Hey I need to choose one between these three.
I’m planning to major in economics and international relations.
Macalester is ranked the highest among these three but the location is not so good.
Will living in Minnesota allow me to get good internships and get a job after graduation? Will living in Pennsylvania allow me to work in better companies?
Could you guys outline advantages and disadvantages of these schools and which one you’d go?
Thanks in advance!
3 great schools - Congrats! With Macalaster, you are right in St. Paul. Minneapolis/St. Paul is a huge metropolis so I wouldn’t see problems getting jobs there.
Can you do accepted student visits? Which location are you most drawn to? If you’re an outdoorsy person, I’d say Colorado College. If you like urban life, CC would still work, but Macalaster would have the edge in location.
Dickinson does many things very impressively. My D was accepted there as well as Macalester,Cornell , Wash U and a number of other schools. We visited Dickinson and really liked their program. It is on our short list of favorites.
Colorado College has the unique block plan, so I would start there. Are you completely comfortable with that for studying Econ and IR? Does that plan suit your own style of studying? IMO, that is the big issue for you.
Location doesn’t matter so much these days. Hey, Kofi Annan went to Macalester and look what he accomplished!
If you do accepted student visits (and even if you don’t), talk personally with the person on campus who does the internship placements. And see if you can get connected with a student or recent graduate from each.
In terms of prestige & ranking, you can’t go wrong with any of these three choices.
The best location would be the Twin Cities and Macalester, Dickinson has the edge on study abroad and career readiness.
Colorado College has a nice location but you need to be on board with the block plan.
@MYOS1634 Isn’t Macalester also known for study abroad? Does Dickinson have better program in terms of study abroad and career readiness compared to others?
@MidwestDad3 @doschicos I’m not worried about CC’s Block Plan. I think I will adapt to the system quickly. I like outdoor activities and that’s one of the reason why I like CC. But Macalester seems to focus more in terms of globalism, study abroad, etc… Which relates to what I want to do in the future. Sadly I can’t visit because I’m an international student living in Africa.
Macalaster’s focuses on differentiating itself through its emphasis on globalism. CC, however, has tons of study abroad options, both through semester programs, and built into its courses. The block plan is very conducive to incorporating international study into your 4 years. All 3 schools would offer your plenty of opportunities in that area.
One nice feature of the block plan is the greater flexibility it allows in scheduling study abroad activities. You can travel for multiples of ~4 weeks (the duration of a single block). The block plan also creates more flexibility for field work even within one block.