<p>“Earlham’s 4-year graduation rate is probably substantially lower than Grinnell’s.” I was wondering if this would be an issue. I asked my counselor and she said don’t worry about it because I won’t have difficulty graduating at either place.</p>
<p>“Grinnell now has far more “prestige” than Earlham, though alumni median salary reporting is probably fairly same.” Basically no one in my area has heard of either. Only certain people have heard of Grinnell because of the basketball thing. Will this “prestige” carry over into grad/medical school admissions or is purely those silly rankings?</p>
<p>“campus is somewhat scruffy.” Didn’t notice this at all. The new science and art buildings, two of my greatest interests, are just being completed.</p>
<p>“I’d go to Grinnell before Earlham, but I’d expect a fair amount of snobby “we’re Grinnell” puffery too.” I think I’m going to wait and see on my visit if this is true. It’s definitely a concern as they are getting increasingly well-known it seems.</p>
<p>“I’d go to Grinnell before Earlham” But would you pay 22k extra to do so??</p>
<p>^My family wouldn’t. It really depends on your circumstances.</p>
<p>Either school will be known to faculty and admissions people at PhD programs. They are both respected. And I agree with your guidance counselor about the likelihood you would graduate from either. It could be that Earlham has more-offbeat offbeat kids who realize a four-year degree is not what they are seeking. It could have to do with finances, or many other things.</p>
<p>You probably wouldn’t notice a big difference in the towns of Richmond versus Grinnell. If you are into the outdoors you might look into places kids go on weekends to get away for a hike or overnight camping–this was really important to my son, who is also at a small LAC in a small town. The weather in Richmond, which is several hours further south, should be a bit milder in the winter than in Grinnell.</p>
<p>Having not visited Earlham I can’t speak to the buildings, but Grinnell definitely has the resources to make sure the campus is in tip-top condition. Unfortunately on our tour the guide was not permitted to show us the inside of several buildings my son and I had hoped to see–especially the performing arts facilities and dorms.</p>
<p>Hi thirrdplanet. We visited Earlham with my son last weekend and he said the thought hed be comfortable there (hard to get more information out of him than that). We visited Goucher which he said wasn’t for him and were going to St. Marys (Maryland) tomorrow which according to S, will determine his choice. The international programs at Earlham seem very impressive. They have a semester in Spain every other year (based in Granada but traveling around Spain). You live with a local family. The Mexican program was canceled due to dangerous conditions there but a new program in Nicaragua was started with plans for another in Costa Rica. There are also border programs along the US-Mexican border and May terms in South America and Curacao (they offer a course in Papiamentu, which my son sat in on). </p>
<p>Sorry cant help more than that. S didn’t apply to Grinnell so I only know what I’ve read. They have a good endowment and maybe more prestige than Earlham. If you check out the book Colleges that Change Lives or their web site you can read a very good account of Earlham. The people were all very friendly and gave the impression that they really wanted him. Also the FA is good. The counselors at my sons school are big on Earlham. Good luck with your decision!!</p>
<p>Hi Thirrd! You might want to check the number of faculty in your department of interest at both Grinnell and Earlham; Earlham is so much smaller…I would be concerned about whether your opportunities might be greater where there are more faculty with a wider variety of interests. For example, here’s chemistry…</p>
<p>I just talked with a college professor today who went to Earlham. She had fantastic things to say about it. I’m still waiting to hear back from Grinnell and unless they come up with more money, I don’t really think it will be worth it. Earlham just seems like a fantastic hidden gem.</p>
<p>About profs: that is interesting to know. However, Grinnell only has one enviro chem course! This subject really interests me and Earlham seems to have a lot more involvement than Grinnell, which only has an environmental studies concentration.</p>
<p>Re PhD preparation, both schools do well at this (as does that entire constellation of Midwestern LACs). The general public has never heard of Earlham, but graduation school adcoms definitely have.</p>
<p>Grinnell won’t match the offer but apparently might give us a little more because my dad put that their income was a little higher than it actually was. I doubt this will change much tho</p>