<p>okay. I know St Paul is very cold. but i'm wondering how the cold weather affects students at Mac? namely outdoor activities? ^^</p>
<p>i don't like the cold there (but i think i'll be applying, for many reasons other than the weather!), and i'm wondering what do you do to survive the freezing weather there? ^^ i mean, if you to stay all day warmly in classes, the library, etc. and try to minimize outdoor activities or going outside during the coldest winter day, will it help you forget about how cold it is? will the weather too severe that it may badly affect our health? </p>
<p>First, I am from Stillwater, MN (about 20 minutes from MAC) and, you are right, it's f-ing freezing here in the winter; I'm quite bitter about it (hehe). I've lived here all my life and kind of want to get out (though I'm still applying to MAC, figures), so I'm a bit one-sided on the weather, of course people make use of it and it's not always below 10 degree (hmm, not sure if that's true), but it affects my health a bit, it's so depressing cos I love to be outdoors! </p>
<p>Okay, so, I just said it, sometimes when it's really cold, we can't/don't want to go outside becasue doing so would cause serious problems (frostbite, death, etc.). </p>
<p>What really depresses me about the weather is the fact that it is cold and windy, but very rarely actually SNOWS.
It's depressing and if you don't like cold weather, I would recommend coming here, even if MAC is a great school.</p>
<p>thanks for giving your perspective. ^^ that's really helpful information!</p>
<p>i've never been there or anywhere nearly as cold, so obviously i have no idea, but the sound of that does make me freak out. i have asthma; it gets bad whenever i'm sick. But otherwise, between episodes I think i can be considered healthy. basically i'm worried that the weather can get me ill more easily, thus worsen my asthma. Do you think there's a realistic way to escape the cold there? I mean, would it work if one stubbornly insists on spending the whole time indoor and limits "getting outside the house" as much as possible? (at the expense of outdoor activities, of course, but there seems no other way) Will every building be warm? and how many minutes does it take a Mac student to get from one building to another? </p>
<p>sry to be asking too many questions here. i'm scared by the weather, but i'm very much into Mac for a number of reasons, most importantly the international focus of Mac that I think is unmatched by any LACs. (I am an intl)</p>
<p>I live in Eden Prairie, MN, which is a suburb of Minneapolis. As you know, it's very cold here. I think, however, that once you get used to it (and you will) it isn't as bad as it's cracked up to be. Sure we spend months below 20, but then you get that one sunny day at 35 and everyone is outside and happy because it actually feels warm. I don't know where you're from, so it might take some getting used to at first, but once you are acclimated it's really not that bad. St. Paul is a beautiful city and you will bare the cold sometimes to walk around a little. Macalester is very well respected and you would like living here I bet, most people do.</p>
<p>Hi, I live about an hour south of St Paul. I too have asthma. I watch how long I am outside but it mostly pertains to strenuous activity. Walking from shop to shop, I'm fine but I can't go for a run. It took a couple years to learn what my limits were and how to proactively work on it.</p>
<p>If you decide to go to Mac, you may want to have an appointment with your local doctor or one on campus to make a plan for when you get a cold and rx filled up here. If you get a cold on a weekend , do you want to spend a lot of time trying to get a stronger Advair when maybe you could keep it in your room? Things like that.</p>
<p>If you have to walk around in the bitter weather, wrap a scarf around your neck so that you can pull up part of it to breathe through when you are outside. The buildings are relatively near each other. It's not like you are at the U of MN. Use your inhaler before going sledding or whatever and you will be fine. There are many of us in Mn with asthma - we haven't been killed off yet!</p>
<p>RE snow: For several years we have had less snow than usual and everyone was yelling global warming. We have had a decent amount of snow this year and will be getting more this weekend. If you are not used to snow, you should find it really fun.</p>
<p>All my Florida relatives think I am super impressive by living here. Think of all the great stories you would have for the family back home!</p>
<p>My husband has an employee from India. The first winter was a huge adjustment for him but he has gotten used to it. He now really enjoys how the seasons change. Try to find the silver lining.</p>
<p>I moved to minnesota almost 22 years ago and was never so cold in my entire life as I was that very first winter. That very first weekend around Thanksgiving was near 30 and the people I was with had on no coats or warm gear and kept talking about how it was balmy! And now, 22 years later, I totally get it. It took a winter to "thicken the blood" so to speak, but after that as long as you have a warm coat, gloves, ear muffs or hat and some warm shoes, you're golden. There is actually only about a week in January that it really turns bitter (30 below windchills etc) but other than that, it's a really great place to live with tons to do all winter long. The thing to remember about Minnesota is much like any very wintery place, you go for function over form. Nothing looks more stupid in 20 below weather than someone going for cute over being warm. Northface has a huge market in Minnesota. And despite the cold, there are a LOT of sunny days here (which actually can make it colder without the cloud cover). But if anything, the sun helps a great deal to make it bearable and keep one's spirits up. And if there's one good thing about knowing cold/snowy weather, it's that the roads, etc get plowed really quickly.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that Macalester has a long winter break (this year it was 12/12 -1/26). It's actually too long!
