Grinnell?

College Search & Selection
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<p>So I've kinda had a game-plan as far as which colleges I'm applying to, but recently I've been rethinking it. I'm thinking about applying to Grinnell, because academically it sounds like a great school, kinda has what I'm looking for as far as the student body, except for one thing (well two really).</p>

<p>I've heard various things about the students that kinda made me think a bit more about it. The first was that the students are very "alternative" or "Hampshire-esque". This sorta took me aback, because while I don't want to go to predominantly preppy/frat kinda school, I also don't really want to go to a school where everyone's a bleeding heart, birkenstock-wearing, "artsier-than-thou" kinda person. I have no problem with quirky people; I'm a bit eccentric myself. But one of the things that turned me off about Wesleyan was that I felt like everyone was so "original" or "quirky" that there were no unpretentious, normal people there.</p>

<p>The other thing I've heard about Grinnell is that according to one of my mom's colleagues and their kid it was the "nerdiest school" they'd ever seen. This doesn't really bother me all that much; I'm down with nerdy things. Which is more the truth though, nerdy Grinnell or weird Grinnell?</p>

<p>Also, because they're oft-compared I was thinking about Carleton. Can anyone compare/contrast these for me?</p>

<p>Thanks, sorry that was so long!</p>

<p>Edit: My only other reservation is that it's in Iowa, and I'm from the most densely populated area or the most densely populated state, NJ. I live a train ride away from the city, so I've grown accustomed to "civilization". How much of a culture shock, if any, is it?</p>

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<p>First of all, go visit Grinnell if at all possible. And while you’re at it, take a trip up I-35 N to check out Carleton. I think you’ll like what you see.</p>

<p>Like you, my son was turned off from some schools (Reed, in his case) because he thought the kids were killing themselves trying to look “artsy” or “different.” He has nothing against this, but felt that some of the kids were trying too hard to stick out. </p>

<p>Grinnell or Carleton are not in the same camp in this regard. The kids at these two schools really seem content with just being themselves - not trying to conform, but not trying to stand out. It’s “come as you are.” My son really liked both schools, and the only complaint from our party came from my wife, who thought the kids at Grinnell were the worst dressed human beings she ever encountered. Could be, but my son didn’t seem to mind.</p>

<p>Nerdy? Well, the kids I saw at Grinnell and Carleton were clearly smart and academically engaged, and it shows. At the same time, they have plenty of other interests and activities. In the end, “nerdy” is in the eye of the beholder. I think most kids at these schools find it liberating and invigorating to be hanging out with a peer group of smart, engaged kids. If that’s not your thing, you might end up calling them “nerds.”</p>

<p>But again, go see for yourself.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the info! Just to elaborate, I have no problem with nerdy schools. To be honest I kinda like a school that’s maybe a bit more noticeably smart and engaged. I was more concerned about it being an “alternative” school or have a student body that felt the need to be different just for the sake of it. I don’t think I’ll be able to visit anytime soon, so your help is much appreciated! I’ll try though!</p>

<p>Can anyone shed any light on the experience of being in Iowa vs a major metropolitan area? I mean I realize it’ll be a change, but how much of a change?</p>

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<p>Northfield MN has almost twice the population as Grinnell. Transportation to and from a major airport is much easier too. Lots of pro sports up in the cities for a fun break or the Mall of America if you need mega retail therapy. Minneapolis- St Paul has great orchestras and art too. I don’t know how far Grinnell is from Des Moines but people here say it is a great place too.</p>

<p>When I moved to Minnesota from the Boston area, I moved to a town of 14,000. I couldn’t believe how rural and country it felt. Now that I have been here a few years, I have seen what small towns really are and my town feels likes an exciting metropolis. Town has not changed, just my point of reference. Yes, you will have culture shock moving out here but that is going to happen pretty much anywhere you go. Get yourself in the right frame of mind and embrace it. Our definition of civilization may be different than yours, but that doesn’t mean it is a mental wasteland.</p>

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<p>good advice, twomules. getting oneself in the right frame of mind and embrace it! i like that notion. my son just called to chat (he attends another small rural LAC but is from a large metro area) and told me of last night laying in the athletic fields, in sleeping bags, with hot chocolate and friends, watching the meteor shower. this was at 2:30 in the morning, no light pollution, freezing cold (it’s in new england), and as he said, it was ‘fantastic!’ finding a group of kids who enjoy and embrace this kind of experience is something i think will happen at grinnell as well. our tour of the school confirmed it to be all we thought in terms of students, facilities, and administration – a truly great place. yes, grinnell is a small town w/o options a city kid might be used to but the point is, there are experiences unique to grinnell worth embracing. btw, my son has a couple friends who attend and they (as juniors) have found it stimulating and rewarding. while it does not compare to hampshire’s rep at an ‘alternative’ school, it does have those who enjoy being themselves (in whatever form that might take) and who are respected and accepted for what they contribute.</p>

<p>good luck.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for all of the advice everyone! As a side note I go to (well work at now) a summer camp in the middle of no-where upstate NY. It’s quite the contrast with the fast paced, often over stimulating life NJ offers, and I have to admit I really enjoyed that aspect of it. It’s also a place where people really embrace who they are. Seeing as these are two things I’m hearing about Grinnell (apart from the “different” thing, clearly not true), it has definitely moved up on my list!</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

