Anyone planning on sending their kids to the March admitted students day for the early admits? When I read this thread last year, those spots seem to fill up quickly. Just FYI. I definitely think S19 should go. I visited with him fall of junior year. He sat in on classes and we ate three meals in the cafeteria. It was terrific. I’ll send my husband with him this time. He’s a harder nut to crack when it comes to being impressed. lol.
Just got in with 25K a year! I think I might go to admitted students day, it is free after all, so why not. Also, does anyone know how many people were notified early?
@teddy10143 no I’m not sure…
Just got my acceptance letter with a $25K per year merit scholarship!! i might go to the early admit program if I can fit it in my schedule
Accepted with 23K a year!
My D accepted with 25k a year. Sorry to ask this. College Counselor recommended Grinnell … I’ve never heard about it before (by the way, I am an immigrant) How good is this college? Can we say it is one of the best LACs?
absolutely one of the best LACs in the country. Fabulous school. My daughter got an early write last year and 20k merit scholarship/ Definitely sign up early for the admitted student event… they did one for early writes last year. It filled up fast and we were on waiting list for event. We went and it was fantastic. They did a nice parent event as well. We were very impressed with school.
Accepted with 26k Founder’s scholarship! Questions if anyone here knows – is the early acceptance student program any different from the ones that will happen later in April? Is there anything associated with these merit scholarships beyond the money (programs, seminars, etc.)? Grinnell is a small school so I don’t imagine there are, but asking anyway. Also just curious, what scholarships were available to begin with? They don’t list specific ones on their website so does that mean the names of the scholarships are a bit arbitrary from a student standpoint?
Ours was a Founders Scholarship too and it was $22k so I don’t think that scholarship is just one dollar amount. Who knows how they come up with that. I know that it’s just a financial scholarship. Nothing goes with it. A huge percentage of kids get merit money there. I think more than 50%.
Thanks a lot @Veryapparent !
Looks like Founders Scholarships $ is ranged $12,000 to $25,000 based on their website. According to Kiplinger’s Best College Values Grinnell gives out to about 50% of students, averaged about $18,000.
D19 got in yesterday with $24K merit aid/year.
She really loves this school. She’s already visited but I think will go in March again.
She also got a totally unexpected scholarship at Georgia Tech yesterday which makes it very affordable (more affordable then Grinnell) so we’ll have to weight it out.
Congrats to those who were accepted early. Grinnell is such a special place…
I’m not sure how FA stuffs work. Grinnell offered $25k merit scholarship a year, but no need based aid. I don’t think I’m not eligible for a need aid, but looks like the merit scholarship cancelled out the need based one. So … if my daughter goes to the colleges which don’t offer merit scholarship, she is likely to get about a $25K need based aid?? This assumption would be correct?
@singingbear one thing to consider is that merit aid is renewable (generally for four years, at that same level, as long as child meets GPA requirements)
Need-based aid can/does change year by year, for example if a second child graduates from college … or if your income increases.
(We definitely ran into this with our first, where merit aid seemed to “cancel out” need-based aid. I’ve come to see the benefit of merit, particularly if your circumstances might change … or if school is known for giving less aid to sophomores-seniors— as some are.)
Also, not all schools say they’ll meet full need so you should definitely see how others come in.
Congrats to all on the admissions news and the merit aid! Grinnell is an excellent school and I hope you can all visit.
@teddy10143 You asked how many early writes were issued. Based on articles I’ve read about past years, I suspect around 1/3 of Grinnell RD admits are early writes. It allows Grinnell to better space out visits and encourages top applicants who may have a crowded April visit schedule to come visit Grinnell. Lots of Grinnell students cite a great visit as a key reason they picked the school over others.
@singingbear Merit aid is superior to need based aid. Thinking ahead to Years 2, 3 and 4, if your family EFC goes up faster than expenses, need based aid would go down. Merit aid at Grinnell will not go down as long as you maintain a 2.75 GPA. But, if your family EFC goes down relative to expenses, then you may receive need based aid on top of merit based aid in later years.
D19 just got in with $25k/yr merit. Hooray! We visited last summer when there were few students around and it was lovely. I hope she’ll be able to go to the March event.
Feeling so dejected by all the early writes others are receiving. I thought I’d be a shoo-in (ACT 34, Montana student of the year, 3.88 in all IB classes, great interview, and great recs) guess I was wrong. I am 100% getting rejected from all my ivies 
Now I understand how FA works, I think. Just disappointing to know the merit aid erases the need aid … I was hopeful merit aid is an addition. Thanks all!
I’ll really plan to visit Grinnell. It looks like Mar 3-4 would be a great opportunity, but that is the scholarship competition days at a different LAC which I was told is one of the best, too. That is full ride and my D is a finalist … really hope to get out of the hassle of FA stuffs. 
Hey @alexandra00 ! It’s too early to be disappointed! It is just starting. Based on your stats, you will get one of your favorites! You won’t go to two or three colleges together at the same time, will you! You will find ONE … just one you like! Cheers!
@alexandra00 I wouldn’t worry. Your stats are excellent. Most of the Grinnell RD admits will come in March. In past years, several RD admits who did not receive early writes reported receiving high merit aid awards. You may be interested in last year’s CC Grinnell RD discussion:
@alexandra00 I have heard Grinnell uses early writes to lure students they think are on the fence about attending. Don’t read into it…they have a very sophisticated marketing model. My money is on an acceptance for you in the future.