Macalester College is a privately supported coeducational liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-related but nonsectarian college; its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a 53 acre (214,000 m²) campus in a historic residential neighborhood and includes seven academic buildings, ten residences, a library, and a technology center. Famous alumni include Kofi Annan, Walter Mondale, DeWitt Wallace and Tim O'Brien.

Housing

As at many small liberal arts colleges, students at Macalester are required to live on campus for their first two years. Dupre Hall, which houses freshman in double, triple and occasional quadruple rooms, as well as sophomores in single rooms, is located on the corner of Summit and Snelling Avenues, and was built in 1962. Renovated in 1994, Dupre houses over 260 first-years and sophomores and is Macalester's largest dorm. Turck Hall was built in 1957 and most recently remodeled in 2004. It houses over 180 first-year students. Doty Hall was built in 1964 and is one of only two dorms on campus to feature single-sex floors. The rest of Macalester's housing is co-ed by room, although recent discussions have been held at Macalester and similar schools over allowing students of different genders to share dorm rooms. Doty houses over 170 first year students.

The majority of sophomores at Macalester live in the dorms known to students as "30BigWall." Bigelow Hall is on the corner of Grand Avenue and Macalester Street. Built in 1947 and most recently remodeled in 1992, it is connected via tunnels to Wallace, Doty and 30 Macalester Street and features single-sex floor arrangements in the basement and first floor, and co-ed floors on the second and third floors. It is also connected to Turck via a skyway, and houses over 110 sophomores. 30 Macalester Street is one of the newest dorms on campus, and the only dorm to be fully handicap accessible. It houses only 33 students. Wallace Hall is the oldest dorm on campus, built in 1907. It houses 165 students, sophomores on the first through third floor, and juniors and seniors on the fourth floor.

Upperclassmen living on campus at Macalester have a wider range of options than underclassmen. They can live in either George Draper Dayton or Kirk Hall, or in one of six single-sex cottages. Students can also apply to live in the Veggie Co-op, the Cultural House, the Hebrew House (part of Kirk Hall), or one of the Language Houses, where students are expected to speak the language of their particular house as much as possible. Currently there are six Language Houses, focusing on German, Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, and Russian.

Athletics

Macalester College is a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The college's team nickname is the Scots. The football team, after many years of poor performance in the MIAC, has competed independently since 2002.