My son (we live in Australia) has been admitted to all three of these colleges. He has visited Lewis & Clark and Bates and liked both. Unfortunately, he has not visited Macalester, and now with the Corona virus (can’t get travel insurance to cover it), he likely won’t be able to. He wants to study U.S. politics. Any thoughts about pro’s and con’s? I did read the discussion on Macalester vs. Bates, so perhaps info on Lewis & Clark compared with these other schools would be most useful. Thanks!
Without any doubt whatsoever, Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon has the best location among the 3 schools. Beautiful campus.
Although they are all very good schools, Macalester and Bates are generally ranked substantially higher than Lewis & Clark. Although the US News & World Reports rankings do only rough justice, and rankings don’t determine fit, both Macalester and Bates are generally ranked in the top 25 liberal arts colleges in the US on their scale, with Lewis & Clark in the top 75. We considered all three as candidate schools for my son, although we visited only Bates. We were put off Lewis & Clark not so much by the ranking issue but by repeated stories about how athletes and other students do not always mix well on campus. My son is an athlete and was wary of being in that kind of environment. I have no idea whether what we read was an accurate representation of the campus, I am just explaining why we backed off. It is a beautiful campus in a nice part of the country. Bates, as you know, is in a somewhat gritty city about a half hour from Portland, Maine. We really liked the school, for its lack of pretension among other qualities. Macalester is one of the few small liberal arts colleges in a truly urban location, in St. Paul. It is an excellent school, with a liberal bent. My son, who did not grow up in the US, did not want to be in a very political environment and that scared him off Macalester. One of his high school classmates is there and is very happy. I think it depends on the individual. Being near a major international airport might be helpful in your case - Macalester would probably be the easiest for you, Bates the most challenging.
My D attended L&C and she didn’t see any division between the athletes and the rest of the student body. L&C also has a good number of international students (my D’s roommate for a year was one) which should make the OP’s son feel more in the main stream.
Interesting that both the areas around Macalester & Bates have large Somali immigrant communities. No real significance to this thread, just an observation.
OP: Since your son has visited Bates & Lewis & Clark colleges, it might help if you shared his thoughts on each school.
Three fantastic schools! Mac is more urban feeling and has a less beautiful campus. Lewis & Clark more diverse and international. More women than men at Mac and at Lewis & Clark, but 50/50 gender ratio at Bates, if that matters.
Hi all, @Melbmum’s son here. As @Publisher suggested, I’ll share my thoughts about Lewis & Clark and Bates.
Bates: A very pretty campus, albeit a very cold one. Personally, it seemed like the students had kind of embraced the idea that they were the least illustrious of the Maine colleges, but given my high school had a very similar attitude I appreciated that. Definitely a lot less elitist and “preppy” than I was expecting - I absolutely hate students viewing the school they attend as a status symbol, and I’ve had bad experiences along those lines with some East Coast schools. Lewiston was a little small for my taste (I’m a dedicated city boy), but I know that colleges tend to be pretty insular so that’s not really a big issue. One thing I really liked was the school’s emphasis on things like their lack of frats and their use of a single dining hall - it seemed like they were really focused on building a sense of community and that’s something I’m definitely looking for in a college.
Lewis & Clark: Again, the campus is gorgeous, although I didn’t care much for Portland’s weather. The students are very laid back (it is the West Coast, after all), but everyone I spoke to was clearly passionate about their learning and the school. The most major difference between Lewis & Clark and Bates is the location. As I said, I’m a city kid at heart, and I really liked how Lewis & Clark struck a balance between the insular student community and its connection with the city as a whole. I liked the energy in Portland, and all the cute little hipster cafes that reminded me of Melbourne. One of the main reasons I wanted to visit Macalester was to get a feel for St. Paul-Minneapolis, so if anyone has thoughts on how it compares with Portland those would be greatly appreciated.
EDIT: I figured I’d add a few details about myself after reading earlier posts. My main interests are politics and history, and my interests tend towards the nerdier side of things. I enjoy playing sports (particularly soccer), but I’m definitely no athlete and don’t particularly care for big sporting events. I’m fairly politically engaged, as are many of my friends, so I don’t mind an activist campus as long as it’s not too hardcore (for reference, I visited Reed College and was NOT a fan).
