@mundanewarrior oh damn hey lol
Hello,
It’ll be less than 24 hours before the results come out, I should think. Some words of advice to those of you fretting over college acceptances: It will only get tougher. Choosing which college to go to can be difficult but it is important to overthink this decision especially when choosing small prestigious LACs as each college has its own unique identities, strengths and drawbacks. If you don’t fit in, life can be and will be hard. Here are some things to consider when choosing Macalester.
- Macalester has an undoubtedly social justice bent. Action is stressed a lot. If you are the sort who likes to engage in deep thinking or debate, Macalester might not be the place for you. Chances are you will be shut down if you ask questions.
- If you are conservative, don't come here. Period. You will be a social pariah unless you're part of a varsity team.
- If you are a person of color, do note that the college is only 21% POC. Most White students hang together and only a minority of students actively and genuinely engage in the multitude of multicultural activities.
- If you are an international student, note that there is a huge divide between domestic and international students. Many internationals go their full four years clustered together.
- If you want a sense of community, Macalester might be disappointing. Most upperclassmen live off campus and so there is very little investment in on-campus communities except for speciality housing.
There are of course many positive aspects to Macalester which I believe the admissions people should’ve told you by now.
So choose wisely and good luck!
@backbencher Thanks. That makes it easy for me to rule out Mac. I wish I knew this before I applied / wrote my essays.
Thank you! I mean Macalester is my first choice. I have dreams of going there. The closer we get to receiving the decisions, the more I realize that if I do not get in, then it’s for a good reason. I’m a minority ( black ) and I don’t mind the lack of socializing amoung other students that are not students of color. Overall Mac is genuinely amazing. Hopefully, the news is good :). Good luck to those that applied!.
The earlier post this morning sounded very depressing. This should be an exciting day for all the kids that have been waiting for their results from Macalester. My son has been to the campus twice, sat in on classes, had lunch with students and has loved it. I hope all the best for all who do want to spend the next 4 years at Macalester!
Is there a latino community on campus? Scared I won’t fit in…
What a discouraging and frankly insensitive thing to post on a thread of hopeful students eagerly awaiting a response from a college. I’m curious to know where this person came by his or her opinions, as there is no mention of that. It’s disheartening to see a few subsequent posters take those statements as fact.
Best of luck to all! My D was accepted to Mac ED2 and is eager to meet more new students on the FB page!
That guy is possibly a t-r-oll, considering that his “data” is incorrect, and has no proof.
https://www.macalester.edu/admittedstudents/classprofile/
Mac is more diverse than he says, although whites make up the majority.
https://www.macalester.edu/thrive/diversity/
https://www.macalester.edu/thrive/internationalism/
[url=Macalester College Diversity: Racial Demographics & Other Stats]
[/url]
However, Mac’s own “About” page says 21% are POC, which matches with what the poster said.
https://www.macalester.edu/about/#/0
This “diversity” is including international students, not domestic diversity.
I’ll quote a Mac student (Samia Habli ’16):
This kinda overlaps with what the poster said.
http://themacweekly.com/2012/12/students-question-admission-policies-domestic-diversity-2/
I think students should do their own research.
https://www.■■■■■■■■■/colleges/macalester-college/q-and-a/describe-the-students-at-your-school-6/1
Just to clear some of the smoke, I am not against anyone here. That person could have good intentions in mind. It’s just that there is no credibility since s/he is a new member on CC with only 3 posts.
The bottom line is, students should do their own research.
I will probably not be attending Mac (if I get accepted) but for different reasons. I’m not “taking those statements as fact”.
The last link in my previous got “censored” by CC. Probably because it is a fantastic website and a direct competitor to CC. It has lots of useful information from students who actually went to Mac. I think it’s the best resource for learning more about any college. The site is called U-N-I-G-O. Just replace the asterisks from the link with the word (without hyphens).
I agree with mundanewarrior, the poster may have had good intentions but their experience doesnt equal fact, everyone sees things differently so dont let one person alter your entire view
@mundanewarrior thanks for the follow info about unigo. I had not heard of them before.
Out of all the campuses we visited, I got the best vibe from Mac. Can’t wait until this evening! Good luck everyone!
How do we know it is this evening?
What time?
@marnina read previous posts-2 coaches told applicants it will be this eve. No time was given.
@NolaCAR They said “early evening”. That means around 6 hours from now, right? (I’m an international applicant)
@ mundane warrior I am in the same time zone as Macalester. We are planning to start checking at 5 pm (17:00), which is 5.5 hours from now (today we “sprung forward” 1 hr due to daylight saving’s time, so that makes it even more difficult for international students like you).
Regarding the above negative poster - of his/her three posts, two are about taking SAT II subject tests in Singapore. I doubt that a HS junior who lives abroad has the kind of personal experience of MAC that is suggested in that post. My impression of MAC is that it is unusually racially and socioeconomically diverse for a LAC and is genuinely committed to the idea of international citizenship, as is reflected in its relatively high % of international students. For all of you who are excited to hear about your acceptances, don’t let one bad comment diminish your enthusiasm. I hope you all receive good news!
It should be noted those posts were made in 2014 if im not mistaken? So they should now be a college student
Just quoting a few students from [The Mac Weekly](Students question admission policies, domestic diversity - The Mac Weekly).
Cameron Kesinger ’14:
Christian Smith ’15:
Amani Mekraz ’16:
FWIW, I live about 3.5 hours from Mac, but I am not a Midwest native, so I feel I have some objectivity. My observations about domestic persons of color in the upper Midwest are: 1) In general, the upper Midwest is very white, so there aren’t a lot of in-state domestic students of color, 2) It’s hard to attract OOS domestic students of color to the upper Midwest (I think both because of its whiteness and its frigid winters). When I was at a Wisconsin university, I had an apartment with a Latina student from Los Angeles and a black student from the US Virgin Islands. They both hated the upper Midwest and moved away as soon as we graduated.
I would expect that there may not be as many domestic students of color at Mac as at schools in other parts of the country. However, I don’t fault Mac for this. I think they are genuine in welcoming students of color-both domestic and international, and in cultivating a diverse atmosphere. But I think the demographics of the upper midwest and the frigid winters are against them.