<p>Hey, I hope you guys can offer some opinions out there. I have been accepted to Macalester College and the University of Washington (not WUSTL). I want to double major in Chemistry and Japanese/Asian Studies and would like to know which school you guys would go to.</p>
<p>Okay, in order to further complicate things I would spend about the same amount of money at either school (thanks to financial aid). I also have community college credits that would transfer to UW, so I'd be a sophmore plus several classes. HOWEVER, I would like to have a typical college experience. So, what do you think? Feel free to ask any questions to clarify.</p>
<p>Okay, in order to further complicate things I would spend about the same amount of money at either school (thanks to financial aid). I also have community college credits that would transfer to UW, so I'd be a sophmore plus several classes. HOWEVER, I would like to have a typical college experience. So, what do you think? Feel free to ask any questions to clarify.
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<p>Id suggest UWashington because it has a decent chem program and is more well known.</p>
<p>I'll be able to visit UW, and since I'm in WA state going to Mac is not going to happen unless they pay for a plane ticket :} I'd really like to be able to do some indepedent research when I'm at school. Do you think that UW's size would prevent me from doing this? I.e. would Macalester offer me possibly better opportunities?</p>
<p>Once you see Macalester's campus you'd love Seattle and the U-District. In my opinon UW is the way to go because it's a good school and Macalester hasn't even reached its reputation yet. I mean not many people have heard of Macalester. I've never heard of it until you posted today.</p>
<p>the twin cities are very cool and I think macalester is preferable for undergrad
I live in Seattle and the students I know that are interested in the sciences and have parents who have done research on college have sent them to Carleton or Macalester, much more often than UW</p>
<p>In considering the UW- I would ask for written verification of what classes transfer just to be sure- best to know ahead of time</p>
<p>In terms of research opportunities, they definitely do exist at Macalester. I had a couple friends do research over at Macalester last summer as high school students and they worked side-by-side with several Macalester undergrads who seemed quite happy with their research experience and Macalester in general. In terms of the campus, its in an overall nice area with a lot of other colleges very close by and the Twin Cities have a lot to offer. I don't know much about the environment at UW, but I think the resources there would be superior to those at Macalester, although research opportunities may be more accessible at Macalester.</p>
<p>I would recommend Macalester. Having attended a small liberal arts college in the mid-west, which had a great science department, and you were able to work with the profs and they really knew you, I would recommend Macalester. People outside of the mid-west may not have heard so much about it, but it has a great reputation, and I believe that graduate schools would really value that diploma. More importantly though, would you be happy there?</p>
<p>I would also recommend Macalester, even though I am also an in-state Washingtonian.</p>
<p>The reason I would suggest the LAC is that you would recieve more personal attention. Also, you are more likely to do undergraduate research with a professor at Mac than at UW. The reason is that you will not have to compete against grad school kids for research positions. Again, it comes down to personal preferences. After you visit UDub, you'll be better able to tell what kind of enviornment you want. As for myself, I found I prefer the LACs to UW.</p>
<p>I do like the attention that most LACs give to their students, so if it is similar in price, I'd go to Mac.</p>
<p>Sonoma, please do a bit more research. It's just not helpful to say "I never heard of that school" and then conclude that it doesn't have much of a reputation. Macalester is a very fine school that draws applicants nationwide, including more than a few northeast prep school graduates.</p>
<p>I would say more people have heard of Macalester than Carleton just because Carleton is in a two cow town but it is a top rated school as is Mac( I would rate Carleton higher however)
Frankly I wouldn't send my kid to get their undergrad at UW for a couple reasons
one is - I worked as a college advisor at a community college and had many students come to take classes that couldn't get into the ones they wanted at UW because they were full or had conflicts
I also know students whose TAs for classes that weren't their major who had competitions to see how many of their non major students they could get to drop the class
Not to mention the sheer size of the place- it is bigger than many small towns- great for grad school if you can get in- but for undergrad -it is humoungous</p>
<p>Wow, some great discussion came from this! You guys have certainly given me lots to think about. Something I thought of today is that UW profs might be less able to give truly personal and reflective recommendation when there are 100+ majors in their department. Anybody else have an opinion?</p>
<p>I'd say, do something different and attend Macalester. Get the individual attention, the amazing recs for grad school, and enjoy a different social and cultural enviornment. Also, enjoy the company of your peers and be challenged by their points-of-view, instead of trying to get into a particular class (at UW).</p>
<p>I'm biased, though. UW is my safety....trying to decided between LACs and a small university.</p>
<p>I live in WA too and was going to apply to both Macalester and UW before I ended up going ED to Whitman. For the same price I would DEFINATELY choose Macalester, especially considering the research thing. Undergrad research at UW, being so big and w/ grads, has to be near-impossible from what I understand. If your intersted in watching a few videos about life at Macalester, go to macalester.edu and click the big "Congratulations!" thing for admitted students and there are some links...they're pretty cool. Go with Mac.</p>