<p>During our initial college search, we focused more on fit; less on USNWR rankings, distribution of SAT scores, and average GPA. After significant research, Grinnell came to the top of DS's list (he is applying ED1!). This position in his ranking is well-informed- a campus overnight visit including campus program, sitting in on lectures, emailing admissions counselor, etc. </p>
<p>Although a long time ago, when I was applying to college, I obsessed over rankings and "prestige"--- very type A approach that was stressful and landed me in at an Ivy league school where I was miserable for 4 years. I vowed not to go down that road with the kids; now I worry that we should have focused more on scores during our college search.</p>
<p>Long story short, because of various conversations with parents of college-aged children, I looked at USNWR and Grinnell's common dataset report. Wow! I was surprised that the SAT scores at Grinnell are as high as they are-- DS has about 610 math and 590 CR (basically below the 25th percentile) . Otherwise, he had great grades, is intellectually curious (more so than I ever was!), and demonstrated leadership in extracurriculars (no sports). </p>
<p>I worry that the holistic approach to admissions at these small LACs may apply if and only if the student has perfect scores ( a very unforgiving approach).</p>
<p>My question: who are the kids at Grinnell below the 25th percentile in SATs? Are they all athletes? Or are they a hodge podge of interesting, engaging students?</p>
<p>I don’t know a lot about Grinnell admissions but I suspect ED1 will help somewhat. Grinnell is known as providing a very high quality education while still offering merit aid. This attracts very high stats students that have a shot at ivies and top LACs where merit aid is not offered.</p>
<p>At my Daughter’s public high school, the accepted gpa average for Grinnell is higher than MIT, Brown, JHU, Tufts, Carleton and Bowdoin. Not a fair comparison because the others (save Carleton) all have a large number and wide distribution of applicants. Grinnell only has 11-12.</p>
<p>So… I don’t know, I would say it is worth a shot going for ED1, but your chances are not good unless the GPA is exceptional. If it was my kid I would probably push them towards a Skidmore/Bard level of school, or a test-optional school. Grinnell is a pretty tough admit.</p>
<p>BTW I have always understood holistic admissions to be an explanation for why schools do NOT take candidates with “perfect scores” and instead would tend to help your son’s application.</p>
<p>@ormdad: wow, didn’t realize it was so difficult. i don’t think anyone at our HS has ever applied to Grinnell (GC never heard of it!- we are from east coast). actually, bard and skidmore are on the list (as are hendrix, beloit, earlham, bates, and our state university). i think we have a pretty wide range of schools, we should be overall fine.</p>
<p>but, by definition, 25% of those who attend grinnell are below the 25th percentile.i am curious about those students: are they all athletes and/or prodigies in a hobby?</p>
<p>His app is in… it doesn’t really matter now, right? They likely are mostly students with a hook in that pool – athletes, legacies, URMs. ED1 will help some, but you actually need to get and keep him focused on his other applications for now. It can be a blow to a kid to not get into their ED school, and it can be hard to then jump start them to finish all their other applications. Also, if he has applied for financial aid, you can’t be SURE he will accept the ED offer until you have seen the FA offer (in fact, do NOT accept it until then – if they for some reason don’t provide it right away, ask for an extension on the ED decision date until you have reviewed and and confirmed it is workable for your family).</p>
<p>Meantime he should be working on his other apps as if that one does not exist, right up until the ED decision. You can wait to submit until near the deadlines for other schools (to save some $), but if a final decision hasn’t been reached on the ED school, make sure he submits on time for his other schools.</p>
<p>Sounds like he has a list of additional schools, but if he has a really strong GPA, here is a list of test optional schools (some of his current list might be on here):</p>
<p>Please don’t make assumptions about athletes unless you have data. At every school my D looked at the coaches first asked to see her transcripts and ACT scores before they even began expressing interest. Yes, some students with lower test scores may have “hooks” but to single out athletes isn’t fair. They might also have a “hodge podge” of other intereseing qualities. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t dismiss your chances. Because you’re willing to put it all out there and apply ED, that expresses strong interest. If you have solid grades, service, and/or other skills you have a chance. Good luck.</p>
<p>Of course some athletes are in the higher percentage categories of scores. But if you look at the bottom 25% at pretty much any college where there is some benefit to being an athlete in the admissions process, you will find a higher percentage of athletes in that lower 25% than you will of unhooked students. Colleges give preference to skills/what they want in their student body. And even LACs with no athletic scholarships do give some admissions preference to athletes tagged by coaches. Coaches have limited numbers of students they can lobby for, and there is a minimum bar below which the school probably won’t admit them. But an athlete that a coach wants with scores under the 25% mark has a better chance than an unhooked candidate with the same scores. This candidate is unhooked… he would have a better chance with these scores if he was hooked in some way, and being a recruited athlete is one of those hooks. Even if your kid didn’t need that hook to get admitted, it is a fact that many athletes do.</p>
<p>This is a Grinnell forum and we’re talking Grinnell here. When you have stats that show that there is a higher percentage of athletes at Grinnell in the lowest 25% then please share. My point was that Grinnell looks at various hooks and it’s unfair to claim that athletes at Grinnell have a lower bar of acceptance unless you have data from Grinnell.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. Despite a rather straightforward question, no real straightforward answer, which I have found to be common in this whole process. I suppose I was looking for responses from parents of students/students admitted to Grinnell who were below the 25th percentile. But, as someone previously noted, this is all probably a moot point. Time will tell. Good luck to everyone.</p>
<p>My question: who are the kids at Grinnell below the 25th percentile in SATs? Are they all athletes? Or are they a hodge podge of interesting, engaging students?</p>
<p>And my response was that I didn’t think they were necessarily athletes. That’s a direct answer to your one of your questions.</p>
So sorry your son was rejected from Grinnell, I was rooting for him. If I had to guess, it might have been the SAT CR score. He has a great college list though. If you are still considering options, may I suggest Juniata College in PA. It is well known for sciences especially and has a great admit rate for pre meds if your S decides to go that way. I also posted on your Hendrix thread, and that school too has a great admit rate for pre meds to med school (if he decides that later). Good luck and he will do great where he lands.