Hey guys,
I’m an admitted biology major in Macalester and aiming for the pre-medical pathway. Can anyone shed light on Mac student life? I saw some dorm and dining hall videos and I quite like it, but I have no idea how the classes are or how to get research positions/ECs for my medical school admission.
How is the vibe on campus? I haven’t been able to visit Macalester due to COVID and can’t attend their open house or admitted student days.
Thanks a lot for replying
Macalester is an awesome school. I graduated from Mac and many of my friends attended top med schools, from Mayo to Northwestern to Stanford to UCSF to Emory. Anyone I knew who wanted to go to Med School went. It is a very supportive environment - faculty will support and encourage in science classes, as opposed to weed you out. You will have direct access to and mentorship from professors. There are great research opportunities on campus and around the Twin Cities - and internship opportunities too. Mac is regarded as the top school in the Twin Cities which opens up doors for internships.
The student body is quite fun and lively - very international. People tend to be involved in 1 or more student orgs. People tend to be Progressive, but not everyone is political. Social life is fun, but not like ragers and frat parties.
Thanks a lot Kunjani! How are the classes at Mac in terms of class size? I expect them to be small considering the college size, but are the general Ed/lower division classes vastly different in class size than the upper division classes? My concern lies in the fact that I need Prof Recommendations for med school applications (I think)
My D23 and I are headed to Macalester next week for a tour. She also plans on being a Bio major on the pre-med track. If you like I can let you know how it went.
Class sizes are small.
Intro classes are no larger than 50 and that would be considered huge. If you major in bio, you should have no problem getting to know individual professors well and obtaining recommendations for Med School.
SoCalDriver, you are a godsend! I would really appreciate it. Thanks a bunch!
That makes sense and it’s comforting to hear about the professor recommendation. Thanks a lot for the replies. I’m currently struggling to decide between Macalester and UC San Diego. Not counting financial aid, as UCSD hasn’t sent over theirs yet, the schools are very different. I got into Revelle College, the most humanities focused one, so there is some level of comparison. The pull is 50-50 and can tip either way, so I’m pretty anxious😂.
Even though they are quite different, they are both awesome choices - and the good news is that you cannot go wrong!
San Diego - warm/perfect weather, more instant name recognition, more anonymity (if you don’t want to bump into classmates and profs) and larger dating pool, more competition (especially in STEM), more Californians, politically moderate, more bureaucracy due to size and being a public school/UC
Macalester - seasons, Twin Cities!, great rep among “those in the know,” more intimate community (which means more access to faculty, and it’s a bit easier to stand out and take on leadership roles), no predominance in terms of where people are from (CA is the second most popular state on campus and tons of international students), politically progressive
One thing to note about Mac is that you can cross-register through the ACTC at 5 other nearby schools plus the University of Minnesota, the state flagship school.
Wow, looks like I can help you out again! We actually live in San Diego and are a little familiar with the UCSD campus as we have been there many times. If you end up visiting let me know, I can suggest places to stay, eat etc.
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Hi! I’m a current Mac frosh (not pre-med but have friends who are)! Feel free to ask any questions!
Hi Isla701
How would your pre-med students describe their workload? I hear academics are pretty rigorous there. Do they feel it’s pretty manageable? Are any of your pre-med friends varsity athletes? Do they feel there is good guidance for pre-med students to build their resume for grad school? And since you’re a student there, we are flying in from CA next week for a tour…any recommendations what to see? My D23 plans on being a Bio major/pre-med track.
I visited on Sunday and we drove through La Jolla and University City. I clicked with the campus instantly and the location of Revelle College, to me, felt great because the bio building was only a few minutes walk from Argo/Blake halls and the biochem building was in revelle college itself.
Thanks a bunch ucbalumnus
For UCSD, what do you mean by bureaucracy? there are more administrators to interact with?
Does Macalester have a good reputation outside of the St. Paul area? I heard they have an excellent reputation in the St. Paul area but am wondering if their outreach extends beyond that. The reasoning behind this question is for a backup plan in case I do not make it into a medical school.
Do freshman, especially out of state students, own cars on campus? In terms of opportunities in research/shadowing/internships in and around campus, are they easily accessible for Mac students of all years?
by bureaucracy I mean… you will have more navigation to do from a UX perspective - registering for classes, getting into required classes so you can graduate on time, if you want to change your dorm assignment, change your major, apply for study abroad, etc. You will need to be more self-directed and persevering to take advantage of resources. (Something many people don’t know is that Mac makes it very easy to graduate early, if that interests you - could make overall cost way more affordable.)
I have gotten many jobs because of Mac connections and I have hired 7 alumni throughout my career. (When I was in law school, my classmates who didn’t go to Mac got jobs through my Mac connections.) Going to a small school makes the alumni network very strong. There are many highly-placed Mac alumni in California, but not so many that it isn’t special. UC alumni are a dime a dozen in California. Being a Berkeley alum in San Francisco is so common that it’s not exciting. Being a Mac student or alum, you could reach out to any alum on LinkedIn and they will take your meeting or call and do whatever they can to help you. On top of that, liberal arts alumni tend to help each other - I get excited for resumes from cousin schools - Oberlin, Wesleyan, Grinnell, Pomona, Smith, Barnard, Vassar - so you get access to a super successful, and interesting expanded network. Pre-pandemic, we hosted a joint happy hour in San Francisco for Mac, Grinnell, Oberlin and Carleton graduates - 500 people showed up and the bar literally ran out of chicken wings and beer! I am guessing that turnout does not happen for UC gatherings in California.
Most people do not have cars. Some do, mostly sophomores or older. Parking isn’t hard or cost-prohibitive. Getting around the city is easy, between bus (right on campus), light rail (walking distance), and Uber. People absolutely take advantage of internships in the Cities galore and the school really wants you to. They are very connected to large employers (Twin Cities has a very high number of Fortune 500 companies.) Classes will also connect you to the Cities - take you on field trips, to plays and museums, bring interesting guest speakers. I think the urban location is a major reason why many attend Mac over rural liberal arts peers.
Hi again Isla, more questions…
How does the area around the school feel in terms of safety? Looking at the crime stats around the campus it seems high…which isn’t unlike a big city I suppose. Do you go into the city much? Do you feel safe using public transportation?
My D grew up in a rural outskirts area of a major city. I’m wondering how she will feel being in such a big city. We’ll find out next week I suppose…
Those are both some of the nicer communities of the San Diego.