<p>Hi all</p>
<p>Very grateful that I have been admitted to what seems like a great school. However, I had my entire heart and soul set on going to another school, but was unfortunately rejected.</p>
<p>Am grappling with whether or not to take a gap year to reapply to the school where I was rejected.</p>
<p>So, for those of you who chose to attend Mac, have you ever regretted your decision?
Is Mac just as worthy of praise as an Ivy?</p>
<p>Go Scots!</p>
<p>Mac is a great school, and the twin cities are fab.Definitely under-rated.I would only take a gap if you aren’t sure you are ready to go to college AND you will be fine if you take the gap and get rejected again. i would try to put it behind me. the Ivies are better for grad school, anyway.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>OMG, what makes you think you would be anymore successful next year? You could wind up blowing a year of your life only to experience massive disappointment. Don’t forget: it’s easier to transfer into a school that has rejected you.</p>
<p>Go to Macalester for a year. Do well. Try to transfer to your dream school. You might like Macalester so much that you’ll change your mind. </p>
<p>And remember, it’s a mistake to become fixated on one school. That’s just not healthy. Unless your dream school is HYPS, I wouldn’t consider Macalester a “consolation prize.” Besides, the fact that you took the trouble to apply to schools other than your dream school implies that you are mature enough to accept the initial verdict from your dream school. </p>
<p>Accept it.</p>
<p>Of topic, but my DS2 will be visiting and I’d like to know, from anyone attending, recomendations as to what to do while in St. Paul. We will only be there for 2 overnights - but would welcome suggestions.</p>
<p>I’m not attending, but my daughter is. Walk down Summit Avenue a mile or mile and a half to the Mississippi. it’s a beautiful walk and there’s a nice overlook once you reach the river. Eat at Shish or Coffee News or the Thai restaurant.
Have fun!</p>
<p>visit the Guthrie Theater – even if you don’t see a show, check it out for the architecture! There’s also a cool museum of design or paper arts or something like that in walking distance of the Guthrie.</p>
<p>We live in the Twin Cities. Lots of theatre here (Guthrie in Minneapolis is nationally known, but so is the Children’s Theatre), so pick up a City Pages (local free alternative weekly with all the arts and music listings) and look for something interesting. Summit Ave is worth looking at. Shopping and restaurants on Grand Avenue are good. Como Park and Zoo are decent as well for an “in-city” park and zoo. Not as elaborate as the Minnesota Zoo, but fun. You could also check out the Uptown and Lakes area in Minneapolis. If you are here on the weekend, the St. Paul Farmer’s market is great (in lower town on Saturday and Sunday mornings).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You’re kidding, right? You forgot the Mall of America? Easy drive in a rental car (it’s near the airport) in a smaller city called Bloomington. I don’t know where you’re coming from but the Twin Cities area is very compact. You can get almost anywhere inside of 45 minutes, from one side of St. Paul to the opposite side of Minneapolis (the other, larger, more liberal “Twin” city) and surrounding suburbs, end to end. St. Paul to Mall of America is probably 15 - 20 minutes, depending on where you are in St. Paul. You can even catch a bus to the MOA. Easy. </p>
<p>Inside the MOA: 500 specialty stores, 50 restaurants, 7 nightclubs, 14 movie theaters and thousands of tourists (most locals shop at the other malls). There’s an underground aquarium and an Amusement Park. Something like 13,000 people work at the MOA. There are FOUR levels, FIVE if you count the underground aquarium. Oh yeah, like an ordinary mall, parking is free.</p>
<p>But bring money. :)</p>
<p>I was not planning on car rental, just public transport. Is this misguided?</p>
<p>^
I wouldn’t say it is “misguided.” The Twin Cities are relatively safe as medium-sized cities go, but there has been a bit of crime wave of late. If you don’t know your way around, especially if you’re also hauling luggage, I strongly recommend a rental car. Most of the major car companies now offer GPS nav systems with the rental car for about 8 bucks extra but you have to ask for it when you make the advance rental reservation, otherwise you might not get one with a nav if you wait until you arrive at the airport to rent a car. The nav equipped cars go fast. The nav system Hertz uses is really simple unless you’re like my wife and totally phobic about electronics. The cheaper car rental companies may not have nav systems available. The Twin Cities can have heavy traffic on the major arteries but usually only at rush hour, it’s not Chicago, NYC or Boston traffic, but time your arrival accordingly, if possible.</p>
<p>Anothermom,
I visited my daughter at Mac twice, renting a car. Then I went a few months ago and decided to just use public transportation. I loved it! It was all very easy, including getting to and from the airport. What I loved about the buses was that you buy a fare and then it’s good for two hours (I think it’s two – maybe three), so you can travel around in any direction on that one fare for a while. Also, right near the entrance to the campus center (inside the building) is a display with maps/timetables for all the bus routes and there’s a bus stop right on the corner. Are you staying near the campus?</p>
<p>After looking at the location of the hotel (used points for it), the location of the school, and the location of a friend DS wants to visit, I broke down and rented a car for our stay. I know it will be easier, though more expensive. Thank you for all the visit suggestions !</p>
<p>thank you for all the suggestions, including the eat at shish, which we did. very nice atmosphere, and ds will most certainly apply.</p>