Macalester College (reviews)

Macalester College likes to pride itself, and as an international student, I would not say this is a false statement. All in all, Mac is very friendly to international students and POC in general. There are flaws in how they try to accommodate us, but they try. The student body is still predominantly white, but there is a lot of emphasis on open-mindedness and equality, whether it be race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, etc. One big criticism is that the campus is closed during the first half of winter break, so international students are kind of left to their own accord.

What’s definitely true about the school is its academic rigor. The schoolwork can be tough and teachers expect a lot from students, but I appreciate that the environment as a whole is not hostile or overly competitive. Everyone’s in it together and is all eager to help each other out.

The food is, in general, not very good and can get repetitive.

It’s a really small school full of academically-minded people. Great academics, but the social scene within the college is frustratingly dull sometimes. Be prepared to see the same people at all parties, which aren’t that great anyway. The Twin Cities have a lot to offer, which makes up for the lacking social scene of Macalester. The winters are absurdly cold. Minnesota weather really isn’t for everyone.