I visited Grinnell over the summer and loved it! It had the best feel of any college that I’ve visited so far (and I’ve visited almost 10, some LACs, some bigger universities, midwest and west coast), but I’m not sure if it’s my top college or if I should apply early decision. My stats are all good and I have a good chance of getting in, but the only thing that isn’t great about it is the location. It’s about 5 hours driving from where I live and I would rather live in a state that has access to more, like CA or NY. I’m also visiting Grinnell again in about a month and Vassar in a few months. I really like what I’ve seen of Vassar, but I won’t really know how it compares to Grinnell until I do visit campus and see what the atmosphere was like. Help?
Grinnell is indeed a wonderful and special place! I doubt you would regret the choice to attend. Still, it is best to make sure a school is your unqualified first choice and that you do not need to compare financial-aid offers before committing to ED, as ED admission is binding. Will you have a chance to visit Vassar before the ED deadline? Whether or not you apply ED to Grinnell, do get your application in early to be in the running for merit scholarships. Perhaps you are trying to be strategic with ED to optimize your chances of admission, but IMO you should only do ED at a clear top choice.
Interestingly, I do not think many Grinnell students feel boxed in there. Most seem to love their experience. My own city kid cannot wait to get back to the busy microcosm that is campus. It is also worth considering that even students who attend schools near big cities tend to spend the vast majority of their time on campus. But applicants self-select for where they will thrive, and you should let your truest preferences be your guide if it comes down to a difficult choice. If you do attend Grinnell, you could study abroad in a city, could request funding for externships and summer internships in cities, and could eventually settle in a city! Good luck with this exciting decision.
Vassar and Grinnell are similarly strong and draw from similar pools, but by reputation Vassar is more urbane and arty and East Coast/NYC (similar perhaps to Wesleyan and Brown), while Grinnell is more like Carleton and Swarthmore, if that makes sense. Both Grinnell and Vassar have kind, welcoming, brilliant students and faculty. See Andrew’s description of Grinnell in the “‘Why Grinnell,’” a continuation" thread.
Again, very best of luck to you! I am sure you will make an excellent choice for you.
Only apply to a college ED if both are true: 1) you are absolutely sure it is your top choice college and 2) the college appears affordable and your family has no need/desire to compare financial offers from different colleges.
FWIW Grinnell offers ED2 so perhaps you can visit Vassar before that deadline.
I agree with the other replies to be careful about applying ED. If you have strong stats and are not 100% sure, it is probably better to wait and apply regular decision. RD will allow you to compare merit and need based aid offers. It also allows you to be in control and make the final decision in April between competing candidates. The whole college application process is psychologically challenging. Speaking from my own experience decades ago, it is nice for the student to be back in the driver’s seat in April and be able to pick from multiple choices. I picked Grinnell by the way.
That said, my son did apply to Grinnell ED1. He was accepted and will be a second year student this year. He loves Grinnell and is very happy with his decision. He had completed a high level of due diligence, visited many schools, and had a very strong feeling that Grinnell was the best fit. He found out he was admitted to Grinnell well before the application deadlines at other schools, so he didn’t need to expend all the time, energy and money on numerous applications and essays. As nice as that was, I’m not sure he would apply ED if he had it to do over again. By going the ED route, he will never know if Big Name Schools X and Y would have admitted him. Even if he would have picked Grinnell in the end anyway, it would have been fun for him to feel that schools were competing for him. Plus, it was a bit anti-climactic being done with the whole college search in early December. That made for a long second semester his senior year.
I wouldn’t apply ED if you have solid stats. Show a lot of interest and interview if you can. My daughter applied and visited after she applied. She loved it but ultimately chose another school because she wanted access to East Coast cities (even though she liked the town and thought it would suffice). Plus they do give out merit aid (apply early for this but not ED). I don’t think they give it to ED applicants.
They actually do give merit aid to ED applicants.
Based on my son’s experience and on many posts I’ve read, I can confirm that Grinnell does give merit aid to ED applicants. They say it is the same merit aid one would receive during the RD round. Still, if you want to compare merit offers (or need based offers) from multiple schools, the only way to do that is through regular decision.
@MatzoBall @happy1 I will be visiting Vassar in October so it is before the ED deadline. I’ve plugged my information into the college board net price calculator, and at all the colleges I’m seriously considering I get about the same. And thank you everyone for the information and help!
It’s great that you will be able to visit Vassar soon. Do keep us posted. The two schools are very different in feel.
@MatzoBall I definitely will! I’m excited to visit, but if I like it as much as Grinnell then I will have a problem on my hands!
hi. (very tired) first-year student here. i’ve been on campus for two weeks now, and i don’t feel boxed in at all. i often make the joke about how i forget the town even exists because i’m always so preoccupied with my friends and other activities.
i applied ED2 without having visited, and i’ve never looked back since, though i do believe i’m an exception/rare case. if you think/know deep down grinnell is the school for you, i think you should go for it.
one more thing to add: the amount of support i’ve been given/that is offered here is, literally, incredible. i’ve never experienced anything like it. everyone—other students, professors, etc.—genuinely care about your wellbeing and want you to succeed in any way possible.
if you have any questions, please don’t be afraid to ask me.
