Chances for admission and campus culture?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Grinnell College
1

<p>I'm considering applying to Grinnell, but I'm a bit concerned about the location. I know Grinnell is rural, but does the culture on campus make up for that? Also I'm from San Diego and a bit concerned about travel- how far is the nearest airport? Can someone also let me know what my odds are for admission? </p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 (weighted) 3.77 (unweighted)
SATs: (only taken once but I'm waiting on my october score) 700 CR, 700 W, 580 M
SAT II : lit-710 us history-630 (re-taking history and taking bio)
APUSH: 5
Rank: 23 out of 125</p>

<p>I am bi-racial and attend an inner city high school, though my family is not low income and both my parents have pHDs</p>

<p>Anticipated major: double major in Womens Studies and Middle Eastern Studies (dance minor) -I'm hoping based on my interests they won't care so much about my SAT in math</p>

<p>Senior Classes:
IB Math Studies SL
IB Biology HL
IB Economics SL
IB English HL
IB Spanish 9-10 SL
IB History HL</p>

<p>Summer Activities:
3-week dance festival at Sarah Lawrence College w/ faculty from Julliard and Tisch (12th)
Genetics Counseling Internship (12th)
Barnard Young Women's Leadership Institute (11th)
Summer School Counseler in Electronics and Woodworking classes (10th)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Ballet classes and performances (Nutcracker, Snow White etc.)
Teaching ballet to Autistic children
Teen Court (youth restorative justice program)
Biology Tutor
President of the Honor Society
Member of Student Government
Organized a Fundraiser for Heifer International in 10th grade
I've done several other activities that were more minor...</p>

2

<p>It would be nice to pull up the math SAT, but the rest of your record looks so good that they might not weight that too heavily. How have you done on your math classes? I think you are in the ballpark, but you’ll want to hear from others. And, of course, we are not the admissions committee!</p>

<p>About the location, yes, it is very rural. There are tons of free activities, speakers, concerts, parties, etc. going on all the time, more than you could ever do and you will be studying a lot too. The student body is very diverse and my son found more interesting friends in a few weeks than he’d found in his whole life pre-Grinnell. And these are friends I expect he’ll keep forever. They are from all over the country and the world, so there’s always someone to visit when traveling. He really liked most of his profs and classes. A city it is not. The nearest airports (Des Moines and Cedar Rapids) are about an hour away. There are shuttles to get to and from the airport at breaks. It is also cold in the winter, if that’s a factor. My son loved his time there.</p>

3

<p>bethievt, thanks for your response! I did spend a fair amount of time studying for the math section and am still waiting for my most recent SAT scores, however I’m definitely not a math person. Freshman year I took Advanced Geometry and earned As both semesters, Sophmore year I took Advanced Intermediate Algebra and got Bs both semesters, Junior year I took regular Pre-Calculus and got As both semesters. Im in IB Math Studies this year and will likely get As.</p>

4

<p>Will you get a chance to visit campus? They won’t hold it against you if you don’t, because of the distance, but it would help you get a feel for the place. Also, if you can, it would demonstrate your interest. It really is a wonderful school, but wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea.</p>

5

<p>I can tell you about getting there from San Diego – we just made that trip a few days ago for the second time! My son is a homeschooler so needed to interview, which he did during a summer visit to several Midwestern campuses, then we went back as he wanted to be sure about it as his first choice school before applying ED.</p>

<p>From San Diego you can take Frontier to Des Moines, via Denver, and Grinnell is an easy hour drive away. They will arrange to pick you up from the Des Moines airport if you travel out there by yourself for a visit. With the layover it is probably 5 hours to Des Moines? We had to go through Minneapolis this last week, so it was a little longer. The Des Moines airport is so relaxed and small that going through security was almost pleasant!</p>

