Hello and welcome. Thank you for being here this afternoon.
My name is NAR Williams. I am an admissions officer and 2018 graduate. Add McAllister College. I used to pronounce chypre hers and this is my colleague who will be able to introduce themselves.
Hi, my name is Jay's Regen Ann. I am also an admission officer at McAllister College. I use he, him, his as well as they them, their pronouns.
Alright, well our topic of discussion today is what is a liberal arts education? What makes a liberal arts unique then will go on to discuss the characteristics of a University and after that will compare and contrast to experience is at the end of the presentation. Will talk a little bit why about Y and liberal arts education might be right for you all together will be here for about one hour.
Have any questions at all? Please feel free to put them into the chat box on your screen though they will not immediately appear in the full chat tap. Just know about we see them. We have received them and we will be addressing them at the Q and a portion that will take place after today's presentation. Now as we begin, we want to acknowledge that McAllister College is located in St Paul, MN on the occupied homelands of the code of people as a way to avoid knowledge ING the land in its peoples both.
Ancestors and descendants, many of whom still make their home here up. Now at this point in time, I'd like to shift to James to start off our discussion.
Well, welcome again. If you are like many students, you may understand and have heard this term liberal arts before, or if you're like me, you may have gotten halfway into your college search before even learning what the term meant, and that is a OK. We are a liberal arts college which comes from the Latin root term libri. Alex, meaning free and **** meeting art. Our principle practice. Basically put a liberal arts.
College offer students a broad based foundation spanning the humanities, the arts, the natural Sciences, the social Sciences, as well as the mathematics. In addition to their college major, that they choose. Another way of thinking about it is art of a free person. What does it take to be a fully formed citizen in this world? We think that that comes from a liberal arts foundation to your education.
Focuses on academic disciplines over your career based major. Will talk about that a little bit more, but the focus is on providing you with that broad based educational discipline. Many publications, whether you're reading the Business Insider or Forbes news or the Wall Street Journal, talk about the fact that half of the jobs of 2030 don't exist today, and a liberal arts education helps you have a broad base of skills, critical thinking, writing, and a broad set.
Of skills that will help you re learn as you move from different jobs and different careers in your lifetime. Lastly I'd like to have put in that we have an emphasis. Liberal arts colleges do an interdisciplinary learning and that comes from being a bachelors of Arts focused institution. You're not only going to have training within your chosen area of interest, you're going to have brodan transferable skills that go across multiple disciplines. This is a perfect opportunity for.
Come near to talk a little bit more about what it's like on a liberal arts campus.
Alright, thank you James.
What is a liberal arts school like? What are some of the common characteristics that can be assigned to most liberal arts colleges? Well, liberal arts schools in the US are most frequently located in the Northeast, but as is evidenced at by our location as McAllister in the Twin Cities, you can find liberal arts colleges in the Midwest in the South and on the West Coast as well. Liberal arts schools are also generally small in size. The student body will range from.
1800 to 4000 people. At any given time, the small student body lends itself to the sense of campus and of community that you'll find a liberal arts school. The smaller student body also makes it more possible to have a highly residential and concentrated experience while having an active life outside of the classroom.
It's a common misconception that you will be hard pressed to find any international students or students of color on a liberal arts campus. And while many liberal arts colleges are predominantly white institutions, you'll find students of every race, ethnicity, nationality, and background on a liberal arts campus all over the United States and other common misconception is that you won't have as many internship or research opportunities if you attend a liberal arts school.
That simply isn't true. Many liberal arts schools are able to offer extensive internship in research opportunities an because liberal arts schools tend to have a focus on undergraduate education. You won't be competing with graduate students for research opportunities with your professors and now chase is going to give us a look into what life at a University is like.
Thinking about a University, niara talked a little bit about this already. You're likely to have a larger student population, one because the interests may align with a desire to go to college at a very, very large student bodied institution. Mainly the big difference when it comes down to a University versus a small liberal arts college. Is this concept of multiple schools multiple colleges making up that University?
So when we talk about a liberal arts college, you choose your major. There's multiple departments that make up that College in Education, Department and economics and management Department, as well as a biology Department and many more. Thinking about a University. Those are all individual colleges at a College of engineering and science. A College of Nursing, a College of business. Some universities also have a liberal arts college where you can have that similar focus and into this interdisciplinary approach to your undergraduate studies.
Oftentimes universities will have more majors. Why? Because they offer specialization and specialized fields of study. Think food, science or business, a business degree? All that is a specialized area of study at liberal arts institutions. We offer a economics or a management discipline. A major that is very similar, if not identical to a business degree. Lastly, I want to focus on two more key areas which are a bachelors of science versus a Bachelor of Arts.
And the opportunity for graduate studies. Thinking about what that bachelors of Arts versus a bachelors of Science degree is. I want to go back to that broad base. That's what a bachelors of Arts is. It is a degree that allowed for you to have your academic chosen area of study your major. However, the primary focus was a broad foundation of studies that focused across disciplines of bachelors of Science. Degree is more specific in its nature. The courses will be limited to within one college.
