I seriously think the pre calculus will not be an issue at all. Please don’t worry about that!! As long as she has challenging curriculum she is totally fine and from your description it seems she does.
Also I want to add that on the common application there is a place for family responsibilities. Also you can have HS guidance counselor address those as well.
If your daughter is deferred, Grinnell has the option of deferring her into the ED2 applicant pool or the regular pool. She will then need to submit other applications to colleges for regular decision if she isn’t sold on KSU.
If Grinnell defers your daughter to the RD round, she is then free to apply ED2 somewhere else.
Don’t kick yourself. This is a harrowing process for everyone. Your daughter has a good acceptance in hand (with honors and scholarships to boot) so she’s ahead in the game already.
It’s great that she has such encouraging feedback from Grinnell. Fingers crossed for her. But this is SUCH a crazy process I encourage you to take this opportunity to investigate some other schools that have the qualities she likes so much about Grinnell – they’re out there. Some are more competitive, some less, but there are terrific options that may also offer need based or merit aid, and it will be easier to navigate a deferral or decline if you have a few of those in mind … and really no harm done if she gets an acceptance. (Huge fan of Grinnell here, by the way.) There are lots of fish in the sea. Start a fresh thread in College Search and Selection and see what comes up.
I really feel the need to shout from the rooftop about what a great school Grinnell is. Even if she is not lucky enough to get in. We personally have been treated as if we were important to them. Everyone from financial aid, admissions, even tech support has personalized our application process and helped us understand, even interfering and assisting our school counselor. We had zero experience with the common app and our counselor had never done one either.
It’s a school full of brilliant, quirky, and passionate kids. The staff there is amazing, non-pretentious, and kind.
The opportunities given to every member of their student body is outstanding. Travel abroad, music lessons, personalized education from top notch professors. They bring in the most amazing speakers. The very individual attention given to students beginning during the admissions process through graduation. It is a school that looks for ways to build kids up while challenging them to be their very best.
Selective but not pretentious. I would definitely say if any school adheres to the holistic admission approach, it’s this one.
It will be a huge disappointment for my daughter is she is not accepted and I will always blame myself for not doing enough. It is really hard to get excited about KSU after this experience.
I appreciate everyone who is commenting on this thread. I know now for sure that St. Olaf would be another school that might offer the same type of experience.
But for those of you that have not considered Grinnell, take another look. It is truly a special place.
I don’t see a current thread for families waiting admission decisions? I would love to get one going. I’m not sure where to do that.
Best of luck to all of you and thank you for your kindness!
I’m not sure why you are selling Grinnell to the CC readers. It’s already highly regarded, Anyway, a school worth looking at if Grinnell doesn’t work out is Lawrence Univ in WI. I believe it has what your daughter is looking for. Good luck.
Yes, Grinnell is highly regarded, but an awful lot of people don’t know much about it. In my reasonably college-savvy community, reaction from parents in college-seeking mode is about 30-70 “oh great school” to “huh, never heard of it.” (With a substantial side of awkward confusion from people who think you’ve said “Cornell.”) It’s helpful to hear specifics from someone with recent experience.
Lawrence is a good suggestion, especially for music, and @homerdog had some good thoughts. Beloit and Wooster were also on the list for our STEM kid. We did not actually visit either Beloit or Lawrence, but our visit to Wooster impressed us in much the same way I believe your interactions with Grinnell have. Lots of personal attention and care – it was a turning point for my kid in considering smaller schools.
hi, grinnellhopeful!
first, let me begin by saying i’m so, so sorry for your and your daughter’s loss. my heart aches for both of you. kudos to you and her for being able to persevere through such a difficult time in your lives.
second, i do have to agree that applying early decision ii instead of early decision i might help her case if your predictions about her act score going up are correct. however, a standardized test score is a standardized test score and does not reflect her ability to achieve academic success, which i believe the admission officers will take into full consideration. some people are not the best at taking tests, and that’s okay. (i, for one, am horrible at taking math portions of standardized tests! i soared through ap calculus my senior year [think 100 as my overall final grade/average in the class], yet i failed the ap test terribly!)
i believe your daughter has just as much of a chance as anyone else, but try to make her understand that a rejection is just as likely as an acceptance! here’s what i’ve always said: the problem with the idea of having a “dream school” is that it instills the belief that a college experience will only be fulfilled at that particular school. in order to keep that from happening, i suggest looking into a few test-optional schools such as bates, smith, bryn mawr, skidmore, connecticut college, bard, and beloit (to name only a few!) just in case. i, personally, am applying to three of the eight i listed (though, i don’t identify as a woman, so that takes me out of the running for smith and bryn mawr, haha). remember - even if her composite score on her upcoming act isn’t what she wants, many schools (including grinnell) will super score her submitted tests to form a new overall score.
i speak from experience, for i am inherently average, but that’s not stopping me from applying! i’m, actually, thinking of (and probably will) apply early decision ii. i’m here if you or your daughter need someone to confide in while going through the process! just shoot me a pm if need be. i’m rooting for her! should she and i both be accepted and attend, i can’t wait to meet her! cheers. 
