Chances at Macalester?

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I am a high school junior from Illinois. I plan to either go the PreMed route or major in engineering.</p>

<p>-30 Composite on my first real ACT (will most likely take once more).
34E
35M
25R
25S</p>

<p>-4.83/5 Unweighted GPA.</p>

<p>-Member of a community service group at my school that does service to better the community's elderly or poor.</p>

<p>-50+ community service hours (Tutoring, church work, soup kitchen, etc.)</p>

<p>-3 years of high school baseball</p>

<p>-1 year of high school football</p>

<p>-Mostly honors and AP courses</p>

<p>-Will have 5 AP classes by the time I graduate.</p>

<p>You know there is no engineering major at Mac, right? I think your stats are okay, but bringing up your ACT by a couple of points would be a good idea. I guess I don’t see anything in your post that says “MAC!” to me, though. What is it about Mac that appeals to you? Have you visited?</p>

<p>Thanks for your reply!</p>

<p>I have not visited yet, and Mac is high on my list due to the academic prestige, beautiful campus, and, most of all, due to the smaller class sizes and more one on one time with some of the best professors in the world. I also love the fact that the college is very liberal, as am I.</p>

<p>I think you have a good shot. Any reason why your R/M scores are so high and your E/S scores are so low on the ACT?</p>

<p>@ FearTheTree17</p>

<p>I honestly just find the English and math to be a complete breeze, and the reading and science to be the opposite. It sucks! lol. I just don’t know how to study for the reading and science sections. Timing always kills me.</p>

<p>Macalester offers a 3/2 program for Englineering with Wash U in Saint Louis.</p>

<p>[Engineering</a> Program - Macalester College](<a href=“http://www.macalester.edu/academics/engineering/]Engineering”>http://www.macalester.edu/academics/engineering/)</p>

<p>How hard is that to get into? lol. And how is Mac with merit aid?</p>

<p>The engineering program is selective but doable if you can get through the general science sequence unscathed. For the ACT, learn the types of science passages and practice them. Mac is pretty good with merit aid (16k/yr in my experience) but rather subpar when it comes to need-based aid, at least when compared to its peers. For me, that was the reason I chose UChicago, even though I really loved Mac as well, but that may not be a problem for you depending on your financial situation. Good luck!</p>

<p>I think with a 30 ACT you’d be admitted, LOL.</p>

<p>Macalester’s 50% range for the ACT is 29-32. So he is not a shoo-in with a 30, that is a bit below the 50% mark. And merit aid is not guaranteed; bringing the ACT up would help his chances for some merit aid.</p>

<p>Also… think hard before you enter assuming you will do a 3-2 program. Many students go to colleges intending to follow a 3-2 program, but don’t want to leave their school after junior year. The actual participation in 3-2s is very low at most colleges in spite of many freshman who think they are going to do it. If you want to be an engineer, go to a college that offers it as a major.</p>

<p>Correct, not a shoo-in. But every single college in the US, by definition, admits students below the 50th percentile of course. Otherwise there would be no sense in looking at the 25th percentile. The fact is that at least 40% at Mac would have a 30, and that’s not bad chances, given the rest of the record. Many of these students at this level go on to do quite well in college, as all Adcoms know. High school performance is often not a reliable indicator of college performance, especially for male students who blossom later.</p>

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