St. Olaf Vs. Macalester

Hi,
Any feedback in terms of the pros and cons of St. Olaf and Mac? I’ve been accepted to both. I want to become a vet, I nordic ski, interested in psychology, criminology, english (and art/film/music to some extent, but art is less important to me than the other things.) I want a politically liberal/active campus, I’m atheist/agnostic and having a strong LGBTQ community is also important to me. I also used to live in Norway so I love the connection St. Olaf has with Europe. I also love winter.

St. Olaf pros (for me)

  • nordic ski team
  • LGBTQ friendly (they both are)
  • Liberal (they both are)
  • “dry” campus
  • ranked #4 for food
  • known for its beautiful friendly campus
  • Norwegian roots
  • has a pre-vet club

cons

  • more religious (but I’ve heard it’s not actually that religious…)
  • has a small number of film studies (production) classes
  • seems to have no specific pre-law/criminology courses – unsure if Macalester does either

Macalester pros:

  • seems to have a wider range of course offerings
  • more diverse
  • slightly smaller
  • Very politically active + liberal
  • LGBTQ friendly
  • slightly more film production studies courses
  • less “religious” than St. Olaf

Cons

  • no nordic skiing
  • not a “dry campus” – I’ve heard it’s a “party school” but unsure how accurate that statement is
  • no “norwegian roots” like St. Olaf
  • Not ranked for food (I have severe food allergies, so having a safe, good food environment is important to me)
  • No pre-vet club

Thoughts? Which do you think would be a better fit for me? Or any additional comments?

Thanks!

1 Like

Hello, I guess I might be too late to answer your question. Which one did you choose tho?

If music is at all important to you then consider that St Olaf has choirs and Mac has bagpipes. :-c