Thank you so much! I just watched one of the videos with my daughter. She has seen one or two already but it was fun to watch together; she was laughing and happy about what she was seeing.
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@healani I absolutely agree – both are excellent schools. Academically, it was a wash – but a few key pros/cons made the difference to our S:
Location was huge. He really liked the idea of being in a small school in a large city. Yes, Tufts is about a 30 min or so bus ride from Boston, but it is in a smallish suburb that really didn’t appeal to our S. Alternatively, the St. Paul neighborhood in which Mac is located is a bustling, vibrant, urban setting. (It did not disappoint. He absolutely loved living there, taking advantage of its proximity to Minneapolis as well.)
The people. There is definitely a different feel to the folks in the midwest vs. those in New England.
Before I continue, let me just say that, like you, we live in WI. I’ve been here for 20 years – but I was born and raised in a city just outside of Boston, leaving New England in my mid twenties. All of my siblings still live in MA, so I (and they!) would have been thrilled if our S chose Tufts. But socially, NE can tend toward the clannish, whereas MN definitely lived up to the “Minnesota nice” moniker.
Bottom line, when my S visited Tufts, he didn’t feel the same kind of warmth and openness from those he encountered there that he did at Mac.
Baseball. Our S wanted to play baseball at the collegiate level (and did with much success!). He met the Mac coach when we visited in the fall and was impressed. Was unable to have the same kind of meeting at Tufts.
The mascot. Okay, so this was a really minor quibble – and not at all a dealbreaker – but it was kind of annoying how much emphasis was placed on Jumbo the elephant by our tour guide; he just kept going back to that elephant. So much so that (almost 7 yrs later) we still remember it. There were many things we were hoping to hear about in depth that day. Jumbo was not one of them.
These are the things that come to mind right now, though there may have been others that I can’t remember. I will say that a niece of mine attended Tufts as an undergraduate and had a terrific experience. She is now working on her Ph.D in Alaska. So YMMV.
It really does come down to what your D wants in a school.
In addition to Mac ED2, our D applied regular decision to Bowdoin, Grinnell, Reed, and Skidmore; UW-Madison was her safety. She definitely leaned heavily toward the small liberal arts colleges, but wanted to be in a big city and really likes the Midwestern vibe. She also wanted to be in a colder climate (hates the heat!), on a progressive campus with a global bent and a collaborative (vs competitive environment). She had no interest in Greek life. Rigorous academics were a given. Mac was a perfect fit.
Unfortunately, she was unable to visit her other choices for obvious reasons, but researched them extensively. She is absolutely THRILLED to be going to Mac. 
Hope some of this is useful – and sorry for the length.
Good luck!
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Thanks for posting this…very informative! My D sounds very similar to yours. We were able to tour in July and she fell in love with Mac. It even pushed a couple of Ivies down the list so much that she applied ED to Mac instead. There’s one nagging concern though. Although she’s progressive, my D is not usually vocal about it. Is Mac’s reputation of activism a sort of peer pressure or are kids free to go their own way?
Thanks for info on Mac. Your D sounds similar to our D21. Very interested in small, liberal arts, progressive, largely midwest or east coast. She’s into Macalester EA, waiting on Oberlin, Vassar, Middlebury, Bates, Colby RD. Prior to COVID, we were able to visit Oberlin and Vassar - she liked both. From your description, Mac sounds similar in terms of feel, progresiveness, international. I do know there are admitted student virtual info sessions coming soon, so we’ll be sure to join those as well.
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@hoya91 Exciting!
(FYI - the D of a colleague of mine attended Oberlin and absolutely loved it! She is now working on an advanced degree in education in Chicago.)
With Mac secured and a number of potential other excellent choices, it sounds like your D will be in great shape. If she does end up choosing Mac, I hope our girls cross paths.
Take care – and good luck!
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@Tribegiant Absolutely free to go their own way. Though there are plenty of opportunities, our S never felt peer pressure to engage in any kind of activism or activity on campus. That’s not saying that he never got involved when he felt a strong urge to do so. He was (and still is) a very social guy who gravitated toward leadership roles and was very vocal about how he felt – but there was definitely a wide range of levels of involvement among his class and friends.
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hey, any RD applicant ???
Yes - my child is RD!
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D21 EA deferral… rejected. She took this one with a grin as she already has higher ranked schools that have accepted her.
Best of luck to all! Congrats on your MAC acceptances. 
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I’m so sorry to hear that, but glad she’s been accepted at other great options. Best of luck to you both!
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I just got accepted to MAC and congrats to everyone that got accepted!!!
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Did anyone attend yesterday’s admitted students virtual event? Very well done! Re: covid- if things go back to crazy again in the fall they will prioritize freshman and guarantee on campus housing for all incoming students. Hoping it doesn’t come up that, but good to know.
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yes I did and it was very well done. I am very impressed by them…
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We are registered for today’s event. Do you know if yesterday’s will be on YouTube?
They said that all events would be recorded. MyD had to work so I went and filled her in. She is excited about the internship options. Feels like a very welcome place.
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Hello! Has anyone committed yet? There are lots of good virtual events happening over the next couple of weeks. My D won’t make it to campus, but they are doing live virtual tours. There is an admitted students link on the site.