The College of engineering and science and any ethics or literature courses that you tape will often be within that college or our core. Courses offered throughout the entire University that all students are enrolling into fulfill graduation requirements. Those are key differences in how the degrees are put together at McAllister. We like to emphasize that a bachelors of Arts provides our students with the flexibility to engage in their interests while completing their degree in four years or less.
Lastly, we want to talk about graduate studies. Are University is an excellent institution to pursue a Masters or doctoral program at, and the vast majority of students who attend McAllister college and other liberal arts institutions go on to pursue a terminal degree such as a Masters or doctoral, within their lifetime at a University. In fact, many small liberal arts colleges don't offer graduate programs. Their focus is an undergraduate teaching and learning.
Where the professors focus with on one on one learning opportunities with their students at a graduate level and at universities. It's often graduate students who are conducting classes with undergraduate individuals and helping do research in the laboratory setting. This is a key difference I often like to talk about a premed track in this regard.
A University can be incredibly beneficial if a student can be admitted into an undergraduate program that guarantees admission into that university's medical school. It's rare, but those programs do exist, and there a wonderful fit for students who are admitted into them. However, a liberal arts college offers a premed track. All of the prerequisite courses that are needed to be admissible and competitive for medical school, and allows the student to pursue their interests. Many of our students.
Think about majors like psychology, environmental studies, or political science In addition to a pre Med track instead of the traditional biology and chemistry majors. These are equally as valuable thinking a little bit more about the differences between liberal arts colleges and universities near is going to talk about community. She knows a lot about the McAllister community and can tell you more about what those nuts and bolts of a liberal arts college look like.
So we like to talk about student interaction 1 on one learning collaborative learning and something you're going to hear a lot about as you explore liberal arts colleges and basically put it's because our size warrants that type of collaborative learning. Thinking about a institutional class size at a liberal arts college, it's going to be on average 18 to 20 students, and it gets smaller as you move into your senior courses.
Many liberal arts institutions have a capstone or theses requirement to graduate, and those courses. The enrollment in that final course maybe eight to six students with a lot of 1 on one time with the professor at a large University. That class maybe 200 to 400 students in a lecture Hall. Finally getting down to that 40 to 50 student class size when you're in those higher level 400.
And 500 horses towards the end of your senior year. Something else. I like to talk about is just fundamentally how those classes look. We have two pictures here. One is what we like to call a lecture Hall. It's the one with kind of stadium style seating and the chairs are all fixed and then you have another classroom that has the quintessential liberal arts chairs and desks that are on wheels. And Why is that at a liberal arts institution, your professors are often going to immediately convert the classroom appan start.
Of the class into a round table discussion where you will discuss the literature you've read before you will take turns working out different theories or different different algorithms that you may be learning about in your computer science courses or your introductory courses will in mathematics or Comp Science will convert over from that lecture Hall. Mortua practice class and that's why we have to have the chairs and tables.
Come on wheels, I just want to Lastly talk about this and I I love this analogy. When it was told to me I was often really scared that I would be bothering my professor and there wouldn't be time for me when I was when I was in college and I wish somebody would have put it this way. That number that every college likes to publish. Its called their student to faculty ratio at a liberal arts institution that is going to often be 12 to one or 10 to one. Meaning that if all the students lined up at once to ask the professor a question.
There would only be about 10 to 12 people at each line at a University large University that can be upwards of 50 to 100 students per faculty member, and this is something that students need to think about when they think about their fit. do I want to blend in? do I want to have more anonymity in my college experience, or do I want a lot of 1 on one advising and that is not a one size fits all component in a college search? And and certainly there are universities that provide.
Excellent 1 on one advising however size and class size really lends itself to this type of opportunity.
I've talked enough and I'm gonna throw it back over to niara to talk a little bit more about what those educational outcomes in opportunities look like at liberal arts colleges and universities.
Thank you James. Are also something I probably should have mentioned about two sides, and although you've probably seen the pattern at this point on the left side, you're seeing the picture that represents the liberal arts experience and on the right side you're seeing the picture that will represent the University experience. I thought it would be worth mentioning just because it's a pattern that you're observing and it'll give you a little bit more context immediately for the photos that you're looking at, but you know.
AJ's as he said, class size also influences the type of education in classroom experience that you'll be having a smaller class size tends to lend itself to more discussion based education rather than lecture based education that is more commonly found in universities. You know, being able to have more frequent and more in depth discussions with in an academic context improves your ability to argue position and allows you to have more opportunities to share it presentations.
Not to mention, when you have an average class size of you know 18 students. When people lined up after class to ask the professor questions, that line could be about 10 people deep at a liberal arts college. While at a University and your class of about 100 a 150 people that line at the end of class could be 40 or 50 students deep and at the same time there are many students. You feel this now they learn more effectively in a lecture based environment.
