May be making a trip to visit Carleton/Macalester soon...

[AlFrankenFan]

If you didn't see my thread a while ago in this forum, I'm planning on moving to and attending college in Minnesota in 2008...and my step-dad is fulfilling his promise of taking me to a college or two every year...so when asked, I needed not hesitate to reply "MINNESOTA!" for this school year's trip. We've figured we could go November, February, April, or May...so which is the best time to come, weather wise, because my step-father isn't a big fan of cold weather, and all other factors included. Also...where is it good to stay in southeastern Minnesota / Twin Cities area? And anything else I need to know. Thanks!!!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Macalester grad here,

Class of '69. Which makes me real old, though I think some of the same professors I had are still around. Kofi Annan and Walter Mondale went to Macalester (they are even older than me). I had a great time (it was a pretty radical place in the '60s), it's a nice, small campus, you can get around the Twin Cities easily by public transportation. Coffeee shops and restaurants and bars and other useful things are within walking distance. It doesn't start getting real cold here til around Christmas, so November would probably work (though sometimes it snows a lot). February sucks, April is usually cool and damp, May is great. Carleton is in a smaller city, Northfield, but is also a great school.

[trotsky]

2. I visited both of those when deciding.

I ended up at Hamline, which is just up Snelling Avenue from Macalester. It is also a great school.

Really, it's hard to go wrong with Minnesota's universities. Carleton's campus was picturesque, and Macalester has funding coming out the wazoo. I also visited St. Thomas but didn't care for it much, mainly because walking across campus no one seemed friendly AND I had to stay overnight in a dorm with a Young Republican. The highlight of that visit was looking at his pictures from the '89 Bush inauguration. Ugh.

[GAspnes]

6. you're in school with my son then

He started at Hamline this fall, as a transfer student.

[goodhue]

3. If not a cold weather fan, then best avoid February!

May would be best. If in Northfield visiting Carleton, the place to stay is the Archer House (www.archerhouse.com)if you can swing it. Best place to stay in St. Paul is the St. Paul Hotel (www.stpaulhotel.com); if budget is factor then check out Bandana Square Holiday Inn Express (www.hibandanasquare.com).

[AlFrankenFan]

4. Thanks guys!!!!

We're still deciding on when to go...but I can't wait!

[dflprincess]

5. What's to decide?

Trust me, come in April or May.

[Lindacooks]

7. May is a simply beautiful month here.

There are tons of hotels, especially along the airport strip. If you want something 'small town', check out the Archer House in Northfield (home to Carleton College).

[Gavinicus]

8. Devil's Advocate

Come in the winter. If you go to school here, you're going to experience four (or five or six) Minnesota winters. Might as well see what the hype is about.

And Macalester students bust out (or used to anyway) in a semi-spontaneous snowball fight over Grand Avenue. We Wallace Hall, Turck Hall, Dupre, etc. from the North side of Grand would battle with the Dayton and Kirk halls from the South side. It was hard not to laugh at the irony of a bunch of peaceniks trying to poke each other's eyes out with snowballs.

The cops used to simply block off both ends of the street from traffic and let us blow off steam. I don't know if that tradition lives any more.

Class of '87.

[AlFrankenFan]

9. See I wouldn't mind them

It's just my step-dad after growing up in Virginia doesn't like to travel in cold weather.

But I plan to possibly move to Minnesota after attending college there, so I would love to experience a Minnesota winter!