(also, please, please, please never blame yourself for not doing enough. you have done all you could do, and that will always be enough.)
@citymama9 I’m not trying to “sell” Grinnell. However, our road to application submission was amazing. As I said before we had never heard of or seen The Common App or CCI profile. That is not how it works at state schools. Also, because of some of our recent life experiences my children and I have often felt a bit ostracized. I’ve never posted here before, I apologize if I did not follow etiquette. Thank you for the suggestion of a school that might offer a similar experience.
I wonder if there are other parents, like me, reading these reads looking for moral support? If so, hopefully they will stumble upon my thread and see there are options for their high achieving students, that could potentially cost less than state school and offer a better educational experience with very personal attention.
Thanks to some of the responses I can add a few schools to our non exsistent list if Grinnell does not work out.
If those schools use the common app, can we use the same LORs? There would be a very short window between hearing from Grinnell and the deadline for ED2 at most schools.
It looks like my daughter would have a very good chance at St. Olaf even with her first and only ACT score. But we will have the second scores December 19 and with the expected 4-5 point or more jump, being in the top 10% of her class, the strength of her course rigor, I think she might be a good candidate at many schools.
I believe that would be very empowering for my daughter. But as I have stated many times, this is all so new to me as a parent and I am afraid of missing something. We need a school that offers great aid, small classes, and a “community feel”. “Community feel” is the phrase I hear my daughter use often.
Also, please remember every single one of her peers is going to community college, KSU, or KU. These are also the paths our college counselor pushes. So, posting about our experience, her stats, etc might help someone else who comes from similar schools and backgrounds.
I think it also worth noting the average ACT score for my state is 21.7. My daughter was praised for her score of 26 and wasn’t pushed to retake it by her school. It’s hard to feel like you stand out when you read about kids that score 32 and above. Our state has cut funding for education and when you don’t have any resources, like me, it’s intimidating to do something that is outside of the norm like applying to a school like Grinnell.
In her graduating class of 400ish, not many take the courses she took. A 4th year of math and science are not required to graduate or attend our state schools. Physics and Pre-Calc were the electives she choose because she didn’t want to be bored, because she wanted to learn, and she wants a better life.
Getting into Grinnell or similar school would literally be life changing for students like her.
That is why I am singing the praises of our experience. If it isn’t the norm in your community there isn’t the support.
The thought of accumulating 10-15 grand worth of debt at a state school after scholarships is overwhelming when that is more than I made last year. And when you see the sticker price of these private LACs, along with the average ACT score of admitted students (if you even know to look for other options), it would be easy to feel intimidated and to outright dismiss them feeling like they are way beyond reach.
Sorry for the long rant but not everybody has access to the same resources and it doesn’t mean their students couldn’t make it at a school with a rigorous academic curriculum. I know my daughter longs for a challenge. She has worked very hard, made many sacrifices, and sometimes it isn’t fair to be compared to students who have access to information and resources at their schools that we don’t.
My goal was to get some moral support and hopefully encourage other students like my daughter to look beyond the typical path of their peers.
The admissions decision at schools other than state schools is somewhat of a mystery to me. Do they take all those factors I listed above into consideration? I believe Grinnell does,
Also, I know I am not the only parent who is unable to make college visits outside of my region. Often showing interest in a school by visiting can be a point in their favor. I have no idea how I personally can take my daughter to visit a school several states away for a visit. I need to rely on information provided by other parents and students that post here.
I am grateful for the feedback and suggestions and hope that sharing my experience will help someone else.
If colleges want true diversity they need to reach out to schools like ours. Our college advisors in the school need to know places like Grinnell exist and might actually cost less than state school. We got pushback from peers and our college advisor by even mentioning we were applying.
Well said @Grinnellhopeful, and good luck to you and your daughter.
@Grinnellhopeful
I am rooting for your D! Thanks for the heartfelt comments on Grinnell!
I’m so sorry if my comment sounded snarky. I must have been in an irritable mood when I wrote it. You sound like such a great, caring mom who wants the best for her daughter. Don’t doubt yourself. You are probably doing more than most parents. Again, I wish your D the very best.
