I got into Macalester,and am very happy since they are paying a lot for me, (Quest Bridge finalist). I like the area and will visit but I feel like I won’t fit in. Maybe I’m just over thinking it, but I’m minority, low income, and from Atlanta. I am surrounded by a diverse community where I volunteer with refugees and trailer park communities. On the Facebook 2021 page for Mac, tons of kids talked about their trips to 10 different countries and seemed wealthy, (I can’t judge but I’m assuming there are lots of wealthy kids at private) and they were all quirky and seemed so nice. Yet they all had similar interests and I couldn’t really relate. I grew up without cable, so I can’t really say I liked the same shows or movies, and I grew up in a suburban area but always went to heavily asian and Hispanic areas. I know Macalester is liberal, which I great, as I consider myself liberal. However I’m not like loud about my opinions, I’m mainly very passionate on refugee services (mom is refugee). I’m not as educated on LGBT+ issues as most kids on the Facebook seem to be interested in, and I would only hope others won’t frown upon me because I don’t know as much.
I know I’ll like the school once I visit but right know kind of feeling iffy. I’m a broke kid who barely has WiFi and can’t drive because my 1995 car broke down lol. I don’t even buy outside food at restaurants like I have no money. Haha. But it’s all good, I just think it will be a significant difference from my life here.
Your experiences give you a lot of strengths. Class work comes first and you can’t be involved in everything - pick the clubs/groups that align with your interests. If you don’t know about an issue and ask questions that show you are open to hearing about it, no one is going to fault you (that matters anyway). Just ask questions respectfully and don’t voice opinions on things you haven’t taken time to learn about. It’s totally fine to tell someone “I haven’t really spent a lot of time on this” and then share your passions.
We are by no means low income but D did go to school with a lot of kids out of the private/boarding world. I just told her not to expect a plane ticket to the bahamas for spring break Seriously, check out alternative breaks for options to do what every one else does without the cost. Talk to travel abroad, advisors, etc about grants or funds to help you do some the outside the classroom stuff that has a price tag. D’s school had questbridge students and they went out of there way to help them find their place and I bet Macalester will too!
Remember, everyone has something - some of kids you think have it all in material things will also be homesick, stressed or depressed or nervous. Some will come from bad family situations or have been dealt health issues. Try not to look at new classmates as “rich kids” and take them as individuals. Some will be jerks (because there are always jerks) and some of them will be your best friends.
Hi,
I would like to say that the previous post offers great advice and thank you. As a current Macalester student, I would like offer my own input and experience for you. I am a sophomore and I am enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation as well as Osage and Choctaw. I have a work study and an internship off-campus that works with Indigenous youth. I recently have been struggling with my own indigenous identity as a scholar and an activist. I did not grow up on the reservation, which determines how people determine my indigenous identity. My work-study supervisor recently connected me with a professor at Brown to work through these issues.
I came from a high school that in between two worlds. I did International baccalaureate and the people in my classes were from wealthy families, but outside the classroom I ran track with girls who came from low-socioeconomic backgrounds and had vastly different experiences than I did. I would say Macalester is similar in a lot of ways.
Macalester is trying to diversify the student body. There is not a huge class divide, but you will meet students who went to private schools and are wealthy, which is okay. My current roommate is from Manhattan, wealthy and has never worked a job in her life. She is also a wonderful human being and I recognize we come different backgrounds. I worked my entire life. The students who are speaking up about their trips might be well off, but they also might have funded those trips through grants and scholarships. Keep that in mind when you are reading - you won’t know a person’s entire story until you meet them!
I also volunteer with indigenous communities while I’m here, which I read is something you are interested in. The Twin Cities is a diverse place, we have one of the largest Somalian populations outside Somalia, and a large Hmong population too. I know plenty of students who volunteer and work with those communities. It would be a great place for you as well.
About the LGBT+ issues, we have been known to be one of the most friendly LGBT campuses and that is why there is so much discussion about those issues. Plus we have a lot of people who identify as LGBT+ and it is okay if you do not know a lot about these issues. You are incredibly entitled to your own passions and you can absolutely say, “I do not know a lot about this issue can you inform me more or point me to resources where I can learn more?” And you will find a space to share your own passions.