<p>My San Diego born and raised son loves the small size of Grinnell the town and Grinnell the campus. He actually uses the word “charming” to describe the town. On campus we were in awe of everyone just dumping their backpacks and messenger bags on the floor in the foyer outside of the dining hall at lunch – clearly there is no worry about theft. It is a really friendly student body, and he reported it was an engaged student body during class. The campus is very pretty, especially now that the trees are changing. The Iowa cornfields are very exotic to us, with the huge John Deere harvesters and tractors that work the land, and the water towers are particularly eye catching to a So Cal urban dweller. We were struck by how white the rural population of the Midwest is, we aren’t used to that, but were also pleasantly surprised by just how genuinely warm and friendly everyone is. The Grinnell student body is certainly diverse and international in flavor. And, perhaps most important of all, the food was terrific!</p>

6

<p>California has the second largest representation in the class of '15. As a parent of a very happy student at grinnell I echo the above comments. I wouldn’t worry if you can’t make it to campus before applying but definitely do before making a decision if accepted. Do ask for an alumni interview, though. And research and understand the school before answering the supplement. Is it still naming a new mascot? My son loved that question.</p>

7

<p>Grinnell as of now has no Middle Eastern Studies Major or Concentration albeit there is some talk about it. There are courses offered about the Middle East and we have one (possibly two next year I year rumors) Arabic professor and one Arabic Language Assistant. </p>

<p>Culture-wise, yes Grinnell is rural but there is a lot of stuff do on Campus. I am from a big city myself and I definitely miss it but it’s manageable; getting off-campus helps. I have to say though I’ve noticed the Campus Culture changing and not necessarily for the better, but that is just my take on things.</p>

8

<p>Silence, don’t leave us hanging with that “not necessarily for the better”. Please elaborate a little.</p>

9

<p>Sorry, I was pressed for time, which is why I didn’t elaborate. </p>

<p>From my experience and some people agree with me on this that there seems to be a trend for the classes to get less quirky. I think my feeling on this is very subjective but I to me the class of 2014 feels in large parts very homogenous; interestingly enough however I think the class of 2015 has some really individualistic students, which is great I think. </p>

<p>The one shift a lot of people, not just me, noticed is that this year there has been unusually high number of hospitalizations. Yes, there was always drinking at Grinnell, but people had themselves a lot better under control or where which friends who where able to take care of them. There seems to be a trend towards getting very wasted. For some reason this year is different than previous years. </p>

<p>On top of that with the Strategic Plan I feel like there seems to be a push toward forming a more professional future for Grinnell to prepare Grinnell students better for their post-Grinnell lives I guess. Which is not bad per se but some students are worried that the Grinnell student body might lose its emphasis on social justice and service careers and from what I’ve observed I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true. </p>

<p>Sorry if this post is very rambly, it’s midsem’s week. If you want to ask me more specific questions, I’d be happy to answer them once I get more sleep.</p>

10

<p>thanks for taking the time to answer these questions during exams! When you have time to answer, would you recommend Grinnell to a prospie? Do Grinnell’s strengths make up for it’s weaknesses or not?</p>

11

<p>At family weekend, dr. Kington told parents that alcohol emergencies were down.</p>

<p>I don’t understand the concern about social justice. There is a concerted effort to make this historical mission of the college more vibrant and effective. The social justice prize not only honors individuals doing great things in the world, but establishes enduring connections between the students and these organizations. I see an effort to link on campus learning with real world application, so that social justice is not just a concept, but a force for progress.</p>

12

<p>SDonCC I don’t really know how to word my feelings on this one but I guess I am thinking that it might become a trend that social justice is becoming institutionalized if that makes any sense. While the college overall is stressing it I feel as if some ( I can’t really say whether more or less) students do community service purely because it looks good on a resume. </p>

