<p>Our son has gotten accepted as an international transfer student to both Carleton and Macalester in Minnesota with comparable financial aid packages. Any advice of selection criteria he should use to decide OR which is better? He has to decide within the next week.</p>
<p>your son will be better serviced @Carleton</p>
<p>Carleton is generally considered the "better" school (ie. it's ranked 6th this yeat in US World News, as compared to 24th for Macalester). It's more selective, etc. It's also a really cool place (one of my faviortes after Wes) so unless there is some specific reason for your son to choose Macalester, I'd say go with Carelton.</p>
<p>Very different feels to the campus. Carleton is very rural while Macalester is more urban - St Paul (but not very urban).</p>
<p>Macalester's urban location is one reason it is attractive despite Carleton's higher academic ranking.</p>
<p>Weskid - what makes it cool and why is it a favorite of yours?</p>
<p>Erin's Dad - Any more specifics on the atmosphere difference?</p>
<p>Unfortunately he will have to make the decision without being able to visit either campus so any info would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Carleton is slightly more prestigious and you gotta like small town Minnesota.</p>
<p>Carleton is substantially more recognized both locally and internationally. If you like the idea of an "urban" school, there are far better options than Mac. The neighborhood is safe and pleasant but is far from a mecca for college students (and the same can be said for St. Paul in general). Mac's fortunes seem to ebb and flow over the years. Carleton is always good.</p>
<p>If your son is an international student, he probably will not have access to an automobile. His ability to get around from a small town like Northfield might be limited without a large public transportation system. I'd check into Carleton's transportation services for international students before turning down Macalester.</p>
<p>Carleton has a bucolic location on about 1,000 acres adjoining a charming, historic town of about 18,000. Only 35 miles from Minneapolis/SP, the MSP airport, and yes, even the Mall of America, it is anything but isolated. Discounted shuttles run from the campus into MSP as well as the airport and mall Fri-Sun up to 4 times daily. Stellar academics, caring profs, great school spirit with tight-knit student body.</p>
<p>Carleton is better IMO..but it's really cold in the winter.....</p>
<p>Both schools are very strong. The differences in ranking, given the thousands of colleges and universities across the country, are ultimately insignificant.</p>
<p>Where do you want to spend your college time? My daughter was not interested in small towns/rural areas, so did not consider Carleton. But maybe that's not important to you. There is a difference between being on multiple city bus lines at Macalester and being an hour away from an urban center for (parts of) five states in Northfield. Macalester students have easy access to courses at other colleges, including a large array of languages at the University of Minnesota, as well as learning opportunities right in the Twin Cities. Some work with teams of scientists from UM, while others intern in nonprofits and businesses in St. Paul and Minneapolis. </p>
<p>If location is not an important factor to you, look at specific majors where you have interest and then go from there.</p>
<p>Both are great choices which will give you opportunities for a fabulous education.</p>
<p>In MN, Carleton is recognized as the best school in state, but Mac is a clearly 2nd.</p>
<p>mj93: I beg to differ. Both are highly respected in MN, with no clear favorite, at least that's what the Minnesota people I know say.</p>
<p>USNews gives you a decent, although not perfect, idea of which one is more prestigious.</p>
<p>Carleton #6
Macalester #24</p>
<p>Go Minnesota!!!</p>
<p>Both are great schools. I would say go for Macalaster, even though it's slightly less "prestigious," because it's in an awesome neighborhood in Minneapolis and has a great campus. Unless your son's not really a city kind of guy, in which case Carleton, with its semi-isolated campus, would serve him well.</p>
<p>Edit: Being from Minnesota, I would say it's true there's no clear preference for either, both are such excellent schools it's like turning down a Princeton grad for a Harvard one or vice versa, if you know what I mean. Your son will get a great education either way, I say he should choose based on the kind of environment he wants and what he wants to major in or focus on. I think the student body at Macalaster tends to be more liberal/outgoing/radical, a little too much so in my humble opinion, but that's just my experience. I spend a lot of time around the campus and have visited Northfield 2 or 3 times, that's just an observation I made.</p>
<p>Macalester is actually in St. Paul, not Minneapolis. The neighborhood is an affluent and historic part of residential St. Paul. It's hardly urban but at the same time it lacks the true college campus. Both have tiny student bodies with each less than 2000 undergrads. Macalester also draws a larger international student population than Carleton, though both schools are very large in that respect. Personally, I'd take Macalester over Carleton. Disregard rankings and think about where you'd feel most comfortable.</p>