Wherever you chose to go, life will be significantly different from your life at home and that is what you should want in college. You will do great things wherever you go, but keep in mind when you visit Macalester you will find a community here that will support you! Your orientation leaders, residential assistants, peers and professors will be a resource. I encourage you to ask current students a lot of questions about their experiences when you’re here! Best of luck.
My daughter is going to Macalester (accepted early decision) and we started laughing about the facebook page because every time she looks at it she feels like everyone is more interesting, wealthier, more traveled, just “more” everything than she. And honestly, facebook is an alternate reality. I can’t speak of the climate AT Macalester and I really enjoyed reading @smissourim’s post. But I can speak to my own daughter’s feelings --and fears and doubts when she’s experiencing Macalester via facebook. So I’m saying, don’t judge Macalester by Facebook. It’s an alternate reality where everyone seems perfect and constructs who they perhaps think they should be…
I answered another one of your questions yesterday - you may find some of that answer helpful. You likely will have a transition time and feel uncomfortable or out of place at times. I think that would be true of any small LAC, which tend to skew wealthy. But that is OK - there are lots of opportunities at places like Mac that probably outweigh issues like this awkwardness. I don’t know if you are a first generation college student. My daughter found these videos created by first gen Mac students to be helpful even though she is not first gen: https://www.macalester.edu/cec/collegeaccess/FirstGenerationDigitalStorytelling/ There are groups and places on campus where you can find other people like yourself, it just may take a while to find the ones that suit you best.
If you are interested in working on refugee issues or with refugees, the Twin Cities is an excellent place to be as it is a huge refugee resettlement location. My daughter volunteers with refugee children in St. Paul, and she got to talk with the principal of a established St. Paul High School for English Language Learners to gather information to send back to her home school district, which is trying to set up a Newcomers School for the burgeoning population of refugees in our city. The principal is a Mac grad! See http://leap.spps.org/
When my daughter was having a lot of trouble fitting in her first semester, our neighbor told her that academics are the first reason you go to college. The academics seem to be some of the best anywhere at Macalester. As you specialize in your course of study, you will find more people to connect with that way too.
My young sons used to go to a Chinese school which rented out rooms from Mac on the weekends. I would call the area around the campus pretty safe, but not sheltered. If you go a couple of blocks to the East you’ll be in a high end area, two blocks to the West in a cool, funky, sort of middle class residential urban area, 5 or 6 blocks to the north is a grittier area, but nothing too scary.
I realize you are talking more about the internal aspects of the school, but I find that being in the middle of a city does help to keep things in perspective. If Mac is getting too precious, then head out a few blocks and get a burger from the Nook and look out on the HS field where Joe Mauer and Paul Molitor played their baseball, or go to one of the coolest bowling alleys ever at RanHam Bowl(believe the film “The Hustler” was partially filmed there), drop into the Drum shop or Willie’s Guitars. Walmart is a few blocks to the North, as is the Green Line, which will take you to downtown St.Paul or Minneapolis in minutes. You can find a small Theatre company, a luthier, some really good restaurants and coffee shops, all within a few blocks, and in some cases, one block.
I know my son (Junior in HS) is very interested in Mac because he doesn’t want to be squirreled away in some college town in the middle of nowhere.
On our Mac tour, among the student guides were a white girl from rural Washington state, a first generation Latino from Chicago’s south side, and a student from a humble background in Vietnam. None of them seemed elitist; all were down to earth.
FB is a small subset of a larger whole. I found Mac to be among the most genuine, sensible LACs I visited. The location is also very diverse.
@mamaedefamilia@57special@UNYMom@AmyVirginia Thank you for all your input! I actually just came back from my visit and I loved the school! I was so impressed by the school’s devotion to internationalism. Everyone there was nice (students, faulty, even locals). I especially loved the twin cities, I saw so many refugee centers and other nonprofits. For the most part I met a lot of other fellow QuestBridge and I did get to meet those who spoke about going to elite private schools, but all the prospective students were nice, I didn’t feel like I didn’t belong. Glad to experience everything that you three have mentioned.
Seriously, check out alternative breaks for options to do what every one else does without the cost. Talk to travel abroad, advisors, etc about grants or funds to help you do some the outside the classroom stuff that has a price tag. D’s school had questbridge students and they went out of there way to help them find their place and I bet Macalester will too!