And this might be for you, especially if you enjoy having the flexibility of not being noticed when you miss a class or you want the opportunity to work independently more often.
Another important distinction is a type of education in and of itself that you'll be receiving at a liberal arts college. The type of degree, as James mentioned before that you'll receive, is a bachelors of Arts. This essentially means that you know you have your academic focus. That will be your major, but you'll also have that broad educational foundation that you'll be able to apply to more than just your academic focus because we want you to try a little bit of everything. There are different ways that liberal arts colleges in sugar let you do that.
Sometimes schools will have an open curriculum and this means that you were able to take any courses Sachin like with the expectation that you will try multiple different things. Sometimes there are required classes and these are classes in a variety of areas that you are required to take to ensure that you have that broad educational foundation. Regardless of your academic focus.
1/3 way that can't just do this, which is also the way back McAllister college does this is to have distribution requirements. This basically means we have a number of classes that we'd like you to take in different areas, but you get to choose which classes you want to take in those areas, rather than having those specific courses chosen for you outside of General Education requirements, because liberal arts colleges are broken into several departments rather than several colleges like a University is.
You don't have to apply to a whole different segment of your school in order to be, for example, a double major and Studio Art and history. One of the benefits of having such a broad Education Foundation is that you're able to make those connections across a variety of disciplines and have knowledge adjacent to your academic focus. That will create a Fuller, more critical understanding of what you've chosen to study or pursue as a career.
And again, on the other side of that, at a University you will be receiving most likely a bachelors of Science, and that means within your major your University will have more specific courses. Study for you that doesn't necessarily allow you the flexibility to take classes outside of that focus. So if you'd like to have the type of undergraduate experience in which you focus heavily on one subject and don't have much room to go outside, if that's on, that may very well be for you.
Universities are also able to offer a variety of other degrees outside of a bachelors.
Grable to receive vocational training, which is training specifically for the type of work that you'd want to do when your chosen career field. You're able to earn an Associates degree, which usually entails one to two years of formal education. After you graduate from undergrad and have a bachelors degree, universities also provide opportunities to earn a Masters degree or to go into a doctoral program within their associated graduate schools.
Now chase is going to be able to speak more to the difference between my undergraduate focus at the liberal arts has and the graduate focus that you'll find at universities.
Awesome, so it's it's very simple and it's something that I did not understand it all again when I started my college search process. Liberal arts colleges are primarily have a focus on undergraduate teaching and learning. The professors there are there for one sole purpose to help undergraduate students advance in their education as well as have opportunities for scholarship and continued learning.
In fact, I at Mac, 80% of our students engage an individualized research I know. Excuse me, 60% of our students engage in research period. In 80% of that research is with a faculty member, 1 on one collaborative, and that's really the big difference. Conversely, with a graduate program of focus at a University, you are sharing the attention of your professor with graduate students.
As well as their individual goals around scholarship in publication, it comes down to how universities are structured when it comes to how faculty are hired in tenured. At those universities there hired with the goal to produce research and to publish the faculty goal at a liberal arts college is to they can publish, but it's more so primarily to advance the teaching and scholarship of the students at the institution.
Uhm, the other big component would be most liberal arts colleges do not offer graduate programs of study. They specialize in providing a bachelors degree program to their students. You will find that some undergraduate liberal arts institutions have began to offer various specialized Masters programs such as Masters in athletic training or in physical therapy. These are often due to the licensure requirements in the states that those schools exist in.
In cases where social work is another one where a bachelors of social work is not the same any longer and the Masters is being required to practice those liberal arts institutions have decided it's in the students interests and their interest to provide that Masters degree in a 5 year program. Otherwise it's a pretty cut and dry rule that liberal arts colleges generally just are not offering Masters programs, and your universities will be offering the master's and doctoral programs and you'll be sharing.
The institutions focus with those programs as well.
I'm well that undergraduate and graduate focus also lends itself to the type of educators that you will find at your campus at a liberal arts college. You're likely to find all the classes are taught by faculty, which is just you know, different word. For professors. I'll save that. For mcalister's context, 90% of our faculty have either a PhD or of the most advanced degree available within their field. This is also made possible by the fact that a smaller student body.
Overall, needs your teachers and on the other hand, at a University, you'll find a more diverse full of teach people. Teaching your class is not necessarily diverse and more diverse in terms of their personal identities, but the various in that you will have professors, teaching assistants, an graduate students, all teaching classes at a University, and this is made possible by the prevalence of graduate schools on University campuses. But it also is necessary.
Due to the sheer size of the student body, when you had that many students, you need more educators to build the need for more blocks of specific classes. Very definite pros and cons to both experiences on the liberal arts side, you're able to be taught by people with a certain depth of experience within their field and on the University side you have more flexibility and choice in which you take particular classes.