<p>Sarah1994
I think overall I would recommend Grinnell, although with reservations. I have a lot of issues with the college for example what I perceive to be a lack of support for first-generation college students as well as not enough effort to ease the cultural transitions for students that are not international. What I mean with this is while there is international student orientation and the office of international student affairs which does a great job in supporting internationals there is not really an equivalent for domestic students who may need help to get adjusted to Grinnell. I know that it is not easy to get used for some inner-city students to get used to Grinnell and if they are not part of the Posse there is basically no support system for them. Another example is a friend of mine, who is native American and probably had a harder time adjusting to the cultural difference than I did and I am international. This is something that I feel that the college really needs to work on, there are a lot of students who fall through the cracks and I think that this shouldn’t happen had an institution like Grinnell.
Now that being sad I think Grinnell is a good choice for most. Academically speaking, most departments are really good and through things such as MAPs, funded internships etc. Grinnell makes it possible to apply what you have learned and follow your interests. Not to mention the fact that there is not really a core curriculum.
There is a lot of stuff to do and many different student groups. It’s comparatively easy to find a new student group if you see the need.
Sometimes I think the social environment gets stressful but I feel that I mostly feel like that because I am not used to being in a small town for periods this long. I am from a big city, being around the same people all the time is still something that when I am stressed can really get on my nerves.
Although there are some people on this Campus who tend to really get on my nerves the great thing about Grinnell is that there are so many different people. I am friends with people, with whom before Grinnell I likely would not even have talked too. I met so many awesome people at this school and I think that even though I tend to complain about Grinnell a lot and even though I think a lot of things could be better, there is definitely one thing I can take out of this school and those are the relationships that I built with other students but also professors. While my views remained similar the way I think about things has totally changed and I am grateful for that.</p>

13

<p>

when I was at Grinnell in the late 70s we said the exact same thing about the younger classes. I think this is a Grinnell tradition ;)</p>

14

<p>Sarah, take a look at the Common Data Set for Grinnell. As of 2008-2009 (and I’m sure there’s more recent data out there), your 580 on the SAT in math puts you below the 25%ile for admitted students. Hopefully, your Oct math score will be better.</p>

15

<p>To @Sarah1994, if your anticipated studies will be Womens Studies, the Mid East, and a dance minor, and Grinnell doesn’t have Mid East Studies then you might consider going to the East Coast, where the winter is milder than the Mid West,. There’s Bard College in NY, and Barnard College (with Columbia) in NYC, to name only two. Lot’s of diversity and things to do. Nonetheless Grinnell will keep you busy and please consider Grinnell if you feel it fits.</p>

<p>To @_Silence and @SDonCC,
_Silence said, “…some students are worried that the Grinnell student body might lose its emphasis on social justice and service careers… social justice is becoming institutionalized…” To which SDonCC responds, “I don’t understand the concern about social justice…”</p>

<p>Grinnell is in the news within the past week: Dougharty posted on Huffington Post about Grinnell’s Self Governance (an example of “institutionalized” growing up); and GC’s new Co-ed Roommates, Showers, and Locker Rooms policy to accommodate (i.e. “institutionalize”) Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender and gender-neutral relationships.</p>

<p>After the death of my son, Robert Yin, Grinnell Class of 2012, I think a lot about safety management for student athletes. Robert died pole vaulting for the Grinnell Track and Field team, May 2010. It was his 1st/rookie semester as a pole vaulter. What could be a greater cause for social justice, to understand the lessons learned from the death of one of your own, to prevent future deaths of student-athletes? Is there any connection between safety (saving lives) and “social justice”?</p>

<p>There are three moms who invariably post responses to every post about Grinnell - many 1000s of messages on CC. If you perceive something “off-message” can you tolerate it (rather than as I read in another thread, calling another “flippant”)? As you moms are proud of your sons, I am proud of my dead son. In the spirit of concern for our children’s safety, can you please consider social justice is the ability to empathize or act even if doesn’t happen to you?</p>

<p>Having said all this, what is the average GC student to do? Should the GC big money prize for social justice that we read about in World News impact the local campus? I say let students determine what is best for them, in balance with their studies. No pressure. No rush.</p>

16

<p>To be clear, the social justice symposium brought the prize winners on campus for about a week of activities, including informal coffee hours, participation in class discussions, roundtable discussions and formal speeches. The students, faculty and administration all learned from the experience and enthusiasm of these “innovators under 40.”. </p>

<p>I know my own son came away from a session with an idea for a new project to begin implementing on campus. I know that the career development officers met with the prize winners to develop some new internships for students. </p>

<p>To me, this prize and symposium are the perfect blend of ivory tower
and real world learning. </p>

<p>I can’t comment on the specific ways grinnellians empathize or not or whether sports safety is a topic ever considered. I know that I do feel sympathy for you mrs. Yin, and know that none of us know what it’s like to stand in your shoes.</p>