about the majors I am considering. So, while he was able to help me fix my schedule and get me into classes I wanted to take, he wasn’t particularly helpful in choosing new classes. SO… I consulted my professors from the departments I am considering majoring in. They were wonderful! They told me that many students (particularly those who haven’t declared a major yet) take on unofficial advisors to help them through the process of selecting a major and classes. Before course selection at the end of last semester, one of my professors talked me through all of the possible classes I could take with the pre-reqs I have and explained why she would recommend or not recommend each one.</p>

<p>Thank you so much, grizzzlybelle! That’s the single most helpful posting I’ve seen about a first-year experience at Mac, and that’s saying something because the Mac information has been very good. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer so thoughtfully and thoroughly.</p>

<p>My son has been accepted at Mac and as it’s his first choice, I think it’s likely he’ll be attending in the fall, unless he gets a full ride at his second choice. Mac won him over on several fronts, but I’ve been worried that his information was a little shallow as he hasn’t spent a night on campus and we visited during the summer when most students were away. He’s only talked to a few students and some alumni. Your observations are consistent with all of the other positive things he’s been told. </p>

<p>He liked the balance at Mac. He wants a real campus but not isolated; Mac is exactly that. He also wants a college with students who are serious about their academics but not hyper-competitive and obsessed with GPAs; he has the impression from other students that this describes Mac perfectly – would you agree?</p>

<p>I would definitely agree that students here are not grade-obsessed. People very much want to do well in classes, but I have yet to meet someone who would not take a specific class because it would damage their GPA. (I am under the impression that a good number of people take certain classes with the Pass/Fail designation instead of letter grades; a popular one is Principles of Economics.) There’s also a pretty good balance between work/not work. You can find people doing work on Friday afternoon and Saturday, but it would be a lot easier to find people hanging out.</p>

<p>Hi there! After stumbling upon Mac’s website I was instantly attracted to the school, the courses, small classes, internship opportunities, etc. but I was turned off just as quickly when I read online about the church the school was affiliated with. I’m not religious by any means, and have no problem with people that are, I just don’t feel that a religious school would be the best fit for me.</p>

<p>After looking over the brochure the school sent me, I did not see anything about a church affiliation. Is the school funded/affiliated by/with any churches? Or did I misread something along the way?</p>

<p>how easy is it to make friends for an international ? specifically from Pakistan ?</p>

<p>ashleyz, since grizzzlybelle hasn’t responded yet, I am going to refer you to this earlier thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/macalester-college/1174140-how-religious.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/macalester-college/1174140-how-religious.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>@farfellena thank you very much, that cleared up everything for me, better get that application done!</p>

<p>When are the reguar decisions going to be released for the class of 2016? What do you think are the most important factors when applying to macalester?</p>

<p>Hi Grizzzlybelle, my son got wait-listed. However, on the Collegeboard website, I found Mac accepted 100% students who remained on the waiting list last year. Do you know if it is the same every year? Mac is my son’s first choice.</p>

<p>Hello there – I’m sorry I have taken so long to respond. Between midterms, spring break, and now catching up, it’s been a busy few weeks.</p>

<p>As to religion – I would say that our school is actually not religious at all. I rejected many a school brochure based on religiousness of institution. We have a chapel on campus and a church that used to be part of our campus (but I think no longer is). There are many organizations for religious students of various denominations, and many different churches in the area. I would say that about 90% of my friends on campus are non-religious (by which I mean either atheist or strongly agnostic), but that number may not be applicable to the school at large. Back in the 19th century, a founder accepted an association with the school mainly with the knowledge that a school needs money to prosper. (That’s the story I’ve heard, anyway.)</p>

<p>Regular decision has all been sent out, I think. I’m volunteering to “phone-a-thon” to call accepted students in the coming weeks, and we will be calling accepted students to answer questions for parents and prospective students.</p>

<p>Annycho – I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with the wait list. I would suggest calling the Admissions office, because they might have a better knowledge of that than I do. They might also be able to advise your son on whether or not to submit supplemental material (some schools are pro, others are not). I wish him the best of luck!!!</p>

<p>Another Mac student here. </p>

<p>Annycho, to answer your question, normally it is very hard to get off the Macalester waitlist. None were admitted in 2010 or 2009, and only 11 were admitted in 08. Last year was probably an exception due to an unprecedented influx of applications the college received (about a 50% increase). With that increase in applicants, the yield (as in the percentage of those accepted that actually attend) was overestimated, so admissions had to go to the waitlist to meet enrollment numbers.</p>

<p>This year Mac saw about the same amount as applicants as in 2011. I expect they now have a better idea of how many accepted students will actually attend, and have adjusted the admittance rate accordingly. So unless admissions have altered their position on the waitlist, they’ll probably return to the same stringent policies they had before.</p>

<p>Is the 60:40 girl to guy ratio noticeable?</p>

<p>Economics and IR are very popular at Mac. What is the average class size? Are they all discussion based? If lecture-style, what would be the largest class?</p>

<p>MAC emphasizes internship and research opportunities. Have you found these really accessible?</p>

<p>How active is the outdoor club? And when does the snow start and end?</p>

<p>Annycho. Macalester offered placement to everyone on the waitlist last year and still didn’t fill the class. They definitely overestimated their yield and they may do so again this year because many accepted students have applied to Macalester as a fall back school and don’t intend to go there. There is a chance he will get in, but he should visit the other colleges he was admitted to because a second look often changes a student’s mind.</p>

<p>How’s the soccer scene at Mac? I don’t think I’m good enough to make it to the team so is it possible that I can play intramural soccer everyday?</p>