And now James is going to tell us a little bit about sports on college campuses.
I am not a college level athlete, just want to start off with that. However, liberal arts colleges are fantastic places to be a student athlete. I had wonderful friends on the swim and dive team where I went to college. Each little liberal arts college is going to have its own culture and flavor to their athletics teams. These teams often take up the space of being a social group.
And support system at these small schools. The other piece I'd like to add as they often are not clicking those teams intertwined with the campus because of how it is built in nature. However, you're going to want to tour an find out about each college campus and their culture, because we're all different. The other big difference would be division size. Most liberal arts colleges are going to be NCAA Division three athletics institutions, on the other hand.
Most large universities are going to be NCAA Division One or two. You're probably very familiar with the Big 10 who send many of their students off to be professional athletes. I'll be honest, that is not the primary focus or goal of many of our student athletes at McAllister or other Division Three. Liberal arts colleges. That doesn't mean that they don't love their sports. It doesn't mean that they don't enjoy the time that they spend on the court or on the field. It just means that we provide a different space for them to be a student athlete.
Uh, at McAllister, if you're interested in checking out more about what athletics had a liberal arts college looks like, I would encourage you to check out our YouTube, particularly the men's football team. They are vocal about eliminating sexual violence as well as misogyny and toxic masculinity with in college athletics, and that's something that just makes me incredibly proud to be part of the McAllister community. Lastly, I would encourage you if you're thinking about being a college athlete.
Don't be shy. Reach out to those college athletic programs, hit the recruit me button. Fill out the requests For more information. It doesn't work like it does in the movies. I just I need to tell you that we don't go out to places across the country to find a student we want to. We just don't have enough time. And so if you want to connect with a certain institution they would love for you to raise your hand.
And let them know you're interested so they can check you out. Look at your stats and maybe show up to a game or two. Uh, feel free to pop any questions in the question box here about athletics, as well as Fine Arts near and I were both involved in Fine Arts and at McAllister over 20% of our student body is involved in athletics and about 35% of the student body I worked at before coming to McAllister was involved in athletics and so we are more than able to answer.
Questions about what extracurriculars look like at a liberal arts institution.
All right, now we've come to the end of our presentation where we sort of try to coalesce all that we've experienced an really bring it home. Why would you go to a liberal arts college? Why might a liberal arts college be right for you? While we believe that education is about more than just content, knowledge and checking of- requirements of liberal arts education shapes the way you think and adapt and gives you a tool kit for your mind.
You know, upon graduation, liberal arts graduates will become excellent communicators from being able to write clear papers to debating a position, to presenting to small groups and large audiences. You will have had numerous opportunities to work on those skills. Liberal arts graduates are prepared to think more critically and analytically about complex problems on a variety of subjects and liberal arts. Graduates are able to use their broad educational foundation to make connections.
Across disciplines, one of the most important things that a liberal arts education does is that it instills curiosity which is valuable in all experiences, but also creates a mentality for lifelong learning.
And finally, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person changes jobs 11 times during their career.
And as life long learners, liberal arts graduates more easily adapt to new technologies, challenges and expectations. So if any of those sound like, you know, an excellent way to to fill everything that you've needed in that you wanted to learn in your undergraduate education, liberal arts college may be right for you.
Now we've come into the part of our time together in this workshop where we're having a Q&A we would love for you to submit any questions, comments, or clarifications that you need, but also recognize on this screen. We have our contact information in case you'd like to email us For more information. In the future. We are always happy to reach out, for you. Were here to be a resource to you.
And we excuse me, we just want to emphasize that these can be general questions about liberal arts institutions as well as McAllister specific questions and niara. Not myself believe that there are no silly questions, particularly because every school does things just a tiny bit differently. We are happy to help.
Joseph
03:32:38 PM
Can students create and design their course work?
Alright, awesome, and I'm already seeing some questions here in the chat. The first one is can students greens and design their own coursework.
Um Jace, would you like to take that one?
Yeah, so that is a really good question because it's often a very unique aspect of a liberal arts education. It goes back to we are one college with multiple departments, not an institution made up of multiple colleges, which means that if if for example you are wanting to take an urban geography.
Major an create that for yourself and Urban Geography major pulling together courses from the geography, geology as well as political science and public policy departments to form that course of study. We already have a concentration in it, so it won't be hard to do.
McAllister, you can do that. You can do that also at many other institutions. It does become hard if you're thinking about something such as social work. They often require a state licensure and so those types of majors are more difficult to create at schools that don't have them. For example, at McAllister we could create you a major that was similar to social work, but I don't believe we have the courses to get you a social work licensure, whereas.
Other liberal arts colleges do, and so those are things that you should think about as you go through your college search process. But by and large. Heck yes. If you are thinking about a major that doesn't require a specific license are we can make it and we can tailor that for you.
