Did anyone here narrow it down to these 2 schools, then end up going to Macalester? I’d love to hear about your decision process. I’m posting in multiple forums to try and get more opinions. Here’s what I posted in the general college search forum:
Can anyone give some thoughts to help choose between the two, or basic pros and cons? The departments I’d be focusing on are English, History, etc. Then just basic college life, academic rigor (challenging=fun/doable or challenging=put a cot in the library), professors, size (how small is too small?), and quarter vs. semester system. Thanks.
Macalester’s History department is good, but is currently in a state of flux. There are no tenured or tenure track professors, so professors frequently come and go. I’d say UChicago has the edge in history. I have no experience with the English major at Macalester, so I can’t really comment on that.
Basic College Life: Macalester is smaller, and does not have fraternities or sororities. This means that there are fewer big events, and most parties are smaller and more intimate. Both schools have great opportunities in terms of sports and clubs–U-Chicago has the edge in terms of sheer number of both, and they have stronger sports teams. However Macalester has better access to winter sports such as Cross Country Skiing (and has a club team). Lots of opportunities for internships at both schools, probably more at UChicago though just because of the size of Chicago.
Rigor: Depends on your department, I’d say that the two are roughly the same, although UChicago’s academics are perceived as being more prestigious. The U-Chicago name alone will probably get you farther too. UChicago’s academic rigor is over-hyped, sure there are hard majors, but not everyone is drowning in work as some would have you believe.
Profs: So far I’ve had great experiences with Macalester profs, however UChicago would offer more opportunities for research with profs.
Size: I wish Macalester was 500 students larger or so, but overall 2000 is a good size for a college IMO.
Semester system: works fine for me
Marlon James is on the Man Booker prize short list, which should make life interesting at Macalester in English.
OP, I think the bigger differences are in the size and cultures of the schools. U of C is big, with a grad school, and professional schools. Mac is small, just for undergrads. Both are fairly urban, but one is gritty urban while the other isn’t. Think which environment you would feel more comfortable in.
I have multiple friends that are majoring in English and History at Macalester. The English department is very well respected all around campus, I’ve heard of some professors being life changing. As far as the history department goes, Mac has been in a bit of transitonary period when it comes to professors but I’ve never heard any complaints from friends.
In my experience the college life at Macalester is really enjoyable. Everyone you meet here is serious about their academics but not to the point of living in the library year round. The culture promotes cooperation when to comes to academics instead of competition which is something I really appreciate.
Even though Mac doesn’t have any frats, the party scene is facilitated through clubs and orgs, where the upperclassmen that live off campus host parties. If you are engaged on campus, even as a freshman it won’t be hard to find a party on the weekends.
I don’t know much about Uchicago so I don’t want to tell you anything that might be incorrect.
Very different vibes. UChicago is very intense, cerebral, “life of the mind”. My dad calls it a place for eggheads (with affection, as one of my kids was accepted there). :). UChicago is a bigger school. Both urban, Mac is in a mellower neighborhood and city, some charming places to get food and pretty easy bus access to either city’s downtown. My same kid was accepted to Mac & UChicago, and we used to live in the Mac neighborhood. Mac is solid academically, diverse student body with an international feel. If you have the stats to get into UChicago, you are a good candidate for merit aid at Mac. My kid picked neither school in the end, but liked both.
In my experience with three kids, and even thinking back to my college days, those are two very unusual “final two” schools, and at the risk of sounding like a elitist, I can’t say I would predict very many people would choose Macalester over the University of Chicago. Macalester is a great school, but I would think any overlap between Chicago and a Midwestern LAC would be with Carleton. It’s not meant to be a knock on Macalester, but Chicago is a pretty elite place.
Just my $0.02.