<p>My daughter was able to visit Carleton this spring and fell in love with the quirky way that Carls don't take themselves too seriously combined with a pretty serious academic environment.</p>
<p>We're considering Grinnell as a similar school to apply to, but haven't been able to visit. </p>
<p>Can someone who knows both schools comment on the differences and similarities?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Check the specific college forums for Grinnell and Carleton - I'm pretty sure there have been threads addressing this, as there are a lot of students who apply to both. If you have any questions specific to Carleton, PM me (I'm a Carleton mom).</p>
<p>My daughter is a recent Carleton graduate and my son is a senior at Grinnell. Both schools are terrific, and in our family’s experience, they share more similarities than differences: superb academics, lovely campuses with an abundance of activities, and a nice mixture of students from all walks of life. Both colleges instill a sense of pride (and fun!) into their students, and my kids were very happy at their respective choices. On paper, you can’t go wrong with either school, which makes visiting especially important.</p>
<p>We visited both schools this spring. I strongly recommend visiting Grinnell. Fang Jr liked Carleton, and absolutely couldn't stand Grinnell. It was a matter of location-- It's flat, flat, flat, with cornfields for hours in all directions. Plus, traintracks go right through the middle of campus.</p>
<p>Grinnell very obviously has a lot of money, and is spending it: new science building, fairly new theater/rehearsal building, many performers and speakers brought in (free for students and local residents). The academics are excellent. Grinnell has a lot going for it, if you can tolerate the location.</p>
<p>Why decide now? They ARE both terrific schools with stellar reputations. I would apply to both, interview with both, and see where your daughter is accepted and what FA offers look like. No matter what you or others might think, the choice between the two might be pretty easy if one doesn't accept your daughter and the other does, or one gives significantly better aid than the other. And these should NOT be considered safeties.</p>
<p>Cardinal Fang, I'm a Grinnell alum and in my day (MANY years ago!) that train track often provided a weak, but legitimate excuse for being late to class :). Can't argue about the flat land or the cornfields - their beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder! All that said, my own D recently scratched Grinnell off her list, partly because it is in the middle of nowhere!</p>
<p>Both have more in common than differentiating them. Fireflyscout is right-there have been threads on this topic in the Grinnell forum.</p>
<p>The obvious differences are:
1) Carleton is on a trimester system, Grinnell is on the semester system. The pros and cons are obvious. You can decide.
2) Carleton has distribution requirements, Grinnell doesn't. Whether that matters is up to you.
3) Carleton is as far from Minneapolis and Grinnell is from Des Moines; Minneapolis has more flights in and out so transportation is marginally better. Students don't spend a lot of time in either city so that probably isn't critical.
4) Carleton shares Northfield with St. Olafs. Grinnell is the only school in Grinnell, IA. Carleton and St. Olafs don't socialize, but the town is slightly bigger as a result, so there's a bit more action in Northfield.
5) Class size at Grinnell is marginally smaller-but whether that makes a significant difference in your experience will depend more on your major-check the breadth and depth of courses in your area(s) of interest.
6) Carleton may be slightly more conventional compared to Grinnell-but they are so similar that this could be argued.
7) Carleton requires 2 SAT IIs. Grinnell doesn't require any SAT IIs.</p>
<p>Like Treeman said, apply to both (but try to visit Grinnell because they do care about perceived interest-and D may care about being surrounded by cornfields).</p>
<p>Full disclosure: Son applied ED to Grinnell and will be attending this fall.</p>
<p>M's Mom, I'd agree with most of that list. But Carleton does NOT, nor has it ever, required SAT IIs. Just to keep the record straight.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great information!</p>
<p>LACalum, Carleton "stongly recommends" SATIIs-but doesn't require them. </p>
<p>I have always interpreted this to mean that unless you have a hook, they expect to sees SAT IIs (or at least a few AP exam results). But this is speculation. I'd love to hear from some admissions folks as to what they think 'strongly recommends' means.</p>
<p>I feel like I have at least a reasonable level of understanding of admissions at Carleton (although I make no claims about having knowledge of other school's processes), as I am a pretty recent graduate, and as a student I was very connected with the admissions office (giving tours and such). The admissions counselors there usually explained SAT IIs like this: "if you take them for other schools we'd love to take a look at them as well" or "they provide an opportunity to boost your application if there are one or two of them you think you could do very well on." But my strong sense was that there was absolutely no disadvantage if you do not submit scores. I feel confident in saying that if there is something a college really expects you to do to get admitted, they will require it. For example, Carleton also "recommends" interviews, but I believe only around 50% of accepted students in recent years have one.</p>