Jacob
03:34:29 PM
Do the coaches at Liberal Arts Colleges have any pull whether an athlete gets into the school?
OK, wonderful, thank you James. Now our next question is do the coaches at liberal arts colleges have any pull? Whether an athlete gets into the school, well, you know. As we spoke about a little bit before McAllister is.
A Division Three School and a lot of liberal arts colleges generally are not within the Division Two or Division One area of NCAA sports an for us personally and Hour Division. You know, a coach can definitely advocate for a student to come to McAllister, you know, based on their talents in the contribution set variable to make to our campus community. But ultimately it is the decision of the Admissions Committee.
As a whole, through our holistic review process as to whether or not that student is admitted.
Does that sound about right, James?
Yeah, the only thing I would add that I think I forgot to add is In addition to our committee practicing holistic admission and thinking about the academic preparedness of the student as well as their contributions to the committee. We do not issue athletic scholarships at a liberal arts college. That's part of being an NCAA institution, and so we can not offer any special incentives to athletes.
That we do not offer to the general student body in the enrollment pipeline so well, I'll coach, may say, hey, this is a great athlete. There a wonderful student than their community. That's as far as a coach can push an advocate for within an admission process.
Emma
03:36:20 PM
What kind of casual music opportunities does Mac have? Things like orchestral pit, jazz bands and small ensembles? Are there a variety of difficulty levels for those activities?
Thank you, thank you, thank you our next question. Uh, what kind of casual music opportunities does Mac have? Things like orchestra, pit jazz bands and small ensembles? Are there a variety of difficulty levels for those activities?
I'm well, we definitely do have a multiple music ensembles from our orchestra to our band to the African music ensemble, which is led by world renowned Ghanaian Drummer solamente says is very close to my heart and so those are definitely ensembles that you are able to audition for and become a part of. But there are also a few more lot of student organizations and some of those involve music so those.
Are slightly even more casual ways become involved with music at McAllister know, outside of instrumental music, we also have multiple choirs multiple on campus acapella groups and we even annually host an Aqua Palooza where various acapella groups from the surrounding colleges will come together to share their music.
Jace Riggin
03:37:24 PM
https://athletics.macalester.edu/sports/2015/8/7/Recruiting_0807152948.aspx
Arunadee
03:37:25 PM
I am interested in women tennis program, who should I need to contact?
Um and our next question is, I am interested in the women's tennis program. Who do I need to contact? I saw this a little bit earlier, so I looked it up and there we go. Jay's already put it in the chat, but I will say that Jason Mung is the head men, an women's tennis coach, and I will put their name and email address in the chat.
Niara Williams
03:37:49 PM
Jason Muhl, muhl@macalester.edu
And what I put in there, um, will work for any athletics team that a student might be interested in. Uh, it's the recruitment form that I talked about. These exist at all other colleges as well, and this is the type of form I definitely encourage you to fill out. If you're serious about being a college athlete, we would love to learn more about you.
Ari
03:38:23 PM
Can each of you talk about your personal journey to deciding with a liberal arts education ?
Awesome, now can interview talk about your personal journey to deciding on a liberal arts education.
Alison
03:38:24 PM
What was your favorite part about going to college at Mac?
Yeah, um, so I was late to just really understanding what this type of style of Education I was looking for was, uhm, I actually met a McAllister graduate when I was a junior in high school and I was working as part of the youth conservation for at a national game preserve called Sullies Hill. and I was pulling invasive species an I'm sure I was annoying him a lot and I was asking a lot of questions about the Y of what I was doing and the How and what.
It would look like in 10 years uhm, and he said to me, you know, Jaycee, you ask a lot of questions and you're very interested in the what in the how, and the why behind things. And you should start looking at schools that are small and will really allow you to do that. and I was like What is this guy talking about? That's what that's what school is. You ask questions? You get a degree. You get a job.
And I grew up in a home with a roofer and a social worker and and the social worker said You go to school to learn things and be exposed to new ideas and my roofer, who was my father, said no. You go to school to get a degree to get a certification so you can earn money and get a job and.
For the next 2 years I was really trying to find how to. How do I do that? How do I get a job but also learn and be exposed to these things and I chose to smaller schools. I happen to be a progressive Christian. I'm also queer and so I was looking for places that really fostered community that would be digging into the big questions of the world. How do we live across difference? What does it look like to build public policy that?
Affirms people's dignity. Uhm, what does it look like to be a progressive Christian and in America right now? and I wanted a college experience that would provide me with a degree but also help me have a different set of skills to Wade into the water of the world.
And be uncomfortable, but being very comfortable with that discomfort in the world, and so that's particularly my why I have a degree in political science and communication studies. I did not know that I would end up in higher education or or thinking about issues of equity in access within higher education when I chose that, but I have been equipped well to read and learn and assess when I don't know the answers to questions and problems.
That I need to ask questions of people who do or or do some more reading. Uhm and so my personal journey has been one of not really understanding what this was.
