Did your son submit his ED application to Grinnell, @Andygp?
1 Like
Yes. Hoping for results soon. This preparation is if we get a negative news from there. Thanks for asking…
1 Like
Best of luck to him!
1 Like
Would love for this thread to be finished off with results? Hope all went well!
2 Likes
I’ll let @Andygp give the final results, but for people following this thread, these are some other ones that continue the story:
-
Reject from Grinnell and next steps (What happened after this thread)
-
Coming towards the end of the admissions cycle! [Kalamazoo vs Wooster advice wanted!] (when making an initial college choice)
-
Kalamazoo College vs UCSD: Is spending more money for research experience and brand worth it? [biology pre-PhD] (when an unexpected option came in, and then when a waitlist option came in, which also appears to have the final selection).
6 Likes
Thanks @AustenNut !
2 Likes
There is a twist in the tale but I am thinking to tell to this group only after we take appointment for Visa! This has seen more ups and downs in 3 months than my whole life 
1 Like
Oh my, another plot twist?!?!?
1 Like
OP- if it’s a visa issue, consider starting a new thread. We are getting a lot of posts from kids overseas who have half information, misinformation, and a LOT of wishful thinking about the visa and/or immigration process. You may spare someone else’s kid a whole lot of aggravation!
Note to EVERYONE- do not show up on a tourist visa and “expect” for it to be converted to a student visa once you’re arrived.
OP- fingers crossed there is a minor administrative glitch and not something material…
4 Likes
No no it is just that another college has made quite a compelling offer last minute so it has confused things a bit.
Visa portals in India are opening on 15th for appointment.
2 Likes
11 Likes
Students studying biology might anticipate a simpler admissions procedure at liberal arts universities. However, compared to those found in more prestigious colleges, the biology department of a liberal arts college is less competitive.
2 Likes
In general graduate program admissions rate don’t seem to suggest that. You lose out on a chance to be part of truly cutting edge Phd level research program but it gets compensated by the fact that you are close to professors and directly work with them for conducting research which reflects in recommendation letters quality etc.
After much research for picking choices between mid/low tier LACs (Kalamazoo, Wooster, Reed, Oberlin) and top research Universities (UIUC, UCSD), I feel it is easier for most students to participate in research activities at an LAC.
4 Likes
I am enjoying reading this thread. Love the data on expenditures. My son (2025 hs grad), will not care one bit about athletics when he looks at colleges, but values the classroom experience such as discussion and professors that care. He is as all A’s at his boarding school and his interests does not lean towards science or math. He is more into history. We could see him going into law it teaching. In your search, we’re there any schools that stuck out that may fit his bill?
2 Likes
My son being STEM aspirant, focused more on those. But many of the top liberal colleges seem to focus on History, Law etc. Out of our list, Washington and Lee does. We applied to it primarily for long shot of Johnson. That one is not at all a graduate school feeder in STEM.
I don’t understand this post. Liberal arts colleges have simpler admissions procedures? And only for biology? And are there no prestigious LACs?
4 Likes
This comment is inaccurate in my opinion. We applied to many LACs as well as top ranked public research schools.
Public research schools are definitely easier to get into. LACs try and match the character of the Student to the college character.
We could get in pretty much every public research school such as UIUC, UWS, Wisconsin, UCSD. Only places got rejected was UCB.
For LACs it is more mixed, got rejected from some of the top ones as well as some of the lower ranked ones. Got into some of the top ones as well. In general wherever STEM focus and training for graduate studies is stronger my son got accepted. LACs with more focus on NON-STEM he got rejected.
One more point if budget is not a constraint, public R1 are the easiest to get into for internationals because of the tuition differential. Have seen many many superior stat in-state students getting rejected from flagships.
1 Like