@Lindagaf, for 2018-19, 196 applicants accepted a place on Grinnell’s waitlist, and 14 were admitted; for 2017-18, 534 were on the waitlist, and 12 were admitted.
@Lindagaf, a correction needs to be made: for 2018-19, 724 applicants accepted a place on the waitlist at Grinnell, and 33 were admitted. (I glanced at the wrong CDS.)
“OP” here… The decision is in: Grinnell by a hair. The reason this was such a tough decision for my daughter is that her 1st choice was Bowdoin, because of it’s blend of strong academics, outdoor culture and inclusive (somewhat?) less competitive culture. After applying there ED and being deferred, she set her sights on schools she thought to be similar (Colby, Middlebury and Bates) as reaches, along with Dartmouth, Carleton, Connecticut College, Wesleyan and Brown. More “reachable” (match?) applications were placed at Oberlin (her sister is there), St. Olaf, Macalaster, St. Lawrence, and Whitman. All along she continued to pine for Bowdoin.When regular decisions came in, it was: Accepted at Oberlin, St. Olaf, Macalaster, St. Lawrence, Whitman and Grinnell. SEVEN waitlists: Dartmouth, Colby, Middlebury, Bates, Wesleyan, Carleton and Connecticut College. Denied admission by Bowdoin and Brown. She stayed on all the waitlists, paid her deposit and chose Grinnell, and figured the waitlists would fade away. You know the rest (so far). In the end, she decided that she was reflecting her love of Bowdoin onto Bates (a very fine school) but that there wasn’t any of the passion for it that she had for Bowdoin. Her visit to Grinnell was a good one. Wesleyan awaits her decision.
I made a round of calls today to the admissions offices at Dartmouth, Middlebury, Carleton and Colby. Middlebury is in the middle of working through their waitlist (evidence of that exists elsewhere on this forum) Dartmouth, Middlebury and Colby sound doubtful. We are aware of the gift that is these waitlist acceptances to Bates and Colby. For my daughter, maybe it’s something like being offered free tickets to see Def Leppard, but she’s really a Boston fan… I dunno. I hope I have met my obligations as “OP.” As for my daughter, it’s her life, not mine.
^You’ll be back. 
^^
Very prescient. New thread.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/2143300-competitive-culture-at-grinnell-vs-others.html