Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• Bed
• Desk
• Chair
• Dresser/Closet

For more information about setting up your campus room, visit the Residential Life website.

• Air conditioner
• Small appliances with an open coil heater, such as a hot plate or toaster oven
• Halogen lamps
• Extra furniture
• Nails or tape that damages walls or paint
• Microwave
• Candles
• Incense

The Department of Residential Life will send out an email in early August that will inform you of your roommate(s), their email address, home city, state, and country (if applicable). We suggest you contact your roommate before move in day in order to ease your transition to Macalester.

You can move into the residence halls beginning August 26, 2024. If you are a fall student athlete or you are participating in a pre-orientation program that requires early arrival, consult your coach or program leader for move in dates.

If you don’t want to purchase things before you get to campus, stores like Target, grocery stores, and a hardware store are just a quick car or bus ride away!

The Mac Free Swap also offers many useful items secondhand free of charge for students. Mac Free Swap is located in the garage behind the Sustainability Office at 1657 Lincoln (second house behind 77 Mac), and is open 9am-6pm daily. You can find more information on the Free Swap on their website.

You are welcome to send some items to Macalester prior to your arrival. To do so, please address any items you are shipping to Macalester:

First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name
1600 Grand Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55105

To pick up your mail or packages, visit Mailing Services located in the lower level of the Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center.

For more information, visit the Mailing Services website.
[email protected]
651-696-6294

Before you arrive on campus and receive your MacPass, you can find your 9-digit ID number on 1600grand.
On the Student tab, within Academic Records, click Academic Transcript. Your name and ID number appears in the upper right.

Your MacPass is your official campus photo identification card. You should carry it with you at all times when you are on campus. It is also used as your:

• Campus dining card. You are required to bring your MacPass or virtual MacPass via GET Mobile to Café Mac in order to gain access to the cafeteria.
• Library card
• Access card to the Leonard Center Athletic & Wellness Complex and some other spaces on campus
• Your MacPass can also be used to make purchases at campus venues and vending machines.

Visit MacPass, GET Mobile and Mac Money for more information.

All new students are required to upload a MacPass photo before August 17, 2022.

If the MacPass Office approves the uploaded photo, your MacPass will be made and ready for pick up during Orientation! (You will need to present an alternative form of Photo ID— driver’s license, passport card, etc. — to pick up your MacPass.)

To upload your photo, log on to the secure GET Funds website with your Macalester username and password. (Be sure to select Macalester as your institution.)

From the GET Funds homepage, there is a Quick Links section with a link labeled “Upload ID Photo.” Select the page to upload your photo and stay tuned for approval.

For new students, the photo must be uploaded by August 17, 2023 and meet the ID Photo Requirements. If it DOES NOT meet the requirements, your photo will be rejected and you will be asked to upload an alternate photo.

Visit MacPass, GET Mobile and Mac Money for more information.

Money that you put on your MacPass to use at campus venues is called Mac Money. Mac Money rolls over from year to year. Once Mac Money is added to your MacPass, it cannot be removed until you use it or until you permanently leave the college. Mac Money cannot be withdrawn as cash. Any Mac Money left on your MacPass after you graduate will be returned to you via check post-Commencement.

Add funds to your MacPass in two ways:

• Go to get.cbord.com, select Macalester as your institution, and log in using your Macalester username and password.
• ValuePort in the lower level of the Campus Center.

GET Funds is an account-management website allowing balance inquiries, transaction histories, lost or stolen card reporting, and online deposits which allows students, parents, grandparents, etc. to easily add money (Mac Money) to their student’s MacPass for use at campus venues. All payments are made online with a credit card. There is a $1 convenience fee when you use GET Funds online.

The ValuePort is a machine where you can add money (Mac Money) to your IDs using cash. The machine only accepts $1, $5, $10 and $20. There no fee for using the ValuePort.

Visit MacPass, GET Mobile and Mac Money for more information.

There are a variety of locations on campus that accept Mac Money as payment

• Simple + Certain – bowls & sandwiches
• Café Mac – you can purchase meals for family and friends
• The Grille – grilled items, sandwiches, salads, smoothies, pastries, cookies, hot & cold beverages
• Nessie’s – Halal menu featuring flavors of Morocco, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and surrounding Middle Eastern cultures
• Bread + pickles – sandwiches and wraps
• Highlander Store – bookstore, convenience store, Macalester apparel
• Information Desk – discounted movie theater tickets, tickets to Mac-sponsored off-campus events, etc.
• Document Services – printing and copying
• Library Copy Machine
• Beverage and Snack Vending Machines

If your card is lost or stolen, please report your card as lost or stolen via GET Funds or via the GET Mobile app ASAP. This will disable all services on your MacPass (e.g., Mac Money, meal plan, building access).

Visit MacPass, GET Mobile and Mac Money for more information.

A Student PO Box (SPO) will be assigned to all students living on campus. SPO box numbers and combinations will be available on 1600Grand after the first week in August. The Post Office is located on the lower level of the Campus Center.

Students can get FREE bus passes and discounted movie passes at the Information Desk in the Campus Center.

There is an ATM located on the lower level of the Campus Center. If you have a Wells Fargo account, you can use the Wells Fargo ATM at the Speedway gas station on Snelling Ave (it’s about 3 blocks from campus) or the Wells Fargo Bank on the corner of Grand and Fairview (about 5 blocks away from campus).

Orientation Leaders are upper-class students who will aid you in your transition to Macalester. In late-August, your OLs will write you and provide you with their contact information and your house assignment. Feel free to ask them any questions or concerns you may have about coming to Macalester!

All orientation events are designed to help you with your transition to Mac. Therefore, attending all events are strongly encouraged. Events that are mandatory will be highlighted on the orientation schedule. There will also be some fun activities that will give you a chance to meet and socialize with your new classmates.

If you have other questions and would like to speak to someone in person, feel free to email the Orientation Office at [email protected].

All family members are welcome to take part in parent and family orientation events. For more information regarding parent and family orientation events, please refer to the Parent and Family Orientation Schedule.

First year students are not eligible to park on campus; medical and work-related exceptions may be requested by contacting the Director of Public Safety.