I haven’t visited Macalaster, but our D’s advisor highly recommended it to her, so describing my D and another student I know who went to Mac may help you. My D is quite bright, a 5yr student senator, co-editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, very politically and globally aware, a tennis player, likes discussions on ideas, not a sorority type. The girl I know who went to Mac was a lot like my D, but very involved in climate issues (like 5-6 yrs ago, before Greta) and had successfully filed a lawsuit ag the state EPA. She also trekked through either Greenland or Iceland, can’t remember which.
The reason my D’s advisor suggests Mac for D is it that it has a big focus on multiculturalism and a big international population for a liberal arts school (abt 15%), has an intellectual but non pretentious student body, is situated in an urban area (albeit cold) with lots of internships available, and they offer merit.
My sense is that Bates = Mac in terms of student abilities, but Mac may attract slightly more alternative type kids (not as many NE prep schoolers like Bates), though not hipsters ala Reed, and independent thinkers who want what a city offers.
I think Lewis and Clark would have a different overall intellectual feel than the other 2 schools.
Portland is just a different place from anywhere else, even more of the NW laid back vibe than other places. And it rains. A l The St Paul-Minneapolis area is supposed to be very nice, but hopefully someone with knowledge can speak to that.
Maybe look at Mac on Unigo to see if you can find out more about the area.
@melbmum here again. Just following up on the comment by @tkoparent re: relative rankings. Should we be concerned that Lewis & Clark’s ranking is considerably lower than that of either Macalester’s or Bates’? I have to say that, at least the way my son reported it, he found the students at Lewis & Clark easily as engaged and “intellectual” as those at the other colleges he visited, and these included, in addition to Macalester and Bates, Swarthmore, Haverford, Bowdoin, Colby, and Pomona.
Irrespective of general rankings, if you were to consider standardized scoring profiles as an indication of academic preparation, you would find some separation — as well as significant overlap — across your son’s choices (though if Swarthmore, e.g., were in the mix, this would not be the case):
Middle Range SAT
Macalester: 1330–1460
Bates: 1280–1460
Lewis & Clark: 1230–1400
Both Bates College and Lewis & Clark are standardized test optional for admissions. Macalester College, to the best of my knowledge, is not.
P.S. My impression is that students at top LACs, such as all three schools under discussion here, want to be engaged in discussions & exchange of ideas. It is the nature of a broad based liberal arts education.
Consequently, the actual score differences from Macalester to Bates and L&C would be somewhat greater than indicated in reply #9.
I have a high school student starting at L&C in the fall (applied early decision). I can see how one could end up with these three colleges as they do have a fair amount in common. Both of my daughters went to US boarding schools and all three of these colleges attract a fair amount of boarding school applicants with Bates being the most popular due in part to its East Coast location closer to where most of these families live and the boarding schools are located. We toured Bates with my oldest who is now at Emory and it is interesting that her take was that it was actually among the “preppier” of the schools she toured which included Colby (Her boyfriend is at Swathmore and she is at Emory.) This is because Bates felt kind of clubby/posh in comparison to say Colby (which she loved except for the location) and not on anything specific to the student body.
MY L&C daughter will be a visual arts major and is thinking about one of their 5 year dual degree programs. I think the location was a huge factor in her decision as Portland is such a great little city and she also loves the outdoors. L&C was one of the few schools where she could be both in a city and access the outdoors and they also had the right majors for her interests. L&C’s focus on experiential learning was a big plus too as she went to a progressive experiential school. Plus the L&C campus is so pretty.
I was also initially worried about L&C’s higher acceptance rate (Did this mean if wasn’t as “good”?) but our daughter saw this as a plus. My daughter and several of her friends this year have decided not to pursue the uber popular colleges right now. Although they have the stats for some of these name brands, they are tired of the rat race to the top here in the US and are just not wanting to engage. Most of their parents are still pushing for the “little ivies” though.