And then really falling in love with the value of what I've been provided, UM, less than 20% of the colleges in this country look like liberal arts institutions and provide the types of degrees that we do. However, the vast majority of those who serve as elected officials in our country, I don't remember what the statistic is, but it's over 70% if I remember correctly, and one of you correct me, I want you to, if I'm wrong.
Uh, serve in Congress was elected official hold liberal arts degrees. Uhm, and I'm not saying it's better than I what I am saying is I feel that it's provided me with a way to really engage with my neighbor and ask difficult questions around my job around what I really value and now I'll hand it over to niara so she can give her why? Because I'm sure it's going to be very similar in terms of stumbling into this, but then finding out that it's exactly what we needed, so.
Alright, thank you James, I'm yeah. Well why did I drift warrants a liberal arts education while something that really mattered to me. I did have a lot to do with school size. I went to a very small private Catholic all girls college prep school in Omaha, NE and there were 76 people in my graduating class, so I definitely wanted to be somewhere where I could branch out and try new things and neat.
People of all types of different backgrounds but not feel like I was getting overwhelmed or swallowed up within a large campus. So that was definitely something that I was looking for and at the same time I just really valued being able to have the academic freedom to grow in whichever direction I ended up finding when I went to college. And as a matter of fact, there was a point in time where I thought that I was, you know, going to major in biology. I was going to be pre Med. I was going to go to medical school.
So I, you know, took the chemistry tracks. Organic chemistry took cell biology laboratory methods. I even became an EMT through mcalisters J term program, but ultimately, and this is gonna sound super liberal, artsy, but my degree is a combined degree in theater and dance with a concentration in critical theory. So you really do have the time and the space to grow and all sorts of different directions and child all types of different things.
That was something that was really important to me. You know, along with specifically mcalisters mission, you know our four core values are internationalism. Multiculturalism service to society, an intellectual and academic growth, not in any particular order, but I'm sure they fall in particular order for some individuals. And all of that was just very appealing to me as someone who just wanted to learn more about the people in the world around me.
Just generally, so it's really just a place that could feed my creativity.
And going on to the next question that I accidentally put in a little bit too early. What was your favorite part about going to college at Mac? An for me there are tons of different things, but I'd have to say it's people that I've met just because I don't think I would have been able to meet so many people is so many interesting backgrounds and experiences that are so seemingly different than mine. Had I been somewhere else, I wouldn't have been able to have the conversations I've had at McAllister.
Somewhere else I wouldn't have been able to understand global citizenship on the Internet. An embodied level that I do have. I gone somewhere else.
And along with about one of my best friends to this day is a young woman who I met at McAllister. She was born in South Africa, but is a naturalized US citizen. She grew up in Chicago. She came to McAllister. She majored in art history in Japanese language and culture, an right now she's in Japan, teaching Japanese and also taking animation classes so that when she comes back to the US, she can apply to an animation program and a Graduate School in the US.
And you know, we still keep in contact. And while I personally did not study abroad while I was at McAllister, after I finished my senior capstone, I traveled to Barcelona this last year. Around this time I was in Japan visiting that friend I just mentioned. So there are tons of different.
Benefits that I got from my experience at McAllister that I feel like you know, perhaps I could have gotten them somewhere else, but I doubt all of them in the same place in the same way that I received them.
Jad
03:46:18 PM
Are you test optional?
I'm so yeah, that's it. In a nutshell. Um, our next question. Are you test optional?
Um in Word, yes, yes we are. Uhm, it's a decision that we've been thinking about for a few years, something that we have been trying to be very intentional about, but with the extenuating circumstances caused by the global pandemic, it was just the extra push that we needed to understand that. You know, while we have been thinking about it for awhile and think it's a good idea, there's actually a vital need for us to implement it now. So yes, we are test optional.
Kevin
03:47:04 PM
What's the difference between a liberal arts college and a large university that offers a "liberal arts education"
What is the difference between a liberal arts and a large University, a liberal arts College in a large University that offers a liberal arts education. Jace.
Yeah, really really good question. Uhm, the big thing is it's going to go back to the feel of the community and oftentimes the mission and the values of that college, something that a lot of small liberal arts colleges are going to pride themselves on our, their values and their mission at McAllister, its multiculturalism service to society, internationalism as well as academic excellence at an UN named college that I worked at. It was.
JohnClark
03:48:11 PM
Earlier Jace mentioned how each liberal arts school functions a little differently. What sets Macalester apart from other LAC's?
Justice faith service to society, academic excellence. Um each of those colleges really pride themselves on trying to live out those values within their curriculum. For example, at McAllister, you need to take a class, within internationalism, you need to take a class that's called US identities, indifference, which I think this is going to answer another question, so I'm just going to knock it out, which is what sets McAllister apart from other liberal arts colleges.