@kalons Thank you for the encouragement! I appreciate hearing a little about your journey. I am sending good vibes your way during your application process and this horrid waiting we all endure for a decision. I would love for you to connect with my daughter!
My son also applied ED to Grinnell and we are waiting till 12/15. Fingers crossed.
I’ll be thinking of you! The wait feels like years. I think we should start a whole new thread because this one delved into many things. I’m so glad you responded. I hope that on December 15 we can both celebrate.
I too have been navigating the college application process this past year with my wife and we have gone to the extent of hiring a college consultant to help us through the process. Grinnell is on the short list for our son along with a few other small selective LACs in the Midwest. Our son did apply ED1 to Grinnell and we feel confident about his chances. He also applied to a number of other highly selective LACs early action (non-binding) and has already received acceptance letters and generous scholarship offers from a few. What I have learned about this process is:
You need to prioritize a good list of schools: when we started the process we grouped schools by safety (highly likely acceptance), solid (likely acceptance but not a lock) and stretch. By the time we were ready to process applications we had reduced the list to 2 safety’s, 3 solids and 2 stretch’s.
You can’t put all your eggs in one basket: it is not smart to limit yourself to only one or two schools unless you are very very very confident about your chances.
The smaller the school the more selective the process the harder it is to get in: since we were focusing on small LACs we did our research. Most good LACs have an acceptance rate of under 30%. See: you can’t put all your eggs in one basket.
There are no sure things: the application process is a mystery and there are thousands of applicants for a relatively small number of spots. Nothing is truly a lock.
The Common App is Common: yes it’s great to only have to process one application but you realize quickly how common the process is. What sets one applicant apart from the rest? With the exception of GPA and standardized tests the only unique part of the application is the essay. The essay is CRITICAL. It has to say something about the applicant. It can’t be just a well written 650 word paper. It is very important that the applicant vett the essay with at least one trusted and knowledgeable resource. It is not cheating to have someone else spot check your work for spelling grammar and clarity.
GPA is only one piece of the puzzle: the final GPA is a great metric but the real story is in the details of the transcript. Did the student take progressively harder class loads? Does the transcript show growth? What is the overall rigor of the class load?
The reputation of the high school counts: does your school have a reputation of graduating students that go to highly selective schools? Where does the school rank at a State and National level? A student getting a 3.5 at a top nationally competitive HS is likely going be on par with a student with a better gpa at a less rigorous school.
All activities count: the Common app allows you to list all of your activities and the time spent on them. Be creative and advocate for yourself by assigning time to activities that show what you have accomplished outside of academics.
Utilize all of the resources available to you: most school use the Naviance system which will allow you to do college research based on the last few years of applicants from your school. This is a great way to perform a reality check on your chances of admission. They will scatter plot applicants by gpa and standardized tests and show accept/reject.
Show interest: visit the schools, follow them on social media, tweet, tag, link, interview with admissions, interview with alumni.
Use the Internet: there are a number of web sites out there that can give you info and help you reality check the process.
The best school is the right school for the student: although as parents we want the absolute best for our children we need to reflect on and define what “best” means. It doesn’t serve anyone’s best interests to have your child implode at a school they weren’t prepared to attend.
Take one of the standardized tests more than once: most schools superscore which allows you to get the best composite score over multiple tests. These tests are not only important for admission but they also influence Merit aid.
Hope is not a strategy: we started early, got educated, were very proactive and developed a real strategy.
With respect to Grinnell, they are a highly selective school with an international student body. They receive upwards of 7200 applications for only 420 spots. Early decisions sees less than 400 applications and has a higher acceptance rate BUT that number could be skewed by the fact that very highly qualified applicants are more likely to go ED and that the school does give out a number of “Likely Letters” for ED Admission (these are official letters from admissions sent to select students that indicate that it is highly likely they will be admitted if they apply ED). Admissions at Grinnell likes to have one third of their class pool developed via ED so they know how they need to structure their RD acceptances.
Best of luck but I would strongly suggest researching and identifying some reasonable alternatives (previous responders have provided very good alternatives).
@Cornellian88 Thank you for your insight and information. My D has an interview with the Admissions Rep, I think that helps tell her story. Her interview went very very well. I also believe her letters of recommendation play a huge part in telling her story and showing the student and person she is.
This was our first experience with the common app. Our first experience with anything other than state school or community colllege. Although, we did have some help from her Grandmother who is alumni. So, my daughter is considered legacy. I don’t know if that carries much weight with Grinnell but her grandmother (my late father’s wife) and my father, when he was alive volunteer time to Grinnell yearly.
I can’t find our high school ranking. I found a couple of sites but the numbers were different. Where can I get that information?
