Housing Choices

<p>Can any of you currently (or recently) at Mac describe the pros and cons of co-ed floors vs. all female floors? (my daughter will be a freshman this fall).
Thank you.</p>

<p>The best first year housing is Turck which has all co-ed floors. Doty is single sex, by floor, and Dupre is co-ed. Turck and Doty have sinks in the room, Dupre does not. Turck and Doty are all first year students while Dupre houses some sophomores. As far as co-ed I think it is just a matter of preference. My daughter lived on a co-ed floor for part of the year and then moved to a single sex floor. She hates single sex housing and refused to even consider it for next year. She says there is just too much estrogen and too much drama on an all womens floor. A lot comes down to how comfortable you are with the opposite sex seeing you walk down the hall after your shower, first thing in the morning etc.. After a few days I think most view the opposite sex on their floor as brother/sister. Also keep in mind that Res Life does as good a job as possible as matching students to their requested housing preference but sometimes it is just not possible.</p>

<p>Thanks for the info (again).
I think she's interested in a first-year residential class. Can she request Turck housing for this? Where are these classes usually housed?</p>

<p>A few more questions, thanks:
If she were to request substance free and/or quiet, can these be accomodated in Turck? Also how would these choices be if she does the residential first year course?</p>

<p>Residential courses can be housed anywhere. My d was on Turck 1 and part of the floor was a residential course, the rest was not. My d was not in a residential course but most, if not all, are housed on co-ed floors since the course contains both girls and guys. I do believe one residential course is in Doty with the women on the 4th floor and the guys on the 5th. First years cannot request certain dorms, it is luck of the draw, roommate compatibility and room availability. </p>

<p>I do not think a residential first year course would accomodate quiet/substance free housing. Once again, everyone in the course would have had to request quiet/substance free housing. In regards to where substance free/quiet housing is it depends on how many first year students request that option, it changes yearly. Just my two sense on the quiet floor option. I think it makes it harder to make friends initially. IMO the quiet floor consists of the most shy/introverted first years and having them all on one floor/quiet floor makes it difficult to form relationships. I know the first two weeks of school everyone on my d's floor had their doors open and their music blaring which helped create some great friendships and drew the more introverted kids out. I think sophomore year would be different since you already have a core group of friends. Just my two cents, by all means chose whatever your daughter is most comfortable with just remember that not all requests are accomodated by res. life but they try.</p>

<p>Banditmag- thanks for all your info.
This was particularly helpful.
A few more questions, please:
my daughter recently e-mailed two girls who are freshmen. They both have had a very good experience overall.
One complained about the 60% female "problem" and the other that she hadn't met as many people a she would have liked.
Of course, these things depend on individual personalities, but do you have any thoughts on how it is for girls who want to meet guys and also, in general, how easy/hard it is to make a group of friends.</p>

<p>I wrote the deposit last night but haven't mailed it yet.
I suppose other parents have these last minute questions and doubts about the college choice. The second-runner up for my daughter was Kenyon.
Again, thank you.</p>

<p>No problem, anytime. Mac was, by far, not my daughters first choice but she has, for the most part, been happy. I think meeting people and developing friendships is fairly easy. The orientation for first years places them in groups which they spend and inordinate amount of time with, between that and the floormates I do not think friends will be an issue. As you stated, much depends on the student's personality. </p>

<p>Now onto the guys at Mac. This is a tough one and, if the parents of any guys are reading this I apologize in advance if I offend. I do not think meeting guys is tough it is just a matter of whether you meet a guy you would like to date. Remember Mac is extremely gay friendly so many guys are off the market to females at least :) (The girls at Mac says the guys fall into one of the three G's - gay, gross or girlfriend). Also, much depends on your daughter's taste in guys. Mac is not known for the traditional, big, strapping athletic type male which would be my d's preference. If your daughter likes emo guys in skinny jeans who like to participate in protests and are sensitive she will be all set. In the case of the few "traditionallly hot" guys there is huge competition among the girls to land them. I know the situation frustrates my daughter immensely, she regularly goes to parties at St. Thomas, and also runs by there daily looking for guys. I have to say I am somewhat happy as having a serious relationship tends to distract a young adult and at $46,000 per year I prefer she concentrates on her studies. She has dated two guys, both football players, but dumped them both rather quickly since they spent more time drinking than studying. My daughter is not an angel, and I know she drinks but not to the excess that they did.</p>

<p>Hope this helps, my d did not look at Kenyon so have no help for you there. There is much about Mac that my d really does not care for but due to the friends she has made would never consider transferring.</p>

<p>Sorry to jump into your thread, mom, but I am a HS junior and acadmeically Mac seems like it would be a great fit for me. I would love to hear more from bandit about your daugter's experiences, the good but especially the bad and the ugly! It's so hard to get a good snese of what really goes on at a school and even though I am planning to visit this summer I know it will not be the same cause no students will be there. I'm pretty set on applying (it really is a good academic match) and I will visit if I get accepted, but what else might you say to a prospective student? What does yoru duaghter not care for? Or what would have been good for her to know before she got there?</p>

