Looking for insights on the differences in student culture between Denison and Macalester.
I have a child currently attending Denison, so I’m quite familiar with the environment there, but I’m not as knowledgeable about Macalester’s student culture and vibe. Is Macalester more quirky and liberal, similar to Oberlin or College of Wooster? I’d also like to understand what the athletic culture is like at Macalester, especially since my younger child, who plans to apply ED1 to Denison, is considering Mac as an ED2 option. They have a decent chance of being recruited for Track at Macalester. I know Macalester is more urban and isn’t a 4-year residential school, but we likely won’t visit unless Denison doesn’t work out. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
So in terms of sports, Macalester is in the MIAC along with Carleton, St Olaf, Gustavus Adolphus, and more. By reputation it is a spirited conference but maybe not super cutthroat competitive, and most of the athletes are in fact also serious about academics (I’ve heard it compared to the UAA, if that helps at all). I assume in track it would be relatively easy to look up competitive times and such.
I’ve also heard it is not at all a bad conference for travel, but again I assume you could look up the track schedule.
In terms of overall vibe, again by reputation it definitely appeals to kids who like being in a city, like maybe more of an alternative lifestyle, and so on. But I think the complication is it is also just a really good school in various ways, with lots of good programs, and merit, and all that appeals to other kids. And I don’t think that is a problem, I think the basic niceness norms there mean all those kids just get along.
Caveat: our knowledge comes more from campus visits than attending either school. My son was planning to apply to both but Denison seemed to have a little less going on in his preferred major and is pretty hard to get into so he’s probably going to skip it. But my observation was that Denison felt a lot like our suburban Silicon Valley high school – smart, “normal” looking kids. They presented as athletic, clean-cut, pre-business, etc. I’m sure there are kids that don’t fit this norm, just as there are everywhere – but it was notably different from, say, Oberlin or Macalester. Mac had a different feel – scrappier, less manicured, more urban, more eclectic. The campus was smaller and less architecturally uniform. There was more visible gender diversity. There was protest activity around the war in the Middle East. What both schools seemed to have in common: practical support for career exploration (Mac takes advantage of their urban location to offer a bunch of internships-for-credit; Denison has that career center in Columbus.) On that same trip we visited the College of Wooster and I wouldn’t have put it in the same category as Mac, culturally. I guess they have the plaid/bagpipes thing in common.
The MIAC does appear to be one of the most convenient conferences travel-wise, which probably does have some academic benefits. On a tangential note, it was nice to see a recent Carleton alum competed in Paris last summer.
Macalester is historically a bit more prestigious, certainly more progressive, more of an international flavor, no frats. Athletics are increasingly popular and everyone is excited about the new highland cow mascot. Campus is really nice and compact. Area is beautiful and has a lot of cool restaurants, shops, coffeehouses, Whole Foods, movie theatre, etc. right next to campus. Many other colleges nearby. 21 colleges in the Twin Cities and many opportunities for socializing and cross-registration.