Unfortunately, we are unable to afford help with the application process, essay, prep, etc. what I can say about her essay and application is that is authentically her. We realized last night that we left off the fact that her highly selective choir received top scores at competition each year. I don’t know if we can add that now or not?
It may not have been the smartest way to do things but admissions knows that my D has had Grinnell as her only choice since MS. She has shown her interest.
At this point, all we can do is wait. The wait feels very stressful. I have tried to talk to her about other options and she isn’t even open to exploring anything else at this point. She will go to KSU where she has been accepted into the honors college if she doesn’t get into Grinnell. That is what she is expressing right now. We’ll see if she changes her mind if she is deferred or rejected.
Best of luck to your son as we wait the long 16 days for decision. I hope he gets in and our children are safely nestled into a great school where they will be given an amazing educational experience! I’ll be rooting for you. Hopefully all that have applied ED1 in this thread can meet during Admitted Students Day this spring!!
Good luck. I would stress again that it is important to explore other options. You can’t change the past only influence the future. Even if your daughter isn’t open to exploring other options you can start searching for alternatives just in case. Consider looking up the book “colleges that change lives” by Lauren Pope. It is a great first pass at good LACs by region.
I will repeat: Grinnell receives 7200 applications annually and every student is special and unique. As much as it feels like a personal process it can’t help but be somewhat metrics driven. There isn’t one thing you said about your Admissions experience that I couldn’t repeat for every school admissions officer that we talked to. No admissions officer is looking for ways not to admit a student, they are looking for reasons to accept them and that is true for each and every one of the 7200 applicants that eventually get distilled down to a 420 person graduation class. I have worked with Admissions for my alma mater (an ivy) for almost 30 years and I have learned a fair bit about the process:
Admissions is creating a community based on diversity within the personality and culture of their institution, this influences their decisions.
The future success of each student is important to the school. They don’t want to admit students that will struggle or burn out because they weren’t a good fit and/or couldn’t handle the coursework
Legacy isnt a lock I have seen applicants with a long list of family alums and history of family giving not get in
EC’s matter. They are trying to understand what type of addition to the community each student will be as well as if they can handle multi tasking academic and extracurricular activities. This has to be quantified within the application.
If it isn’t in the “application” it doesn’t matter. They can only act on what they know and although that includes interviews it is critical that important details are captured. ( every kid is assumed to be a “good kid”)
All applicants get advocated for within the process by Admissions staff. It is likely that professors will also review essays (likely without access to the rest of the application) and provide feedback.
Parents are important but they need to be mindful of how they insert themselves in the process. I have multiple experiences where parents and or relatives have been too “hands-on” with Admissions and it has never ended positively. Note that parental influence stops at the gates to the University. Once a student is admitted they are a young independent adult responsible for their own actions.
The same pool of students are competing for the same spots. It’s not unusual to have the same group of students applying to the same schools. This makes it harder for the applicant that is only applying to one or two schools. Admissions does not know where else you are applying nor do they consider that as part of the decision making process.
Addmissions decisions can be a mystery. I had a situation where twins were both applying to my alma mater. They were seemingly identical down to gpa and standardized tests (even ECs) and they were legacies and only one of the two was accepted.
I have about as much insight into your daughters chances as I have of my sons and I am only trying to give you some ammunition to convince your daughter to start to consider alternatives just in case. Starting now is especially important if you need to research schools based on your financial needs. But of course that is just one opinion.
(Note that my son isn’t even applying to my alma mater, not because he couldn’t get in, but because it wasn’t the right fit for what he wanted.)
Good luck to your daughter! Our family visited Grinnell last year with our daughter and although she decided that it wasn’t for her, and ultimately wound up at another LAC in the Midwest, my husband and I were mighty impressed with the school. It seems like a wonderful place and I hope your daughter gets accepted. It sounds like she has a very good chance!
I just wanted to mention that I, too, had heard that kids who like Grinnell would also like Beloit. My daughter applied there as a safety without having visited it, and before she heard back from her ED2 school (where she is currently attending), She received an acceptance from Beloit and a very generous merit aid offer. My daughter, like yours, had an excellent transcript but lower standardized test scores. We never did find out if Grinnell would have accepted her because she withdrew her application. However, her standardized test scores were low for her current school, too, and she was accepted with merit aid. So don’t get too hung up on one small part of her application.
@Cornellian88 excellent information and advice. We are just starting out doing this for the 2nd time and learned so much the first time around, much of it from people in this forum. It’s much easier if you are willing to pay $60K/year. If you aren’t, there’s really a lot more that needs to go into the process.
@Grinnellhopeful it must be nerve racking with most of your eggs in one basket. Good luck, I’m sure it will work out in the end.