<p>Booberry, you may be the only person in America right now weighing Grinnell vs. RPI! 
They’re very different. Consider this from Princeton Review:</p>
<p>"Grinnell undergrads describe themselves and their classmates as “students interested in social justice and having a good time.” They tend to be “highly intelligent, motivated, and inquisitive” students who constantly challenge one another “to examine topics from different perspectives. This constant thinking outside of the box is a primary aspect of a true liberal arts education.” Grinnellians “are frequently left-leaning, but there’s not a typical Grinnell student. All the students are different, so there are few issues with fitting in.” Intellect and intensity are the most frequent common denominators; as one student explains, “I’ve heard that every single student is a nerd about something. Perhaps that is what unites us—our passion, whether that be for a sport, academic subject, Joss Whedon, foam-sword fighting, or politics. We all respect that we have different interests but bond because we are interested rather than apathetic, therefore interesting and unique.” </p>
<p>"The typical RPI student may be considered ‘nerdy’ by the liberal arts world, but being a nerd is totally cool here, says a senior, and right he is. Nerds abound, but “There are a large number of ‘normal’ people as well, and each year, the percent of females in each incoming class increases.” While the three-to-one guy-to-girl gender gap may be narrowing, it’s still pretty wide, meaning that the typical student at RPI remains “a white male. They might be into sports, video games, drinking, Greek life, computers, RPG, or whatever, but they’re an overwhelming aspect of campus.” Girls seem pretty fine with the student body makeup: “I do not find the ratio overwhelming at all,” says one. The growing minority population includes “many Asian and Indian students.” One benefit of the student body being on the small side is that it allows “tight-knit relationships among students…to be established.”</p>