Macalester College

1600 Grand Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55105

http://www.macalester.edu/

Modern Macalester College logo, used on many college documents.
Modern Macalester College logo, used on many college documents.
[source]

School Description

Provided by Macalester College

Macalester is committed to being a preeminent liberal arts college with an educational program known for its high standards for scholarship and its special emphasis on internationalism, multiculturalism, and service to society.

Macalester College

From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Macalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a 53 acre (21.4 ha) campus in a historic residential neighborhood and includes seven academic buildings, ten residences, a library, and a technology center. Notable alumni include Kofi Annan, Walter Mondale, DeWitt Wallace, Alexander Wendt, Ari Emanuel, Peter Berg, Tim O'Brien, Bob Mould and Charles Baxter. Macalester enrolls approximately 1,850 undergraduate students. The school is known for its large international enrollment and has one of the highest percentages of foreign students in the United States.

History

Macalester had its beginnings in the mid-to-late 1800s due to the efforts of the Rev. Dr. Edward Duffield Neill, who had founded two schools in Saint Paul and nearby Minneapolis which were named after M.W. Baldwin, a locomotive builder and friend of Neill's. With the intention of turning his Saint Paul Baldwin School into a college, Neill turned to Charles Macalester, a businessman from Philadelphia, for sponsorship. Macalester donated a building near Saint Anthony Falls, and the college was chartered in 1874. The college moved to its present location in 1885 after building an endowment and seeking the help of the Presbyterian Church. The College first admitted women in 1893, and despite being affiliated with a religious institution, remained open to students of other faiths.

Macalester was largely carried through financial hardship and brought to prominence by Dr. James Wallace, father of DeWitt Wallace. Wallace was acting president of the college from 1894 to 1900, president from 1900 to 1906, and professor until just before his death in 1939. After World War II, the college developed a reputation for internationalism under the presidency of Charles Turck (later the namesake of Turck Hall), who recruited overseas and created a more diverse student body. Macalester's positive reputation grew during the 1960s, when it consistently drew many National Merit Scholars, enough to come in at the country's top ten; during this time the college also benefitted heavily from DeWitt Wallace's success with Reader's Digest. Macalester continued to develop into the '90s, building its endowment and adding new facilities and equipment.

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Quick Facts

Chance of Admission:
Location:
Midwest
Setting:
Large City Setting
Type:
Private
Affiliation:
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Size:
Small (Under 2,000 Undergrad)
Mascot:
Scots

Students & Campus Life

Undergraduate Enrollment:
1,884
On Campus Housing:
Available
Full Time Students:
100%
Athletic Programs:
Available
> More Students & Campus Life

Expenses

Average Tuition:
$ 28,642
Students Receiving Aid:
85%
> More Expenses & Financial Aid

Admissions

Application Fee:
$ 40
Selectivity:
Highly Selective
> More Admissions

Degree Programs at Macalester College

Bachelor's Level Programs

  • Agriculture and Natural Resources

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    • Natural Resources and Conservation See more schools with programs in Natural Resources and Conservation
      • Environmental Studies.
        A program that focuses on environment-related issues using scientific, social scientific, or humanistic approaches or a combination. Includes instruction in the basic principles of ecology and environmental science and related subjects such as policy, politics, law, economics, social aspects, planning, pollution control, natural resources, and the interactions of human beings and nature.
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  • Arts & Humanities

