Macalester College

Date: Feb 20 2012
Major: Psychology (This Major's Salary over time)
Macalester might be a love it or hate it type of school, but I think most students have a great experience. I transferred to Macalester from a large private university and I made the right choice. The Twin Cities are amazing. They are my home away from home. Campus is in a beautiful neighborhood in St. Paul, small shops and bars close by. Historic homes around campus. Downtown is only a bus ride away.

I loved my professors there. I received lots of personalized attention and the profs genuinely care about their students. They also know the subject and how to explain it.

Even though Macalester is not known for its sports and does not have a greek life, I felt more camaraderie with my fellow students than I did at any other school I have been to (four so far including graduate schools). I played on the golf team and loved it. We were not your typical jocks and took pride in having a high GPA average. We managed to balance academic priorities with athletic commitments.

I did a minor in studio art and even though I loved studying there, there were some things that could be improved upon. The building is scheduled to be expanded soon, which is sorely needs. Some of the faculty were too arrogant to be good teachers. They really did not help dispel the artist stereotype. The psychology department was much better both in terms of resources and profs.

Macalester has been getting a bit more attention since I graduated, but sometimes people still give me a blank stare when I tell them where I went to school. Ironically people on the east coast were more aware of Macalester than people in my home town of Chicago. I think Mac is often compared to small liberal arts schools like Bates and Colorado College.

Even though I do not call myself an extreme liberal, I generally appreciated the more liberal leanings of the student body. There is a general intellectual curiosity that fuels most student conversations. Even if you disagree with a person's political views, they will listen to you as long as you present a fair, factual, and logical case. Debate and good conversation is more important than political factions.

The late night drunken philosophical conversations are probably the thing I miss most from Macalester. Sure there are always house parties to attend, if you feel like being more crazy that weekend, but most weekends are spent with a dozen of your closest friends and their closest friends drinking and having entertaining conversation (and a bit of beer pong for good measure).