Supplemental essays · 2026–27 application
Macalester College supplemental essays.
All 2 essay questions Macalester College asks this year, word for word, with the word limits and how to approach each one.
Checked against macalester.edu and the Common App application on October 17, 2026
What you write: Both optional, up to 300 words each.
Optional: the Twin Cities
Macalester is one of the few highly selective liberal arts colleges located in the heart of a metropolitan area. Identify one way Macalester's location in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul would enhance your academic, social, or community experience.
How to approach it
- Name things you could only find at this college: a class, a professor, a program, a tradition.
- Tie every detail to something true about you.
- Swap test: if another college’s name fits your sentence, it’s too general.
Optional: Macalester's mission
In what ways do your lived experiences, perspectives, or hopes for your college education connect with Macalester’s mission and community?
The prompt opens with Macalester's four values: academic distinction, internationalism, multiculturalism and service to society.
How to approach it
- Say plainly what the community is.
- Show your place in it with one real scene.
- End with what you’d bring to campus.
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