Macalester College Admission
Macalester College Undergraduate Program
Macalester College Application

The Facts

Macalester College is a small liberal arts and sciences school affiliated with the Presbyterian church, located in the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, and is home to over 1,835 undergraduate students. The school has very rigorous academics, and is known for its competitive academic atmosphere, as well as for the large amount of individual attention that teachers place on their students. Close bonds are often formed between student and professor, and teachers often serve as important mentors throughout students’ college experiences. The college offers its student more than 37 majors in a wide variety of subjects, many of which are preprofessional; some of the most popular choices include economics, psychology, political science, international studies, and English.

Admission to Macalester College is actually quite competitive, particularly for a school of such diminutive size. Last year, over 4,500 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 1,900 of those students were accepted; of those, about 500 matriculated. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1270 to 1430, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 28 to 31. Additionally, over 93% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about 3.87.

Macalester has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of 11 to 1, and the individual attention students receive is one of the best aspects of the school. Teachers have been known to give students their home phone numbers, just to ensure that they will be as accessible as possible. An interesting note; students have the option of cross-registering at a number of area schools including Augsberg, Hamline, St. Catherine and St. Thomas.

The Social Scene

The city of St. Paul, Minnesota is a friendly city that makes up half of the so-called Twin Cities, which also encompasses the nearby city of Minneapolis. The Macalester campus itself is actually located right between the downtown areas of the two cities, so students can easily access the amenities offered by both cities, including museums, symphonies, restaurants, shopping, and plenty of clubs and bars (many of which are lax when it comes to carding...). Many Macalester students do own cars; however, the public bus system is quite efficient and affordable.

There are no fraternities or sororities at Macalester, however, students don’t seem to mind their absence. Most students prefer to gather in smaller groups in dorms or off-campus apartments, and while drinking is a popular activity, there are plenty of other social options for students who don’t like to party.

The dating scene is pretty vibrant, and students are very friendly and very attractive, we hear...

What’s Good

“It’s great being right in between St. Paul and Minneapolis. You can choose which city you want to experience on a daily basis.”

“The teachers really do care about you, they aren’t just doing their job. They truly want to see you succeed.”

“There is literally a club for every interest in the world here, even though the student population is small.”

What’s Bad

“The campus can feel really small sometimes, actually, most of the time, and it can be hard to get any alone time here.”

“The housing here sucks. The rooms are tiny and in pretty lousy shape.”

“The party scene is really lame. If you want a typical party-filled college experience, do not come here.”

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