My daughter has visited a couple of times and loves it there, but is wondering about how much partying goes on there, both drinking and weed. That’s not her thing and wants to know if she’ll feel excluded if she chooses not to partake.
I’m an old alum, but from what I can see of the current atmosphere (I do get back to the neighbrohood once in a while), Mac isn’t that different from the other LACs in its cohort. Which is to say that there will be plenty of drinking and pot smoking, but it’s very much not the type of scene you would have at a large public university with fraternities and sororities. And there will probably be very little pressure to partake.
These are pretty high achieving kids. Somehow they still get all their homework done.
I think there are both types there. She should find her tribe.
My daughter is a first-year student at Mac. She does not drink or use drugs, and has found lots of friends who don’t, and some who do, and it isn’t an issue. So far she has not complained about feeling like excluded and she finds plenty of people to have fun with when she has free time. These kids get a LOT of work - it’s manageble, but it’s a lot - and seem to take their studies very seriously, so I think excessive partying just isn’t an option.
Thank you all for your replies. That’s what I was expecting to hear, but it’s nice to have that confirmed.
There is definitely drinking, weed and hooking up on campus, but not nearly as much as what she hears about from friends at other campuses. Mac doesn’t have a substance free dorm, so you can’t completely avoid it. But my kid doesn’t party at all (I wish she would get out a little bit!), and she has not felt ostracized. It’s a live and let live vibe - do it if you want, but people will not pressure you or make fun of you if you don’t.
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@UNYMom There is a substance free dorm! It’s called 30Mac and it’s one of the nicer dorms, if students are willing to commit to living in a 24-hour quiet space with no substance allowed.
Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize this. When my daughter asked, they told her there wasn’t one, but they may have only meant for first year students. Thanks for the info!
And now that I look at the web site, it says 30 Mac is only for sophmores. Can this be correct? Only sophmores have the choice of substance free living? https://www.macalester.edu/reslife/residencehalls/30mac/#/0
@UNYMom Yes, just sophomores. The idea is that juniors/seniors that do live on campus mostly live in either Kirk Hall or Grand Cambridge Apartments. Kirk is suite style rooms and Grand Cambridge Apartments are apartments that the college owns. Both are more catered towards juniors and seniors who prefer a more independent living style. There are other options as well such as the Summit house for juniors who are studying abroad.
Why wouldn’t Freshman merit a substance free dorm/floor?
@57special It’s a fair point, but it is not as if the first year dorms are occupied by lots of students engaging with substances on the weekends. If incoming first year students are looking for more quiet and “substance free” environment, then I recommend Doty as it is the quietest of the three first year dorms and each floor is not co-ed (with the exception of the 1st floor being all gender). Turck and Dupre are coed so they can get loud on the weekends. That said, the vibe of each floor varies. Residential Life is open to requests and feedback. Hope that helped!