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    • English Language and Literature See more schools with programs in English Language and Literature
      • Creative Writing
        A program that focuses on the process and techniques of original composition in various literary forms such as the short story, poetry, the novel, and others. Includes instruction in technical and editorial skills, criticism, and the marketing of finished manuscripts.
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      • English Language and Literature
        A general program that focuses on the English language, including its history, structure and related communications skills; and the literature and culture of English-speaking peoples.
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    • Film and Theater See more schools with programs in Film and Theater
      • Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts
        A program that focuses on the general study of dramatic works and their performance. Includes instruction in major works of dramatic literature, dramatic styles and types, and the principles of organizing and producing full live or filmed productions.
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    • Foreign Languages See more schools with programs in Foreign Languages
      • Classics and Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
        This general program focuses on the literary culture of the ancient Graeco-Roman world and the Greek and Latin languages and literatures and their development prior to the fall of the Roman Empire.
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      • French Language and Literature
        A program that focuses on the French language and related dialects and creoles. Includes instruction in French philology, Metropolitan French, Canadian French, African and Caribbean Creoles, French regional dialects, and applications in business, science/technology, and other settings.
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      • German Language and Literature
        A program that focuses on the German language and related dialects as used in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, neighboring European countries containing German-speaking minorities, and elsewhere. Includes instruction in German philology; Old, Middle, and High German; Plattdeutsch and other regional dialects; and applications to business, science/technology, and other settings.
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      • Japanese Language and Literature
        A program that focuses on the Japanese language. Includes instruction in Japanese philology; Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Japanese; Japanese dialects; and applications to business, science/technology, and other settings.
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      • Linguistics
        A program that focuses on language, language development, and relationships among languages and language groups from a humanistic and/or scientific perspective. Includes instruction in subjects such as psycholinguistics, behavioral linguistics, language acquisition, sociolinguistics, mathematical and computational linguistics, grammatical theory and theoretical linguistics, philosophical linguistics, philology and historical linguistics, comparative linguistics, phonetics, phonemics, dialectology, semantics, functional grammar and linguistics, language typology, lexicography, morphology and syntax, orthography, stylistics, structuralism, rhetoric, and applications to artificial intelligence.
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      • Russian Language and Literature
        A program that focuses on the Russian language. Includes instruction in Russian philology, Old Russian, Modern Russian and dialects, literature, and applications to business, science/technology, and other settings.
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      • Spanish Language and Literature
        A program that focuses on the Spanish language and related dialects. Includes instruction in Spanish philology, Modern Castillan, various Latin American dialects, regional Spanish dialects, and applications in business, science/technology, and other settings.
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    • General Studies See more schools with programs in General Studies
      • Humanities/Humanistic Studies
        A program that focuses on combined studies and research in the humanities subjects as distinguished from the social and physical sciences, emphasizing languages, literatures, art, music, philosophy and religion.
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    • History See more schools with programs in History
      • History
        A program that focuses on the general study and interpretation of the past, including the gathering, recording, synthesizing and criticizing of evidence and theories about past events. Includes instruction in historiography; historical research methods; studies of specific periods, issues and cultures; and applications to areas such as historic preservation, public policy, and records administration.
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    • Music See more schools with programs in Music
      • General Music
        A general program that focuses on the introductory study and appreciation of music and the performing arts. Includes instruction in music, dance, and other performing arts media.
        See more schools with programs in General Music
    • Philosophy See more schools with programs in Philosophy
      • General Philosophy
        A program that focuses on ideas and their logical structure, including arguments and investigations about abstract and real phenomena. Includes instruction in logic, ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, metaphysics, symbolism, and history of philosophy, and applications to the theoretical foundations and methods of other disciplines.
        See more schools with programs in General Philosophy
    • Religion/Religious Studies See more schools with programs in Religion/Religious Studies
      • General Religion/Religious Studies
        A program that focuses on the nature of religious belief and specific religious and quasi-religious systems. Includes instruction in phenomenology; the sociology, psychology, philosophy, anthropology, literature and art of religion; mythology; scriptural and textual studies; religious history and politics; and specific studies of particular faith communities and their behavior.
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    • Visual Arts See more schools with programs in Visual Arts
      • Art History, Criticism and Conservation
        Students of Art History study of the historical development of art as a social and intellectual phenomenon. Art History programs include the analysis of works of art, and art conservation, art history research methods, connoisseurship, the preservation and conservation of works of art, and the study of specific periods, cultures, styles, and themes.
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      • Fine/Studio Arts
        A program that prepares individuals to generally function as creative artists in the visual and plastic media. Includes instruction in the traditional fine arts media (drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, CAD/CAM) and/or modern media (ceramics, textiles, intermedia, photography, digital images); theory of art; color theory; composition and perspective; anatomy; the techniques and procedures for maintaining equipment and managing a studio; and art portfolio marketing.
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  • Communication & Media

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    • Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
      A program that focuses on the scientific, humanistic, and critical study of human communication in a variety of formats, media, and contexts. Includes instruction in the theory and practice of interpersonal, group, organizational, professional, and intercultural communication; speaking and listening; verbal and nonverbal interaction; rhetorical theory and criticism; performance studies; argumentation and persuasion; technologically mediated communication; popular culture; and various contextual applications.
      See more schools with programs in Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
  • Interdisciplinary Studies

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    • Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies
      A program that focuses on the dynamic social relations between and among majority and minority groups and different minority groups, and ways to promote mutual tolerance, inter-group cooperation, and the leadership and management of diverse groups and diversity issues in family, educational, recreational, and work settings. Includes instruction in ethnic and cultural studies, group psychology, sociology, anthropology, conflict resolution, human services and resources, and applications to various functional environments.
      See more schools with programs in Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies
    • International/Global Studies
      A program that focuses on global and international issues from the perspective of the social sciences, social services, and related fields.
      See more schools with programs in International/Global Studies
    • Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
      Any instructional program that is derived from two or more distinct programs to provide a cross-cutting focus on a subject concentration that is not subsumed under a single discipline or occupational field.
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    • Neuroscience
      A program that focuses on the interdisciplinary scientific study of the molecular, structural, physiologic, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of the brain and nervous system. Includes instruction in molecular and cellular neuroscience, brain science, anatomy and physiology of the central nervous system, molecular and biochemical bases of information processing, behavioral neuroscience, biology of neuropsychiatric disorders, and applications to the clinical sciences and biomedical engineering.
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  • Life Science