So I'm going to prove it and throw it up there as well as an answering this one. I'll let you take that in as well. Niara that's it is. That's a distinct difference between.
Liberal arts College in a small liberal arts program at a University is you're going to have a more from my understanding, intentional connection to the mission and values of the institution, and you're going to be in a classroom with people who do not share your background at a liberal arts college at the University. You're going to be with the other liberal arts kids in that college, and I'm sorry you're not kids were all students. The other converse part is that a liberal arts college you're going to be learning with.
Economics majors you're going to be arguing with them. If you were a political science major because it's just. Conversely, how your disciplines work. Um, you are going to be in the classroom with people like Niara who were thinking about being pre health pre Med change their mind midway through and you're going to have to be exposed to their pathway as well. and I think that that's a benefit. I think that that's something that small liberal arts college offers that's different.
I'm again, that's their values. The connections that again mcalisters unique from other liberal arts college colleges because we actually have curriculum incorporated into our general education core that requires you to engage with our values of internationalism of service to Society of thinking broadly about who's benefited at whose expense within the American experiment. and I find that to be a very compelling reason as a non McAllister graduate to really value.
How we stand out and how we're different. Uhm, I would also just like to highlight the second piece before I throw it over to niara to raw about Mac. How we're different is our location. We are in the Twin Cities which is a 3.5 million Metropolitan area. I like to say it's one of the most manageable metros I've ever been in.
And that really also sets McAllister apart from its other peer liberal arts colleges.
See, no, I think you hit the nail on the head JS. We have about 10 minutes left so I want to go through a few questions a little bit more quickly. Are you familiar with the International Baccalaureate program? If So what is the likelihood that liberal arts colleges like McAllister may take course credits earned from the International Baccalaureate Program?
Niara Williams
03:51:06 PM
https://www.macalester.edu/registrar/services/ap-ib/
We are familiar and we do based on your scores on your final IP examinations. We actually have a whole page on our website read it. Can you bring this question and flow? I will put a link to that within the chat box.
Adam
03:51:09 PM
Are you familiar with the International Baccalaureate program? If so, what is the likelihood that Liberal Arts colleges like Macalester may take course credits earned from the International Baccalaureate program?
OK, I missed it students from my school have been accepted into McAllister and didn't matriculate with this affect. My own application? Uh, no, it would not. What other students at your school have done would not affect the way that we see your own application.
Katherine
03:51:27 PM
If students from my school have been accepted into Macalester and didn't matriculate, would this affect my own application?
Sofia
03:51:43 PM
Is there a prominent Classics program and Macalester? Thanks!
Let's see amateur is there a prominent classics program at McAllister? Yes, there actually is. We do have a classics program that you can find within the academic section of our website.
I'm geez as you are looking in the questions box. Um, what are any events you want to get to right now?
I think do you want to just quickly go over that? How that pre health preprofessional program works at Mac?
Joseph
03:52:18 PM
Can you talk about pre health profession pathways in a liberal art college like MAC
I think would be a really good way to to let them know, kind of how to prevent program works just in terms of attacks on to whatever you're looking at. I'll prove it right now.
OK perfect uhm. Well the pre health program at Mac actually provides you with the Health Professions Advisory Committee, a check. And basically that means you just contact the administrative program. Let them know hey, I want to be pre Med. This is what I'm planning on doing. Can you help me? You will have someone advising you with the specific chorus pathway that you need to take, what classes you need to take when give you.
But bias on when you should use some type of research when you should do some type of clinical internship and things of that nature and you just generally get a lot of support in terms of figuring out how premed works for you at McAllister. Regardless of what your major is, but you know it will always make it a little bit easier if you do go into a stem major while you are pre Med just because of how many of the classes will end up overlapping.
Yeah, I know, but it didn't. It didn't happen for me and I'm happy with where my degree ended up, but I also know multiple people who graduated from McAllister or currently in medical school. And one friend of mine just officially became a doctor like yesterday. So there are lots of different pathways towards that.
There is an interesting one. I think it's talking about. Well, I'm not entirely certain what it what it's referring to. I think it's two things. It's the question about what does it mean for a liberal arts college to have an open curriculum? If that might controversy contradict itself, and so I'm not at all putting a judgment on the question 'cause I think it's a fair question. I just want to make sure I answer the motivation where it's coming from open.
Niara Williams
03:54:27 PM
Health Professions Advising >>> https://www.macalester.edu/hpa/
Open curriculum, or if you heard us, say that that term broad based curriculum, um, that's referring to we will tell you you need to take a science class. We will tell you you need to take a math class. We will tell you you need to take an English class, how we're different than a state large State University who might tell you you need to take this one science class. These two English classes, this one math class in order to graduate, we tell you here are 43 math classes that fill our graduation requirements.
Here are 50 English classes that fit our graduation requirements. Pick your favorite too.