<p>Hi, what does my daughter not care for...hmmm.....besides the guys? Before I even start you need to understand my daughter is a conservative Republican. She received quite a sales pitch about how Macalester wanted more conservatives on campus because class discussions were becoming too boring. Keep in mind Macalester is liberal, not just college liberal, but liberal liberal. My daughter is regularly screamed at by liberals and she often complains that no one even listens to the otherside of the argument, not the least bit open minded. One incident that sticks out - my daughter was on crutches for about 8 weeks. She was entering a dorm and the guy going in before her let the door shut on her, his friend said that was rude, the guy who let go of the door said "she's a Republican." My d, thankfully, is tough skinned and takes most of this in stride. She picks her battles and regularly does things to inflame the super liberals such as wearing a T-Shirt that says "annoy a liberal, work hard, make money, be successful". Make sure to explore the gender blind housing on campus.</p>

<p>The administration has been tough to deal with and somewhat uncaring.</p>

<p>My d does not think Minneapolis/St. Paul constitutes a city but we are from Chicago so unless she went to New York or L.A. she would probably feel that way.</p>

<p>The class selection for next fall stinks.</p>

<p>She had a difficult time getting into any classes she wanted second semester of this year. </p>

<p>I am just listing the things she has said over the year. I have spent a decent amount of time on campus due to her injury. I also went to Mac, it was much different back in the day.</p>

<p>The fact that getting 5's on AP Tests really does not help you much at Mac.</p>

<p>Things she likes...</p>

<p>her friends, some of the best she will ever have.
lectures, guest speakers, documentaries offered on campus.
Summit Avenue and the run to the Mississippi.
the fact that no liquor store in a 3 mile radius seems to card anyone :)
some of her classes/professors but most definitely not all.
being 400 miles away from mom.
program board does a decent job of planning events for weekends.</p>

<p>If you have any other specific questions let me know.</p>

<p>Things mom hates:</p>

<p>paying the full $42,000, next year $46,000</p>

<p>Bandit, thanks heaps for the detailed info. I am sorry people were mean to your D. That's just not right whether or not you agree with someone's politics. I'm wondering, is not getting into classes a really common thing? With all majors? I have been warned that at some colleges there are super-popular majors (like English) and getting classes in those departments can be super tough. </p>

<p>And that is a lot of money. In the end do you think it will be worth it?</p>

<p>Wow, you ask good questions. I don't look at it as people being mean to my daugher, intolerant and with strong and forming opinions maybe. Believe me she can handle it. One other thing I forgot to mention that my daughter loves - the international students and the perspective they bring to both the social and academic life. Oh, one other positive. Mac is not overly competitive. Most students do not discuss grades, it is not a cut throat atmosphere. </p>

<p>It is hard to respond to the class availability. The registration order for second semester of freshman year was completely by luck of the draw. They split the alphabet randomly and my d was either last or second to last. It really annoyed her that she could not get into the 300 level spanish class that she wanted. She is a double major in Spanish and Political Science. She was put on the wait list but the problem becomes space. The Professor said she would not mind more students in the class but there was just no space in the classroom - one problem of a small school. My d registered today for next year and got everything she wanted, 3 poli sci courses and the Spanish class. In all fairness she was able to register as a current sophomore due to AP credits (the only thing AP credits do for you at Mac). Most her friends do not register until next week. I honestly think after your first year it is not an issue. You will also, hopefully, have an advisor you can go to for help if class selection becomes a huge issue. </p>

<p>Ahhh, the money, I too went to Mac but my parents received a bunch of aid. I think my feelings on the money are as follows. If you are going to use the Mac degree to go onto grad school, law school, med school etc. it is worth it. Although not incredibly well known throughout the US grad schools do know Mac and, therefore, when you apply it gets consideration. On the other hand, if my daugher gave up her dream and said "I want to be a teacher" I would tell her to get her butt out of Mac and to one of the state schools that offer her a ton of merit money. You can teach with a degree from anywhere. I do believe the Mac degree opens certain doors for you and the education is valuable but one has to weigh how it will be used. If we were in a different situation and received aid, enough to make it comparable to a state school, I would have no problem with her continuing at Mac no matter what career plan she had - I hope that makes sense. One other valuable asset for Mac, the alumni network. I believe all small schools offer more "connections" than large schools. My d's first choice was Georgetown, an alum cannot help every Georgetown grad but if a soon to be Mac grad calls an alum most likely, due to the connection, the alum will help. I am constantly telling my d to keep her eyes and ears open when speakers and alums come to campus - that could be the person who can open the door to your future. </p>

<p>I hope this helps. Where are you from, would Mac be close to home or far away for you? </p>

<p>I do think Mac has a lot to offer but I also think that perspective students often get a very one sided view of the school. It is all marketing as it is with all colleges. With that being said I do not know any friends of my daughters who are 100% happy with their choice, my d is probably happier than most.</p>