GPA at Grinnell??

<p>Okay - truth please - how hard is it to maintain a solid GPA at Grinnell? My d has a significant scholarship that requires a 3.2 GPA. I know it all depends on the student, classes, major, etc..... and that just being admitted to Grinnell shows a certain "intelligence". I would appreciate some solid feedback on this topic as being able to afford tuition depends on it! Specific advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>My son was awarded the top merit scholarship. He majored in history and studied Arabic and Russian. He was not on the Dean’s List every semester, but he had no trouble keeping his scholarship and graduated Phi Beta Kappa (proud Mom!). He did not do a sport or lots of ECs (I think only Quiz Bowl). He did have time for a very happy social life. He tells me that he knew students who were more stressed out than he was and people who spent a lot more time studying than he did; for instance, his first year roomie who double majored in math and physics and graduated with honors in both.</p>

<p>I will add that the fact that your D was awarded the scholarship (I assume it was merit) suggests that she is at the top of her game and a very able student. The school would only give this kind of scholarship to a student they thought could keep it.</p>

<p>I’ve never seen any student get below a B- when they truly applied themself, did all the work, and went to classes. Most people with lower GPAs at Grinnell are less motivated (or some other factor), not less intelligent. If your daughter is motivated and has a good incentive to keep her GPA up in the form of a scholarship, then she can probably handle it. I believe the average Grinnell student’s GPA is a 3.3, so a 3.2 to keep a scholarship certainly isn’t unreasonable.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice. This is an outside scholarship( not the Grinnell merit award) that was awarded for academics, athletics and service and she will play a sport so I’m just trying to get a handle on the GPA thing. I’ve heard many of the profs are tough and there’s not a lot of grade inflation at Grinnell, which to me is a good thing - but also want to be realistic in whether or not she’ll be able to keep this scholarship. The average GPA is helpful!</p>

<p>Your daughter should be able to comfortably meet the 3.2 gpa minimum. Grinnell has so much academic support that it is hard to do poorly if you utilize it and work hard. I was a two sport athlete and was able to maintain a 3.9+ at Grinnell. </p>

<p>One thing which I do think matters (particularly first year) is the quality of your high school. People who went to less competitive high schools found the transition to be difficult.</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply! I’m reassured that it’s doable, or as you said “comfortably meet”. He HS was pretty competitive. Since you’re an athlete do you mind another question - did you take a full load as an incoming first year or do some take only 12? She has 6 AP classes so that gives her some leeway with hours.</p>

<p>My son did the full 16 credits every semester until the last one. He had a full semester worth of AP credits, but he really wanted to take 4 courses per semester because there were so many interesting ones to take. But he wasn’t doing any sports, so it might make sense for your D to go light in the beginning. Or for her to take what looks like a purely fun course each semester.</p>

<p>I’m not an athlete, but taking 16 credits your first semester isn’t that hard, since 4 of those credits will be tutorial. I mean, some tutorials are harder than others, but they’re never killer classes.</p>

<p>Instead of trying to reduce her courseload, I’d suggest looking for a balanced course selection, so that it’s not overloaded with reading and paper writing. </p>

<p>The adviser will work with her during orientation to choose the courses and should be quite helpful in this.</p>

<p>Thanks - I was just asking what others did. She’s looking at balancing her load but I know in some schools athletes take lighter loads when in season.</p>

<p>With tutorial the first semester, taking 16 credits shouldn’t be to bad. As my two sports were fall and winter it meant I was gone pretty much every weekend. My second year in the fall I took Ochem w/lab, Bio w/lab, and Physics w/lab and that was it (12 credits). My third fall semester I took three 4 credit courses and then took a 1 credit music class, a 1 credit weight lifting course, and a 4 week short course (visiting alums teach a course on a topic of their expertise for 1 or 2 credits). My final fall semester I again took 12 credits as I was traveling for med school interviews. If your daughter has AP credits I would highly recommend taking 1 or 2 semesters with three 4 credit classes and a few fun 1 credit classes. Also short courses are great because you can take two 4 week short courses and get 4 credits (usually interesting and pretty easy to do well), and then you still have 1/2 a semester only having to deal with 3 courses. Finally, P/F is something which people do not utilize, but is a great option. I took Applied Game Theory P/F my final semester because I was interested in the class but had not completed all the prerequisite. This was one of my most interesting classes and taking it pass fail made it less stressful and more enjoyable.</p>

<p>GREAT advice! We were both hoping that 24 AP credits would give her some flexibility with her schedule. Right now she’s thinking premed too so this advice is especially relevant. I’ll share it with her. Thanks.</p>

<p>Grinnell is a great school for premed. Congrats to your daughter and you are welcome to PM me if you have any questions on which professors to take classes with or about the utilizing opportunities at Grinnell that help with Medical school.</p>

<p>As far as premed is concerned, our S received a correspondence from Grinnell indicating, and I’m paraphrasing, they didn’t care what AP scores or grades he received in his AP science classes. Grinnell’s view is that their science courses are too difficult and they recommend not to opt out of introductory science classes.</p>

<p>SoCaDad–I think a lot of good schools are giving that same advice. Based on my own long ago experience and the experience of a number of kids I know, I agree that a high school AP class is not a substitute for a rigorous college class. I know two kids who graduated in the top 5 of their high school classes with 5’s on AP science and math tests who opted out of intro math and science classes when they went to college. They both got crushed, they simply were not prepared for second semester/year college level work in subjects like calculus and chemistry–one switched from being a science major to a business major and dropped long time plans to attend med school, the other transferred at least in part because the acdemic experience was so difficult. I think the AP “system” does a lot of kids a real disservice in this sense.</p>

<p>nepop - You summed it up well. Our S graduated in 2011 and he was very glad that he took the introductory courses in the sciences. One of the smartest decisions he made at Grinnell. And he went to a rigororous college prep school that prepared him well for college.</p>

<p>S’s experience matches your S’s, SoCaDad. 5s on the science APs - and very glad he took the intro science courses at Grinnell. He notes that a friend attending our local, well-regarded state u’s intro chem course covered only half the material that his course covered in the same amount of time.</p>

<p>M’s Mom - The fact your S covered twice the amount of material as his friend did in Intro Chem is quite an acknowledgement to the academic rigors that Grinnell students face. I knew my S had worked hard at Grinnell but this puts all his effort into a new perspective. It’s no wonder that Grinnell grads are well prepared for graduate school and professional school. They really do get a first-rate education.</p>

<p>Back to the topic of the thread- GPA at Grinnell. my D has no intent of placing out of her science classes with her AP scores. Just having extra credits might give her a bit of flexibility in her course selection. Would love to hear from othe science majors about GPA!</p>