<p>I am amazed that Macalester had already sent out acceptances for some regular decision applicants. If the "early letter" notice is accurate, I hope I get mine soon.</p>
<p>What states are those of you who have already gotten their letters from? Do you live in states near Minnesota?</p>
<p>I am in Chicago. Here is an excerpt from the letter:</p>
<p>"You may be surprised to hear good news from us earlier than our published notification date (March 30). Although our review of applications will be continuing until the end of March, we are giving you this "early" notification because the admissions committee has already reviewed your application and was certain you would still be in our "Admit!" group at the end of the process. Also, since we've had time to review you, we wanted to give you a little extra time to review us prior to the May 1 reply date."</p>
<p>The letter also mentioned that Mac had received over 5,000 applications for 480 positions in the first year class. Hopefully, you will get your letter tomorrow.</p>
<p>macstudent, if you are still hanging around may I ask you a question? Is it possible for a conservative, non-partying (no alcohol etc.) young woman to be happy at Mac? I am not psycho about it and actually find other people's intoxication amusing but I am curious as to whether a conservative Republican can fit in, any input is appreciated.</p>
<p>daviban- haha i was actually thinking the same thing..</p>
<p>meganb33, glad to hear there are others like me out there that are considering Mac!</p>
<p>It really depends on your personality and what you mean by 'conservative'. If you're a big Bush supporter, then look elsewhere. But if you're conservative just in terms of being a small government republican or are apolitical, then you shouldn't have a problem.
I've known people who've fit your description (don't party, conservative) who've loved Mac and a couple of people like that who've hated it and transferred. I think the key is that you really need to be okay with other people having different views and values than you; that's true for everyone to succeed socially in college but particularly people who are more conservative. So, if you're cool with hanging out with people who are drinking and you're not, then you won't have any problem. Mac is a very laid back place; people are cool with whatever you do as long as you're cool with what they do. It's also not a party school; you'll find plenty of people who don't party or get drunk to hang out with.
In terms of the politics themselves, there's a small group of super-liberal students who make a fair bit of noise. Most students, even liberal ones, can't stand those people. I think generally students are most liberal in their views on social responsibilty: things like helping the poor, recognizing the impact of racism in our society, and supporting international human rights. These issues are generally associated with liberals, but could also be valued by a conservative (or someone who is religious: there are a fair number of Christians at Mac, as colleges go).
If you get in, I'd really recommend going to one of the admitted student samplers in April. That gives you a couple of days to hang out with a bunch of students from your year who are largely planning to attend Mac. If being the only pro-life person in a group isn't an issue for you, then great, but if it makes you feel isolated, then you'd probably have a problem at Mac.</p>
<p>Oh, one thing I wanted to add to keep you guys from stressing: the admissions department does send out some of the acceptance letters early every year to people they're sure to accept. However, not getting one early doesn't mean you're not highly regarded. They're very careful in sending them, so for example if there are multiple people from a high school applying, they won't send any letters early to those people unless they're all going to get in for certain.</p>
<p>Kelsmom, my D was no longer interested in Macalester after we visited. Prior to that, it was first on her list and seemed like a great fit. It could have been an off day, but it just didn't feel right anymore.</p>
<p>My daughter is still interested in Macalester, but after a less than inspiring visit last fall, primarily due to having a very negative, disinterested overnight host, it dropped from first to second or third on her list of favorite schools. She still likes Mac, but would probably require a second visit to dispell her initial negative feelings from the first one.</p>
<p>Macstudent, thanks for the reponse. I did get one of those early admit letters so I am in if I decide Mac is the right choice for me. Believe it or not, you describe Mac pretty much the same as my mom who graduated from Mac in '86. I do believe in social repsonsiblity and am a Christian (but not a crazy Jesus freak). Not a big fan of president Bush either so maybe Mac would work for me. I am spending the night at Mac in late March with the athletic team for which I am being recruited. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the admitted students weekends as my high school softball season will be in full swing (no pun intended) by then. My coach isn't very happy that I am missing a doubleheader to visit Mac the end of March but I wanted to see the Mac team practice and play. I really do appreciate everything you have told me, both positive and negative. I am leaning towards a double major in International Relations and Spanish and Mac seems to have an excellent program. I am also a city girl at heart and love the idea of a small school in a metro area instead of a cornfield! Thanks again, if all Mac students are like you it must be a pretty awesome place!</p>
<p>Congrats to all who got accepted early!
I got my letter yesterday :-)
It was super exciting, as ALL my other colleges don't tell me until April. A lovely surprise.</p>
<p>i didn't check the status site, but i got the early RD acceptance a couple days ago! on the envelope they write "YES MACALESTER" which really confused me</p>
<p>gopumas07</p>
<p>Oh my gosh! I didn't know Mac did early RDs like Grinnell. I'm not going to stress about my son not getting one yet, though, because the Grinnell acceptance calmed me down. He doesn't need 10 great options, just one (though a few would be fun).</p>
<p>Congratulaions on this early acceptance!!</p>
<p>this wait is starting to make me nervous!! i hope we find out soon!</p>
<p>Yes, amg88! My daughter is anxious as well. Macalester is one of her top choices.</p>
<p>does anyone have any idea when the decisions will be released? will they be released online?</p>
<p>It looks like people started getting RD decisions by e-mail on 3/16 last year.</p>
<p>has anyone gotten their email notifications then?</p>
<p>^^
not me.....</p>
<p>My older daughter was accepted last year. I don't believe she heard anything by e-mail. She did, however, receive a large envelope with the words "Yes, Macalester!" on it. Don't remember exactly when it arrived.</p>
<p>hope i get my acceptance letter tomorrow
i already got into other colleges (bowdoin, oberlin, grinnell, binghamton) so i'm not as anxious as the beginning of this month haha</p>
<p>congratz everyone-! macalester is a great school and i would definitely visit if i get in :)</p>