<p>Hadn't heard of this school until finding this discussion board. It must be pretty fabulous for people to be willing to live in Minnesota (brrrrrr...)!</p>
<p>One of ther few LACs actually located in a big city, rather than suburbs, exurbs, or rural. Right between Minneapolis and St. Paul.</p>
<p>Gives some $$$ to National Merit Finalists.</p>
<p>Very internationally oriented. English is banned during the summer.</p>
<p>I live walking distance from Macalester and it is a great campus/area to live in!</p>
<p>As one who willingly shells out full tuition to Macalester, here are the things worth mentioning: strong academics, international focus, great kids (left, edgy, but Midwest nice), endless opportunities for high achievers but also for those who are looking for more balance. Very political in the best sense of the word. Non-elitist. Lovely neighborhood with reasonable access to all things urban.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. How is Minn/St. Paul safety-wise?</p>
<p>And you gotta love it's the hometown of the Utne Reader!</p>
<p>Our neighborhood is extremely safe, IMO. I feel safe at all times of the day. Macalester is also about a ten minute drive to Minneapolis where you will run into the U of M, great resources. The only places I would not feel safe is North Minneapolis (though, not Northeast), Downtown Minneapolis and maybe the east side of Saint Paul (which Macalester is very far away from), I would only be afraid of these areas when alone and late at night. The area Macalester is in is very cute and fun on the Grand Street area with 5 different coffee shops in a one block radius (that I can think of), jamba juice, gift shops, expensive clothing stores, pizza places, book stores, anything you want. The Mall of America is gigantic and is about a fifteen/twenty minute drive depending on the time of day. There are also a variety of movie theaters to choose from. </p>
<p>I think the main thing that is so great about Macalester is that it is in the city. Looking at most LACs, there are very very few located in urban areas. It is too easy to get around without a car, the bus/light rail system is great ($1.50 or $2 rush hours and those tickets get you anywhere for three hours). Yes, it will take longer to get places.</p>
<p>Thinking about it, I am really sad that I live so close to Mac because it is a great school, but I can't live that close to home!</p>
<p>Oh. My. God. The Mall of America. Wouldn't younger sister be thrilled to visit her there?!! hehe ;-) </p>
<p>We'll definitely have to look into it. Driving in snow and just experiencing temperatures less than 60 degrees ;-) would be quite an adjustment!</p>
<p>Unsure you go around Livejournal, but some schools have a Livejournal. Some are dead, some are very active (like NYU's!). Macalester has one and by reading through some entries or delving for some prospie's questions, you might have a better idea of what are the pro and cons of it and its location.</p>
<p>And there is a really good coffee shop in St. Anthony's Park.... I'm not sure how far that is from Mac, but it's the best coffee I've ever had.</p>