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    • Biology See more schools with programs in Biology
      • Biology/Biological Sciences
        Students in this program study general biology at an introductory level. This major provides students with a broad overview of biology and includes instruction in general biology and programs covering a variety of biological specializations.
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  • Mathematics and Statistics

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    • General Mathematics
      A general program that focuses on the analysis of quantities, magnitudes, forms, and their relationships, using symbolic logic and language. Includes instruction in algebra, calculus, functional analysis, geometry, number theory, logic, topology and other mathematical specializations.
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  • Natural Sciences

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    • Chemistry See more schools with programs in Chemistry
      • General Chemistry
        A general program that focuses on the scientific study of the composition and behavior of matter, including its micro- and macro-structure, the processes of chemical change, and the theoretical description and laboratory simulation of these phenomena.
        See more schools with programs in General Chemistry
    • Geology See more schools with programs in Geology
      • Geology/Earth Science
        A program that focuses on the scientific study of the earth; the forces acting upon it; and the behavior of the solids, liquids and gases comprising it. Includes instruction in historical geology, geomorphology, and sedimentology, the chemistry of rocks and soils, stratigraphy, mineralogy, petrology, geostatistics, volcanology, glaciology, geophysical principles, and applications to research and industrial problems.
        See more schools with programs in Geology/Earth Science
    • Physics See more schools with programs in Physics
      • General Physics
        A general program that focuses on the scientific study of matter and energy, and the formulation and testing of the laws governing the behavior of the matter-energy continuum. Includes instruction in classical and modern physics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, mechanics, wave properties, nuclear processes, relativity and quantum theory, quantitative methods, and laboratory methods.
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  • Social Sciences

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    • Anthropology See more schools with programs in Anthropology
      • General Anthropology
        A program that focuses on the systematic study of human beings, their antecedents and related primates, and their cultural behavior and institutions, in comparative perspective. Includes instruction in biological/physical anthropology, primatology, human paleontology and prehistoric archeology, hominid evolution, anthropological linguistics, ethnography, ethnology, ethnohistory, socio-cultural anthropology, psychological anthropology, research methods, and applications to areas such as medicine, forensic pathology, museum studies, and international affairs.
        See more schools with programs in General Anthropology
    • Area, Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender Studies See more schools with programs in Area, Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender Studies
      • Area Studies
        This major includes a number of programs in Area and/or Cultural Studies.
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      • Asian Studies/Civilization
        This four year program focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of the peoples of the Asian Continent. Asian Studies programs include the study of Asian diasporas overseas.
        See more schools with programs in Asian Studies/Civilization
      • Latin American Studies
        A program that focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of one or more of the Hispanic peoples of the North and South American Continents outside Canada and the United States, including the study of the Pre-Columbian period and the flow of immigrants from other societies.
        See more schools with programs in Latin American Studies
      • Russian Studies
        A program that focuses on the history, society, politics, culture, and economics of one or more of the peoples of the Russian Federation and its Soviet, Czarist, and medieval predecessors and related borderlands.
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      • Women’s Studies
        A program that focuses on the history, sociology, politics, culture, and economics of women, and the development of modern feminism in relation to the roles played by women in different periods and locations in North America and the world. Programs may focus on literature, philosophy, and the arts as much as on social studies and policy.
        See more schools with programs in Women’s Studies
    • Economics See more schools with programs in Economics
      • General Economics
        A general program that focuses on the systematic study of the production, conservation and allocation of resources in conditions of scarcity, together with the organizational frameworks related to these processes. Includes instruction in economic theory, micro- and macroeconomics, comparative economic systems, money and banking systems, international economics, quantitative analytical methods, and applications to specific industries and public policy issues.
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    • Geography See more schools with programs in Geography
      • General Geography
        A program that focuses on the systematic study of the spatial distribution and interrelationships of people, natural resources, plant and animal life. Includes instruction in historical and political geography, cultural geography, economic and physical geography, regional science, cartographic methods, remote sensing, spatial analysis, and applications to areas such as land-use planning, development studies, and analysis of specific countries, regions, and resources.
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    • International Relations and Affairs See more schools with programs in International Relations and Affairs
      • General Political Science and Government
        A general program that focuses on the systematic study of political institutions and behavior. Includes instruction in political philosophy, political theory, comparative government and politics, political parties and interest groups, public opinion, political research methods, studies of the government and politics of specific countries, and studies 0f specific political institutions and processes.
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    • Psychology See more schools with programs in Psychology
      • General Psychology
        A general program that focuses on the scientific study of individual and collective behavior, the physical and environmental bases of behavior, and the analysis and treatment of behavior problems and disorders. Includes instruction in the principles of the various subfields of psychology, research methods, and psychological assessment and testing methods.
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    • Sociology See more schools with programs in Sociology
      • Sociology
        A program that focuses on the systematic study of human social institutions and social relationships. Includes instruction in social theory, sociological research methods, social organization and structure, social stratification and hierarchies, dynamics of social change, family structures, social deviance and control, and applications to the study of specific social groups, social institutions, and social problems.
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      • Urban Studies/Affairs
        A program that focuses on the application of social science principles to the study of urban institutions and the forces influencing urban social and political life. Includes instruction in urban theory, the development and evolution of urban areas, urban sociology, principles of urban and social planning, and the politics and economics of urban government and services.
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  • Technology