Niara Williams
03:55:05 PM
Classics >>> https://www.macalester.edu/classics/
Tenzin
03:55:17 PM
What does it mean for a liberal arts college to have an open curriculum? I feel like that's contradictory, no?
Here are for a quantitative reasoning and logical reasoning classes. Pick your favorite of those. Lastly it with the science it allows how it's different. how I don't think it's contradictory in this regard is I was a political science major, very interested in public policy my biology class.
Brought me up to speed with the laboratory requirements. I needed to have a biology credit, but within the context of context of asking public policy questions about a pandemic and I'm sorry to bring up the present world, but it was very interesting. It had questions about herd immunity, about the effectiveness of vaccinations, about why some individuals would feel it's their right to reject a vaccination, and so these were policy questions we grappled in within the context of a biology class.
And I think that's one of the advantages of a liberal arts setting for this type of course work. The second piece is open. I think you might be asking about like that open major. That simply means that you can create your major if we don't have it, and so it allows a student to say you don't have a biochemistry major. We do have a biochemistry major by the way, but let's say we did. It would allow for them to build a biochemistry major, and that's really what that open major is. I apologize if I'm misunderstanding the question, I just thought it was a very unique one.
Um and very interesting, uh, and since I'm bringing up unique and interesting questions, another great one I saw on here.
Ari
03:56:31 PM
How would you recommend Mac regarding out-of-state potential students/tuition ?
Was about out-of-state or in-state tuition. Uhm, I just approved that and it was asking it how would you recommend Mac regarding out-of-state students and tuition? Here's the fun thing. Liberal arts colleges don't have a difference between in state and out of state tuition and all students are generally eligible for need based financial assistance. Here's the wonderful thing McAllister meets 100% of demonstrated need for.
All admitted students. Whether you are undocumented, stateless, homeless, a refugee, AUS citizen or an international citizen, we meet your full need. If you are admitted, and so I encourage you to apply an if you are coming from any other state, know that generally liberal arts colleges do not look at you differently, and some liberal arts colleges that are wanting to increase their enrollment from out of state's will be very happy to see your applications. And so I would just encourage you as my advice.
I'm putting on my admission counselor hat, apply, apply, apply and don't worry about it. Um, make sure you go through the complete financial aid process though, and don't commit to anything until you've seen that financial aid award.
Torben
03:57:52 PM
Are there any faith communities or organizations at Macalester/an acceptance for faith?
Alright wonderful, I see him an interesting question here. Are there any faith communities or organizations at McAllister slash and acceptance for faith?
Yes, yes and yes. The center of all of that is actually our Center for religious and spiritual light. That office is housed downstairs from the wire Howser Chapel on our campus and the Chapel in and of itself is a gathering place for the McAllister community that provides space for reflection, rest, connection, spiritual practice and the actual Center for the rip. The actual Center for religious and spiritual life is home to the chaplains. Multifaith religious life in other communities of practice.
Niara Williams
03:58:41 PM
https://www.macalester.edu/religiouslife/#/0
You know there's a kitchen for various religious purposes of prayer room and a library for the McAllister community, and I will be putting a link to the CSRL page right into the chat.
Ari
03:58:53 PM
Niara how was the process of changing your major ? regarding how are liberal arts colleges flexible in class design?
One question that I saw that was specifically from you was niara. How is the process of changing your major regarding how are in liberal arts colleges flexible in class design?
Changing your major is super super easy at McAllister. It's really as simple as you know, filling out a piece of paper and handing it to the right people. And you know after that you will have to go over. You know what is your major plan? What courses do you intend to graduate within this major? But it is a very simple process, especially in comparison to what you would experience at a University.
James, do you have anything to add to that?
Do anything else in here that we want to get to right now.
The only one is, I thought since it is 3 we could we could probably close with just a little bit more about the application process at Mac and helping them understand how to connect with other colleges they might be interested in.
Connor
03:59:49 PM
can you talk a little about the application process and what you look for in a time like this?
Jace Riggin
03:59:50 PM
More about Macalester!
So I'll I'll throw up our link.
Jace Riggin
03:59:52 PM
https://www.macalester.edu/admissions/
Um, for the McAllister admission site, uhm?
I would just encourage you to explore the Web pages of any colleges or universities you're considering. This will help you understand how they approach education as well as their community as an institution, and make sure that you explore their information sessions and get on their information lists. I would say that it's OK to have Seven or ten schools on your list right now as a sophomore or junior, and in fact, that's just.
Are fright. I'm so we have made it to four and I just want to wrap up and say thank you all so much for being here for this workshop today. I hope you've been able to learn a little bit more about what a liberal arts colleges with liberal arts education is like and how it is different in perhaps similar to a University education. Again, my name is Niara Williams. I use the pronouns she, her, hers and you can find my contact information at the bottom of the screen.
As well as my colleague Chase Reagan, you can find their information on the last slide as well. Again, thank you so much for coming and have a wonderful rest of your day.