Where are the peeps?

farfallena
Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:30:38 +0000

ilmkmom- I asked my daughter about the Classics department and she knows two young women, one majoring in Classical Languages and other in Classical Archaeology. The second is on a dig in Greece this summer. As regards to your other post about the Classics at Mac, she really can’t say anything beyond they both love their studies.
As for the drive to Carleton, “We were on a bus, Mom, and I was studying. I just know that we got there on schedule.” Sorry, we’ve less than a wealth of information!
Interestingly, though, she knows three sets of siblings where one has gone to Carleton and the other to Mac.

Hi, I was just reading my mom’s post and the thread on a whim and your son’s concern about name recognition certainly resonates with me and many of the Mac students with whom I am friends and with whom I am merely acquainted. All of us encountered blank looks and banal remarks like, “Oh…that’s nice.” when we told our friends and teachers that we were accepted at Macalester. I had trouble with this myself, and one of my teachers (a saving grace who knew about Macalester) put me in contact with his friend, a retired admissions officer at Northwestern, to give me an unbiased perspective on deciding between Mac and an east coast school. She summed up what all students at Macalester have to accept: midwestern schools of caliber just don’t get the same recognition or have the same shroud of sophistication as east coast schools. That said, Macalester is a wonderful institution and just because a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds and counselors well versed in state schools and ivies don’t know much about it doesn’t mean it’s obscure. I know it’s hard to not get hung up on rankings and name recognition, but I honestly think it makes the Mac community all the more special. We all love Macalester, we all know we’re getting a great education, and when we randomly encounter a Mac alum, the excitement and sense of connection is all the sweeter…and that fact Kofi Annan graduated from Mac certainly helps :)