I’m a parent of a first-year student who is currently in new student orientation at Macalester. Hubby and I attended parent orientation too. I could not be more impressed with this place. We visited back in October and got a good impression, and our daughter had a great overnight visit, but now we are just wowed! Every speaker at every event has been fantastic, warm, insightful, welcoming, and reassuring. Our daughter is finding tons of new friends. Her advisor/first-year course professor seems fantastic. The neighborhood is easily the best location for an LAC we’ve ever seen. I could not be happier to be sending my daughter here for the next four years!!!
@IBviolamom, that’s great! That’s how we feel about our daughter’s school in PA. We just dropped her off for her sophomore year. It’s a good feeling to have her in such a wonderful place. 
Good luck to your D!
@MaineLonghorn It sure is a good feeling! We just came home today and while it was sad to leave, it was wonderful to feel this good about a place. She seems indescribably happy! Best of luck to your daughter, too!
old alumni here - yes, it is a great school. And it’s a great city, too (FYI if you’re not from Minnesota… if you are, you already know this!).
As a parent of a sophomore, I can confirm. I am never not wowed by the place - from the teaching, to her friends, the neighborhood, the values and her happiness. Just so much better than I ever imagined. Oh, and when you visit, you can eat well and be easily entertained in a million different ways in the TC’s when (s)he is too busy studying to see you 
That is for sure mikidwithchoices! My kid is having a middling experience at Macalester (not so much to do with the college, more the fit for her), but I really enjoy visiting. Husband is even talking about eventual retirement in St. Paul. Great cities. Great support for the arts in Minnesota, too. Learned a couple of years ago that during the economic downturn, citizens voted to establish funds for the arts/cultural events and the environment that would guarantee funding even if tax revenues went down.
Glad to see more love for Mac, as this forum isn’t terribly active. @UNYMom I’m sorry to hear your daughter is having a “middling” experience. Is she a first-year? If you don’t mind sharing, what is it about the school that is a poor fit for her? I’ve been talking about Mac a lot to other parents of seem to be college-age kids and it would be good to know.
Also, I’m impressed that anyone would want to retire to a place with a winters like that, ha ha. I’m from New York and I can’t wait to retire someplace that doesn’t have winter. Although I did say to my husband but if it weren’t for the cold, I would love to live in the Twin Cities!
IBvilamom - We are also from NY, but my whole family really can’t handle hot weather. Give me negative 10 over 95 degrees any day.
It is not the academics that are a problem. Those have been top notch, and all her professors have happily worked very closely with her, and have given her advice about future plans, studies, etc. Daughter even received an excellent grade in a Mac course in a subject she failed in high school! She has felt unprepared for college compared to her peers, but she has been doing great, and has improved her academics exponentially since arriving there in Fall 2016. I think she still feels intimidated by her peers, though, who every class seem to have learned something in high school that she didn’t. The library, tutors, and office hours have helped her get up to speed, though.
She didn’t realize how many prep school kids there are at Mac. That is totally our fault for not exploring further. I didn’t think it would be as much of an issue for her as it has been re fitting in. Not that the students are preppy. Not at all. But their high school experience was very different from my daughter’s, and she has found it difficult to relate. She also finds it uncomfortable when many kids easily breeze off to go out to dinner or a show or other things that cost money. It is not a financial hardship for us to send her to Mac, and the school is decent with their aid, but she is mainly using her summer earnings as spending money, so is pretty frugal. But that’s part of what college is supposed to be about, anyway - learning to deal with people who are different from you.
It is also more difficult for her to be far from home than we thought it would be. She is quite independent, but also close to her family, so misses us. Also, in the big picture, a positive thing, but can mean more bumps in the road. She has been enjoying the Twin Cities, and each semester has ventured further from campus to explore on her own.
I remind her that the main purpose of college is academics, and for that Macalester has been stellar. I think Mac is preparing her well for grad school, being an active participant in civil society, whatever field she may work in, etc.
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