<p>I'm planning on visiting the Macalester campus in a few days. Does anyone have recommendations for facilities to explore, programs to ask about, questions to interrogate Mac admissions staff with, or other various comments about Mac tours?</p>
<p>My son and I visited last week. Here are some suggestions: First, don't be put off by the relatively small size of the campus. My son almost decided to back out of the tour and interview when he first saw Macalester because, although the campus is lovely, it is VERY small and really a part of the surrounding area. Expect that, but don't let it influence you.</p>
<p>The tour we had was very well done, and one nice thing, at least on the day we visited, was that Mac seemed to have enough tour guides so that they could break things down into small groups of 3-4 people instead of those huge mass packs of people that many schools do for tours in the summer. Our tour guide was very accomodating about showing us the specific facilities that interested my son and the other student on our tour, so don't be shy about asking to see what you want to see. The tour guides were great about answering questions, and there are enough students wandering around campus, even though it is summer, that you should have the opportunity to talk to someone besides a tour guide if you wander around on your own after your tour and interview. </p>
<p>The interview at Mac, like at most LAC's isn't about interrogation but about getting to know each other, so do have one or two questions you can't find on their website to ask the interviewer, but beyond that, just treat it as if you are introducing yourself in a conversational manner to someone who will be interested in getting to know you. It's really pretty low key.</p>
<p>Do walk around the neighborhood either before or after the tour. Have a cup of coffee or a meal in one of the coffee shops right off of campus - that will give you a bit of a sense of what it might be like to live on a campus that is so interwound with its local surroundings. </p>
<p>If at all possible, try to take a drive a little further afield, through downtown St. Paul and over to downtown Minneapolis. This is a really thriving urban area, but you won't get a sense of that if all you do is go directly to and from the airport to Macalester and back. Of course, if you're from Minnesota, you probably already know that. :) Still, it's helpful to get an idea of where Mac is situated in relation to the rest of MSP.</p>
<p>Overall, my son ended up glad he stayed for the tour, and decided that he liked Macalester despite his first reaction. It just threw him at first that Mac doesn't have the "set apart from the world" type of campus that most of the LAC's he's visited have had. But, he ended up thinking that is actually one of the unique things about Mac that he really liked. Enjoy!</p>