<p>Heyyyy everyone, </p>
<p>I visited mac during the sampler thinking I would LOVE it...but it turned out to be just okay. I don't know my host wasn't very into the school (at all) and it was raining when I visited the campus. I visited Rochester on a sunny beautiful day and I had an amazing tour and I loved it. Both have great departments for the sciences. I'm just torn...=( Help?</p>
<p>I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the campus visit. They're great for getting to know a school, but I visited Mac during April of my senior year after being admitted and hated it. Visits are so random, because the people you meet may be the type that you'd never be friends with. The weather is also random: it rained for a few days in April this semester and you happened to be there for them.
That said, it's possible you'd be happier at Rochester. You haven't said anything about what you're looking for in a college. Why did you think that you'd love Mac? What did you love about your visit to Rochester? Why, after having had a bad experience at one and a great experience at the other, are you still holding onto Mac?</p>
<p>I second that.
They tell hosts that they don't need to do anything with their PF's, just provide a bed. The hosts that extend some help and advice can really make a difference, but there is always a percentage that just isn't interested. I've seen it go either way the campus visit can give you an unrealistically bad impression or even an unrealistically good one! I saw one group come on a very nice weekend and they had the time of their lives... started talking about choosing mac over stanford/brown/carleton... I just think they got an inflated view of the school based on a lucky visit. :) I really don't know what to tell you in terms of choosing. Rochester was on my list, and when it came to choosing, Mac had the upper hand in terms of small size, intellectualism, financial aid, and surrounding neighborhood. If there's any reason I would choose Rochester, it would be to have access to a much larger faculty in the sciences, and to be closer to the east coast.</p>
<p>I have a really good friend who goes to Rochester, so I know a few differences, aside from the obvious ones.</p>
<p>1) social life. although you're going to find some partying at both schools, rochester revolves around the greek life. my friend (straight edge in hs, now a sorority girl) said to me "no greek life? but without a greek life, there'd never be ANYTHING to do!" Mac doesn't have a greek system, and thus a lot more of the social stuff is movies, dances, or dorm parties, but not the pervasive greek environment.</p>
<p>2) liberalism. at rochester, it was a big deal when my friend had a feminist professor....at Mac, thats more the norm. its not that mac doesn't have a few conservative students, its that they're much more in the minority, and you can expect discussions to be liberal or neoliberal much more often than at rochester.</p>
<p>3) size. rochester is bigger, but the twin cities are a bigger metropolitan area. are you one of those people who will take advantage of the concerts, internships, volunteer opprotunities, etc of a large city? theres nothing wrong with saying no, in which case you might want to consider rochester as its easier to stay on campus and get all of your needs met there.</p>
<p>4) social hierarchies. my friend received a kate spade purse when she got in, because (as her alumni coach said) "you can't carry just any purse, you'll get eaten alive." while I doubt rochester is as status conscious as some schools, my friend has gone practically broke trying to support the consumer culture that seems to be prevalent at rochester. macalester tends to be less focused on outward status symbols, partly since we have so many students on financial aid, but also partly because we're focused on other things (activism, or academics, or the cities).</p>
<p>I know thats probably slightly biased, but I figured it would give you something to work off. feel free to PM me with questions, and good luck.</p>