@kalons if I have any questions I’ll be sure to PM you!
Our daughter graduated from Vassar last year. She had a fantastic overall experience and truly loves her alma mater. Our son is a Sophomore at Grinnell at who applied ED1. He is very happy with his choice. I can add a bit of color to both schools. Our background is originally Midwestern but we have lived on the East coast and West coast.
Vassar feels more Ivy than Grinnell. That mattered a bit more to our daughter. The library at Vassar is literally one of her favor places on earth and honestly she isn’t the only person who feels that way. Of course Vassar admits a lot of international students but it has a very distinct NE vibe. Artsy / eclectic / somewhat privileged / is the vibe we picked up. Our daughter who grew up on the West coast didn’t have too much trouble adjusting. The professors are excellent. The financial aid is AWESOME. The school doesn’t focus too much on post graduation jobs or guidance. I think it is assumed kids will go to grad school. Our daughter is in grad school.
Grinnell is very midwestern. Folks are just plain nice. My west coast son is somewhat uncomfortable with the degree to which people are nice/in his business, but he has adjusted. The Profs are AWESOME! The financial aid is AWESOME. Applying ED1 my son received one of the better merit based scholarships plus regular aid so I can say ED does receive merit aid.
My opinion is spend this time to find your favorite school and use the ED. It is REALLY nice to have the decision / process completed by early December. Our daughter used her ED on an Ivy was wait listed and wound up waiting to late March. It was VERY stressful. I will say her #1 and #2 schools swapped places while waiting for RD. Our son did the ED at Grinnell and then was able to chill from Dec until August when he moved into Grinnell. To each his own!
A couple of negatives on both:
Vassar
Post grad planning
Dorms are very dated (some would say this is a good thing - eclectic)
Class availability is somewhat difficult as a freshman and sophomore
Grinnell
Limit off campus food choices
Campus is a bit of an island in a small town in a lower density state
Financial aid was a tiny bit worse (like 5-10% less). Both schools promise to meet 100% of need but each uses a different formula
Good Luck!
@bthomas3333 this is super helpful! I’ve grown up in the midwest my whole life so I’m kinda used to the whole “everyone’s nice and always in your business” thing. I’m pretty worried about my post-college plans, so I really liked Grinnell’s advising program. Knowing that Vassar doesn’t really focus on that and does feel privileged actually solidifies the fact that the more I think about it I don’t like it nearly as much as Grinnell. When I visited UofC, I didn’t like how that atmosphere seemed to just permeate the campus. If you don’t mind me asking, what does your son do outside of school? Does he ever go to Des Moines or Iowa City, and does he mind living in a state that doesn’t necessarily have endless things to do?
Most of the activities revolve around the campus at Grinnell. Some of the students leave on weekends to go home, some students take advantage of the activities the school plans, and some students are more into planning their own activities. Our son doesnt mind having fewer choices. I am sure some young adults would feel very limited. Some students leave campus to grab food from one of a handful of off campus choices, see a movie, just hangout in one of the other gathering spots. Last year he went to DSM 2-3 times for different food, shopping, change of pace.
I also want to jump in on the comparison. I know right now it seems like a life altering decision, but these two school are both AWESOME. I could talk about my daughters fellowship awards from Vassar that allowed her to volunteer in SF. Her awesome grad school opportunity that the teachers at Vassar helped her get. You can’t go wrong with either school. BTW…same goes for U of C. It a sense you are splitting hairs. If Grinnell feels right go for it
Good luck!
So… I did “Discover Grinnell” a few days ago and my mind almost completely changed. The enthusiasm that I felt when I visited over the summer was almost completely gone and I felt like many of the students weren’t excited to be there, which was disappointing. I was hoping that when I visited again that it would feel like “the one” and solidify my decision, but it did the complete opposite. At this point, I’m going to visit Vassar, Columbia, and Barnard in about a month and if I don’t seriously love any college, I will probably apply ED to an Ivy or Pomona. Thanks so much to everyone who helped me and gave me information.
Best of luck to you, @interestedtraveler7. It’s a shame that you encountered an unenthusiastic crowd that day. It must have been quite a disheartening experience. For whatever it’s worth, even though you have determined Grinnell is not the right place for you, I don’t think the attitude you witnessed that day is representative. I wish the students you met had been better emissaries for the school, but at least they were being honest. You will no doubt land in the place that is right for you. Again, best wishes.
@interestedtraveler7 Your visit coincided with one month in to classes. That is often a somewhat stressful time for students as the profs are usually hitting them with the first big exam of the semester around that time. I know my DD who is a first year there was a bit anxious 2-3 weeks ago. So, you might have been witnessing distraction and stress more than lack of enthusiasm.