College · Private nonprofit · Saint Paul, MN · City
Macalester College
Saint Paul, MN
Religious affiliation
Admit rate29%
6-yr median pay$46k
Net price / yr$32k
Undergrad size2,131
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $32k/yr for a shot at a $46k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 29% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter. Admitted students average SAT 1440 · ACT 31.
If you get in
2,131 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $83k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $32k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$332k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$129k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$203k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.8x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $68.1k
- Room & board
- $15.8k
How students pay for it.
Pell grants17%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans36%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$23k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $9k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention93%
Very high — students stay.
Graduation · 6 yr87%
Most finish on time.
6-yr median pay$46k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$64k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out8%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 2,131
- Location
- Saint Paul, MN
- Region
- Plains (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, more selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White50%
- International15%
- Hispanic11%
- Two or more races9%
- Asian8%
- Black6%
- Unknown1%
First-gen students13%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time2%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$89k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 38
What you can study.