
Welcome to A & O’s Room
Anna and Olivia are set up for visitors with their quesadilla maker and “guest rug.”
Heading to college means a new level of independence, new people to meet, and a new place to live. As a first-year student, some of your best Macalester memories will undoubtedly start right here, living on campus.
Mac students invite you to see how they made their room a space to call their own.
Anna and Olivia are set up for visitors with their quesadilla maker and “guest rug.”
Darts anyone? Gene’s room is set up for work or play.
Surrounded by music, art, and a few snacks, Maraka’s room has the perfect vibe.
Enrolled students will receive housing forms in the summer prior to their start at Macalester. Based on your preferences, Residential Life will do their best to assign you a room and roommate or possibly roommates (for triple and quad rooms). Beginning this fall, our housing model will be gender-inclusive, which gives students the option to live with other students regardless of sex, gender, and/or gender identity, and have access to gender-inclusive bathrooms. Grounded in universal design, this model supports our students’ needs. While the majority of our residence halls will be gender-inclusive, some floors and spaces will have gender-specific rooms and bathrooms.
Your meal plan is your ticket to Café Mac and other options throughout campus. With a commitment to variety, wellness, and sustainability, you’ll find options that suit your taste!
Luciana ’24 doesn’t worry about finding options at Café Mac; from vegan meals, healthy options, or a little something to treat herself.
With a variety of dishes that are classics or completely new flavors, Chef Josh has the job of tasting them all!
Charlie ’24 knows every table is a good table! Meeting other students and starting a conversation is easy at Café Mac.
Current students share some real talk about roommates. They’ll tell you that experiences are all different, there’s support in this community, and friendships and memories are part of the journey.
Excited to move to Mac? Start planning with this packing list.
These students captured a day in their life, and that means you’re invited to step into their room, meet their roommates, and hang out.
These students captured a day in their life, and that means you’re invited to step into their room, meet their roommates, and hang out.
There are four First-Year housing options. Both Doty and Turck exclusively house First-Year students. Bigelow and Dupre house both First-Years and Sophomores.
Doty Hall
Room Dimensions: Double: 14’3” x 14’7” ; Singles: 14’3″ x 10’4″
Room Furnishings: Extra-long unlofted twin beds (36″ x 80″), desks, and desk chairs. Every room in Doty has a sink.
Turck Hall
*Bigelow and Turck halls are connected via a short sky-way.
Room Dimensions: Double: 16’ x 12’; Triple 22’10” x 11’10”
Room Furnishings: Extra-long twin beds (36″ x 80″) , desks, desk chairs. Closets have built-in dressers and hanging space. Every room in Turck has a sink.
Dupre Hall
Room Dimensions: Single: 14’4” x 7’ ; Double: 14’8” x 14’4” ; Triple: 15’3″ x 15’5″ ; Quad: 14’4″ x 28’8″ (plus window alcove).
Room Furnishings: Dupre rooms have newer style extra-long twin beds (36” x 80”) that are lofted, with large desks, a desk chair, and dressers underneath.
Bigelow Hall
*Bigelow and Turck halls are connected via a short sky-way.
Room Dimensions: Single: 13’ x 10’; Double: 16’4” x 11’
Room Furnishings: Traditional style furniture with extra long single beds(36” x 80”) that can be bunked, desks, and a lounge chair in each room. Every room on the first, second and third floors in Bigelow has a sink; some of the rooms in the basements have sinks.
Another (or other) First-Year(s)! We’ll do our best to assign you a room and roommate or possibly roommates (we have some triple and quad rooms) based on your preferences.
Once your Macalester email account is established in early June and the housing materials are ready, we’ll email and ask you to complete the Housing and Dining Agreement and to answer a few questions about your preferences.
All students will be able to select the housing arrangements that best fit their needs. Beginning this fall, our housing model will be gender-inclusive, which gives students the option to live with other students regardless of sex, gender, and/or gender identity, and have access to gender-inclusive bathrooms. Grounded in universal design, this model supports our students’ needs. While the majority of our residence halls will be gender-inclusive, some floors and spaces will have gender-specific rooms and bathrooms.
Some First-Year Courses are designated as residential courses. Students who enroll in one of these courses live near one another in the same residence hall, usually on the same floor. This facilitates discussion and group work outside of the classroom. Many courses also utilize student writing preceptors to provide additional writing support and peer mentoring. If you are assigned to a residential first-year course, the course location takes priority over your hall or room-type preference.
Wireless internet is widely available throughout campus and residence hall rooms. Each room also has Ethernet ports for times when students may prefer to use a wired internet connection.
Yes! There are computer labs located in Doty and Dupre halls.
Dining Plan A – 19 meals per week, 100 flex points, 5 guest meals
Dining Plan B – 14 meals per week, 225 flex points, 5 guest meals
Dining Plan C – 10 meals per week, 300 flex points, 5 guest meals
(Plan details per semester)
New First-Year students are assigned to Plan A for fall semester. They may change to Plan B or C spring semester.
Macalester has a number of dining options for students, faculty, staff, and visitors! These include Café Mac (main dining hall), the Grille, Nessie’s in the Loch on the Lower level of Campus Center, Atrium Market on the 2nd Floor of Campus Center, Scotties in the Leonard Center, and the Coffee Cart in Janet Wallace Fine Arts.
Macalester contracts with Bon Appétit, a nation-wide food service company, to operate food service facilities on campus. Gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan options are available at all locations and labeled to help guide students to their preferred choice.
Meal swipes and guest meal swipes can be used at any of the previously mentioned locations, except the Coffee Cart in Janet Wallace Fine Arts. Flex points can be used at all locations.
Yes! The residence halls have kitchens with microwaves and ovens. You may also check-out cooking supplies (pots, pans, baking sheets, etc.) from the hall office.
Each hall has at least one laundry room, and there is no charge for residents to use the washers and dryers. Our hall offices have an iron and ironing board for check-out if your clothes need pressing.
Yes. Campus quiet hours are in effect after 10 p.m. on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends. This includes noise within the residence halls as well as outside in courtyards or involving large gatherings of people. Courtesy hours are in effect at all times. Members of the community may be asked at any time to limit the amount of noise they are creating. If noise can be heard in the hallway 2 doors away from the room creating it, the noise is too loud for the residential community. Speakers or other amplified systems must be kept out of windows and not played in a manner that is disturbing to the community at large. During study days and final exam periods, 24-hour quiet hours are in effect in all college-owned halls and dwellings.
Each floor in the Residence Halls has an R.A. (Resident Assistant), a current Mac student who serves as a community builder, educator, and resource for students. The halls are also staffed by Hall Directors who manage the day-to-day operations of the halls and supervise the R.A.’s.
We are a very safe campus in a safe neighborhood of a safe city, and this should not be underestimated. Students feel comfortable walking around by themselves, but the college does have security measures in place to ensure that students continue to feel comfortable on their campus.
Macalester currently has over 100 student organizations! Student orgs are run based on student initiative and interest, resulting in a large variety. Macalester offers student orgs that are religious, recreational, political, cultural, and everything in between. If you’re interested in something, you should be able to find other students who are interested in it as well!
If we don’t offer an organization based around a particular interest, you are able to start your own organization and have them chartered by MCSG.
Every fall and spring semester, a Student Org Fair on campus features all student orgs and activities, and allows students to sign up for them as well as gain a sense of what activities and clubs Macalester has to offer! You can also find current organizations and contacts here.