With just under 2,000 undergraduates enrolled, Macalester College is among the nation's smaller top liberal arts schools, and most students wouldn’t have it any other way. The tight-knit community fosters an almost communal spirit on campus. Not surprisingly, however, some complain that the size of the student body can lead to insularity: “
The hardest part is breaking out of the 'Macalester Bubble',” writes one senior. Regardless of their feelings on the social environment, students agree that they are receiving a top-notch education that was good enough for alums like Kofi Annan. The faculty are known for making connections with their students and taking pride in their teaching. “
Professors make you think hard, write better, speak better, make connections you never would have made, and even laugh (that's important too!),” writes a freshman studying art.
Simply put, “
classes at Macalester are hard,” but students know that they are all the better for working through a rigorous curriculum. Courses tend to be discussion-based, and students are encouraged to voice their ideas and concerns both inside and outside of the classroom. “
It really is a model for a liberal arts institution, where intangible skills and thinking are emphasized more than jobs, unless you are an economics major,” writes a senior studying anthropology. While all this intellectual fervor can lead to a healthy level of competition between some students, most feel that the work they put into their studies is well worth the effort. Professors interact informally with students and most are available for meetings and sometimes even coffee and dinner.
By and large, students are satisfied with the level of diversity and openness on campus. While outsiders might claim that Mac students are “
extremely liberal, gay, and hippies,” there are of course few who fit neatly into such boxes. There is, however, quite a bit of truth to the sense that the student body is marked by an activist streak. “
I think students are very politically aware and politically active, with people from the very far left to the center,” says a junior. Some also note the persistence of self-segregation that is common on most college campuses: “
There is a noticeable difference between the international students and the domestic students, but it is not hostile or anything like that,” writes a junior. Regardless of their own backgrounds and beliefs, most Macalester students agree that the diversity and activity within the student body help to make the college unique.
While the Macalester football team does not have a large fan base, students rally around the soccer and hockey squads for big games, and the administration is hoping that the construction of a new athletic facility will further strengthen the program's reputation. Though the college is located in the middle of Minnesota's Twin Cities, students tend to have a hard time leaving the “Mac Bubble,” which stretches about six blocks from campus in all directions and is home to a number of restaurants, art galleries, and other attractions. Getting out becomes even less common during Minnesota's famously cold winters. Student organizations throw parties and dances with frequency, but apparently “
mostly freshmen go to these.”
Students of all class years, however, report that they have plenty of opportunities for fun when the studying's done. There are countless popular organizations on campus, and students are known to get very involved in on-campus groups. “
There are almost always students handing out flyers in front of the Campus Center at lunch, and there are usually petitions to sign in the basement of the Campus Center,” notes a senior. There is no Greek life on campus, but that doesn't stop some from lamenting that they just can't participate in everything that Macalester has to offer: “
What we need more is time to do everything,” writes a freshman.