My daughter (from NJ) is a freshman there and hasn't complained (yet?!) about the cold weather. There were many days at the end of Nov/beginning of December that it was colder in NJ than in MN.</p>
<p>I am just going to say it -- I hate the sunny days. The light refelects off the snow (which is very irritating to my eyes) and it gives off the impression of warmth, but when I go outside, it's almost always in the negatives, worse with wind chill. </p>
<p>And I really don't think there's THAT much to do in the winter......skiing at some places (which I do, but am kind of depressed about because, well, there aren't really many HILLS here). Sometimes it's fun to go sledding or just outside when it's snowing, but then within the next day, it's back to -20. </p>
<p>This is why I want to go to Stanford. :). MAC is a great school though....I may play basketball there.</p>
<p>^Have you never gone to the winter carnival? That is huge fun! But I admit that if you're in college, your resources may be slightly limited to enjoy the winter in terms of comedy clubs and other venues of the indoor variety (and frankly, I have NEVER gone skiing in MN because it's just too cold). But I do love lake harriet and calhoun when people are wind skating or whatever that's called. And if Mac's break takes you till end of January, there is little to complain about since January is usually the worst of the cold.</p>
<p>However, the sun is HUGE. Buy yourself some really excellent sun glasses -- ask for them for your birthday or something. They will make all the difference for the glare. But the sun is literally a lifesaver. It's not the cold that will ever depress you, it's the lack of sunshine. This is proven science.</p>
<p>Does MAC have any underground tunnels connecting their buildings? I used to go the the U and you can almost get everywhere by walking underground. I'd like to think I did this to even get from the East to West bank, but I do know that if you could get close enough to the tunnel you were barely outside all day! Of course, this applies to almost all shopping downtowns as well. Except instead of mole tunnels, they're more like those habitat trails for hamsters. :)</p>
<p>As a mom who obsessively watches the weather in Ithaca NY and St. Paul, I can say that there are two advantages to Mac over a place like Cornell, which is rugged and beautiful but also in a fierce climate. One is Mac's compact, urban campus: you can get anywhere fast. Two is that it really does seem to be a lot sunnier in Minnesota. That makes a lot of difference if you're affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is a highfalutin way of saying you get bummed out by too many cloudy days in a row.
Having gone to UCLA myself (from the midwest) I can say that you're missing a LOT if you opt out of seasons. There's a reason all those college beauty shots feature the autumn glory. Not to mention how much easier it is to study when the beach isn't beckoning.
Bottom line: go for the program that excites you - and let the rest be an adventure.</p>
<p>haha this is such a macalester forum, the conversation has changed from quality of life to global warming in just a few posts. </p>
<p>i was a little worried about the unbearable cold in MN, but i researched its climate online, and just like everyone else is saying, i think the sunniness will help to mediate the fact that your flesh is turning into ice. </p>
<p>and as for global warming, isn't it supposed to heat the poles and cool near the equator?? so i think that would mean mac would be in for some heating up and a more temperate climate...</p>