Macalester College
Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Private nonprofit
- City
- 2,131 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 29%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $27,851per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 89%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $69,95110 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Under the Macalester Tuition Promise, almost all students with family income below $100,000 receive grants and scholarships covering full tuition.
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 29%About 3 in 10 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1350–1510Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 30–34Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Macalester College's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
- Admit rate in this report
- 28%2,481 admitted of 8,819 first-year applicants
- Early decision admit rate
- 42%201 admitted of 479. Early decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
- Top 10% of their class
- 53%89% were in the top quarter.
Early applicants often include recruited athletes and students who knew this was their first choice, so a higher early rate doesn't mean applying early raises any one student's odds by that much.
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
Important
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Activities
- Character and personal qualities
Considered
- Class rank
- Test scores
- Interview
- A talent or ability
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Family who went there (legacy)
- Where you live
- Living in the state
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
Not considered
- Religious affiliation
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Macalester College's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Macalester College Common Data Set 2025–26; College Scorecard. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $27,851full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $86,134sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $70,862Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 89%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 92%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $69,95110 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $21,500federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 2,131Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 17%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 13%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Gustavus Adolphus College Saint Peter, MN — admits 61%
- St Olaf College Northfield, MN — admits 48%
- Bethel University Saint Paul, MN — admits 88%
- College of Saint Benedict Saint Joseph, MN — admits 92%
Also worth a look
- Carleton College Northfield, MN — admits 20%
- Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO — admits 18%
- Clark University Worcester, MA — admits 40%
- Union College Schenectady, NY — admits 44%
- Dickinson College Carlisle, PA — admits 42%
- Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA — admits 36%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Macalester College, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.