I think there are a few reasons based on location as to why L&C has a higher acceptance rate too. Very few families from the North East send their kids to colleges in the Pacific Northwest because it is such a long commute and so many of the most popular US colleges are in the northern part of the US. They just don’t feel compelled to send kids that far when they have Boston, NYC, DC, Philly and all the New England colleges closer to home. In addition, L&C competes for students against some very solid public universities that are in-state for local families and far cheaper, and of course there is the California factor. The California colleges also draw far more applicants from the Northeast and, of course, California than Washington and Oregon.
If you choose Lewis & Clark, send me a PM! There is a parents facebook page too fyi. Good luck with your decision and congrats - those are all wonderful choices!
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my son is at Bates now with a poly science/history double major - poly sci emphasis national security and has loved his time there. he is also actively engaged in politics on campus, locally and in Maine, worked in Wash DC past summer - all done via bates clubs/connections/references plenty of opportunity to get involved. Bates poly sci dept is excellent. he chose bates over Macalester - although it was close. plenty of opportunity to get involved there also. Macalester minneapolis city suburb, bates 45 minutes from portland maine. both cold winter weather. he is not an athlete or from the Northeast and fits in fine. both colleges 5-10 % students west coast/southeast usa. no experience with L&C unfortunately cannot assist there.
Just thought I would pop back on and let you know my son’s decision – he went with L&C. At the end of the day, he loved L&C when he visited, he felt a bit more ‘at home’ on the west coast (I’m originally from the Bay Area in California), he’s a bookstore fanatic and with Powell’s…, and it’s easier to get from there back home to Australia (well, at least once international travel is back!). He was very tempted by Macalester, but without a chance to visit in person, he decided to go somewhere he knew he would love.
@chemmchimney - will PM you! 
We are 25 min away from L&C and it is very much on our daughter’s top list. Along with University of Puget Sound. It might actually be too close to home for us as she can just take a city bus there from our house with one transfer. UW in Seattle is also high on her list as she hasn’t quite decided if she’d rather have the big school or small school experience. UW tempts her as we have lots of family in the Seattle area and she kind of wants to do the Husky Marching Band. At least half a dozen kids from her HS marching band are up there.
Our daughter is also kind of stepping away from the race to get into one of the little Ivies like Pomona, much less even thinking about trying for a place like Stanford. The kids may have something there. Having the time and space to explore yourself in college is a good thing and maybe a bit more possible at a place that isn’t quite so intensely competitive.
Mac is in a benign residential part of St. Paul that is situated between the downtowns of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The new MLS soccer stadium is within a 5 minute drive, as are quite a few schools such as St. Thomas University, St. Catherine, Hamline, and Concordia. U of MN(two different, and large campuses) is about 15 min away. The area is filled with a mix of middle(some very modest) to upper class homes(some grand), and smaller shops. No high rises to speak off. I would generally call it very safe, for a city. There is frequent bus service and a LRT station which connects to both downtowns, the airport, and many other destinations nearby. It’s about a 15 minute Uber to the Airport. A smallish public golf course is about 10 blocks to the south, as is a complex with 3 arenas.
Mac is good at a few things, but Political Science is definitely a strength. Their student body will tend to be quite left of Center, but in a “Minnesota Nice” type way. It’s not strident and in your face… just overly “careful”, and politically correct.
Bottom line is that it is a very good school that is not in a convenient location. It is not in an area that is densely populated(i.e. JHU, McGill, NYU, etc)nor is it sequestered in a suburb( Swathmore, Reed), but it is definitely in the city(s) and very near to a lot of things, including the state Capitol in St. Paul. If you’re child likes pro sports, the MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA all have teams than can be reached on the LRT within a half hour.
The building are a mix of new and old. The dorms are…ok . Very close to the school. Grounds are decent for a city school. Not expansive, but some nice green spaces. Good, not great athletic facilities.
Winter is long, and cold. I would say that that it has a fair amount of sunshine, however, making for a cheerier atmosphere than the PAC NW, and possibly Bates. The chill air coming off the Atlantic, and the lack of sunshine, will make Bates feel colder than the dry air in MN, so keep in mind that when comparing temps.