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    • Software Development See more schools with programs in Software Development
      • Computer and Information Sciences
        A general program that focuses on computing, computer science, and information science and systems as part of a broad and/or interdisciplinary program. Such programs are undifferentiated as to title and content and are not to be confused with specific programs in computer science, information science, or related support services.
        See more schools with programs in Computer and Information Sciences

Students

General

Full-Time vs. Part-Time
Full-Time 100%
Part-Time 0%
Men vs. Women
Women 59%
Men 41%
Race/Ethnicity
Caucasian 84%
Asian 7%
Other 3%
Hispanic 3%
African-American 3%

Geography

In State vs. Out-of-State
Out-of-State 82%
In-State 18%
Top States for Incoming Freshman
Minnesota 18%
Wisconsin 7%
Illinois 6%
New York 5%
California 5%
Percent of Students International: 13%

Housing

On-Campus Housing Available: Yes
Percent of Students Living On-Campus: 72%
Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: No

Athletics

Member of: NAA, NCAA
Sports Include: Football (Other)
Basketball (Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf)
Baseball (Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf)
Track (Minnesota Intercollegiate Ath Conf)
Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) Expenses  
Published Tuition and Fees:
$ 28,642    
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads:
$ 28,474    
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads:
$ 168    
Financial Aid Avg. Amount Received % of Students Receiving Aid  
Federal Grants:
$ 3,455 13%  
State and Local Grants:
$ 2,791 8%  
Institutional Grants:
$ 14,484 76%  
Student Loans:
$ 4,062 61%  
Any Aid:
  85%  

Selectivity (Undergraduate Only)

Acceptance Rate: 44% (Highly Selective)
Test Scores  
SAT Scores:  
% of Students Submitting SAT Scores: 77%
Bottom 25th Percentile: Verbal: 630, Math: 630
Top 75th Percentile: Verbal: 740, Math: 710
ACT Scores:  
% of Students Submitting ACT Scores: 54%
Bottom 25th Percentile: Composite: 28, Verbal: 28, Math: 27
Top 75th Percentile: Composite: 32, Verbal: 34, Math: 31

Application Requirements (Undergraduate Only)

Application Fee: $ 40.00
Formal Demonstration of Competencies: Not Required
High School Diploma or Equivalent: Recommended
High School GPA: Not Required
High School Rank: Not Required
High School Record: Required
Recommendations: Required
TOEFL: Required
Test Scores: Required

College Advice

Yahoo

Question: My daughter wll be going to Macalester college this fall. Where can we buy cheap dorm room items near there?

There must be places like Walmart, Target, Ikea, Staples, etc., but we live on the East Coast, so we don't know our way around St. Paul, MN. So, does anyone have suggestions for where to buy stuff near to the campus? I know about Mall of America, but I was thinking of something less extensive and spread out.
45 months ago

Best Answer

There is a Target and Wal*Mart very very close to Mac -- just drive North on Snelling and hang a RIGHT on University Avenue, you will see Wally world first and Target is a block down from there. Also -- IKEA is right across the street from the Mall of America. Snelling South to MN Hwy 5 (also known as West 7th Street and Ft. Road) stay on that -- pass the airport -- go take the Mall of America exit and you can't miss IKEA. Happy shopping!!

Photos

  • Modern Macalester College logo, used on many college documents.
    Modern Macalester College logo, used on many college documents. [source]
  • Kirk Hall at Macalester, an upperclass dorm. This building is also home to the Hebrew House.
    Kirk Hall at Macalester, an upperclass dorm. This building is also home to the Hebrew House. [source]
  • An anonymous student painted the rock during the fall of 2006 in protest of administrative decisions.
    An anonymous student painted the rock during the fall of 2006 in protest of administrative decisions. [source]
  • Macalester College seal
    Macalester College seal [source]
  • Weyerhauser Memorial Chapel
    Weyerhauser Memorial Chapel [source]
  • Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center
    Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center [source]
  • Weyerhauser Hall (college offices)
    Weyerhauser Hall (college offices) [source]
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Macalester College
Saint Paul, MN 55105
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