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<p>Oh my goodness,that brought back memories of 30 years ago, having arrived (not at Grinnell) from NJ to Iowa for college, watching the sky in a field with friends, no hot chocolate though! I had never seen the Milky Way–NJ light pollution! After NJ, Iowa was a totally new experience, and yes, if you embrace it for what it has to offer, you will find it wonderful. You can RELAX for months at a time! Students deserve a time of away-ness in college, IMHO, and Grinnell is a fabulous place that can provide that. BTW I think both Carleton and Grinnell are 45 minutes from the major airports–kind of like much of NJ, actually. We visited both with my son and really liked both settings. Need to visit, as has been said.</p>

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<p>

just to put my two cents in, there are way, way more “unpretentious, normal people” at Wesleyan than I expected.</p>

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<p>Based really only on my own visit, I’d say that Grinnell students are definitely more nerdy than artsy. No one dressed/acted/etc hipsterish, and everyone was really friendly and seemed really into their classes and activities.</p>

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<p>Descriptive words like “quirky”, “nerdy”, or “hipsterish” are likely to have different shades of meaning for different people. That’s why it’s so important, if you are sensitive to these social distinctions, to go visit. </p>

<p>It may not be possible to visit every school that interests you. But you can visit geographic clusters of schools to cover a range of college types (whether you distinguish “types” by size or some other feature). Then you can begin to assess for yourself what the implications are when people say a school is “preppy”, “quirky”, etc., and whether you can be comfortable and productive there. If you are open-minded, you may discover there is enough of a range at most schools (the ones that appeal to you anyway) that you really can focus on other features, besides tribal affinities, in making your choice.</p>

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<p>Grinnell and Carleton have a lot more similarities than differences. I think its typical of kids in these small, rural LACs to be the ‘make it happen yourself’ types-they are not spectators by nature. They make the music, play the sports, organize the parties, write the plays, etc…and the schools are good at identifying those kinds of kids and facilitating their passions. There are differences between the schools however. Key ones that stood out to our son: Carleton is on the trimester system, while Grinnell is on the semester system. There are pros and cons to this. It makes Carleton a bit more stressful-there is always a mid-term or final around the corner: But also a chance to change your schedule and class mix and try more new things, and there is Grinnell’s off-setting longer semester with a chance to build closer relationships with faculty and very small class sizes. Carleton shares Northfield with St. Olafs so there is a slightly bigger student population that the town supports and therefore somewhat more to do off campus. But Grinnellians complain that there are too many good things to do on and around campus as is, rather than not enough (that huge endowment at work!), so I’m not sure it matters. Grinnell has amazing science and athletic facilities and just got a national award for their outstanding food service. Carleton is good, but not as good, in these areas. S says these things mattered to him-but ultimately, I think it’s down to personal chemistry. The vibe at Grinnell was right for him and he ED’d there.</p>

<p>By the way, he is neither fratty nor preppy nor granola, but he is very, very engaged and hard working. He has also made so many friends so quickly that he isn’t sure he wants to be at home any more except for quick visits. He misses the action at school too much. Home is a major east coast urban area, by the way, so that fact that he can’t wait to get back to school when holidays arrive says a lot.</p>

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<p>I agree with so much of what M’s Mom wrote! =)</p>

<p>First of all, you really need to go visit to see if you like it. You can search my posts as we just got back from a trip to Grinnell and there are other people who have posted on their visits as well. I am so happy that we made the trip from California!!!</p>

<p>We absolutely loved Grinnell. My son is really not that “nerdy”. He is very bright, athletic and also musical, but I would never call him “dorky” and or “nerdy”. He felt like he would fit in very well there.</p>

<p>I noticed kids that were dressed in very plain stereotypical American i/e hoodies and jeans and then there were some “granola” looking types as well as a few “artsy” looking types. But what we walked away with is the respect that all these kids had for one another. There is no “Dumb Jock” types here. Everyone is smart and has something amazing to offer, yet these kids were truly humble and not the boosting or the bragging type. </p>

<p>The school brings in so many things(and everything is free)!!! On any given day you have probably one to three things to chose from and on weekends there are tons of things to go and do i/e lectures, concerts, movies, dances, dances, dances. Everything is free for the students which is nice if money is a concern. While we were there we were able to attend a poetry reading, a discussion on a book, a dance, and then go and listen to a few bands. I could not believe all this stuff was there in the middle of Iowa and it was FREE!!! We did all this in two evenings(Friday and Saturday night). There were also games you could see too. My son got to also see a girls volleyball game and there was a football game on Saturday. We have checked at a lot of the other small LAC’s and Grinnell seemed to have the most stuff going on which is nice. You can also catch a free shuttle bus each weekend to Des Moines which is nice too. </p>

<p>Not sure if you need financial aid, but Grinnell has some of the best financial aid around and they also have an amazing endowment that allows them to give some of the best merit aid out there. Carleton did not have much in the way of merit aid so we put them lower on our list of schools. This is something to really consider as well.</p>

<p>Long story short, my son is now communicating with a few people that he met while at Grinnell and he is very excited to see if he gets in. These people really care about one another and I can’t believe the bond he made with only spending two days. It leaves me with a really good feeling.</p>

<p>PS My son sat in on two classes and really like the conversation based style of the classes. He found them very engaging and could sense that the student/professor relationships were very strong. The professors commanded respect, but he felt like the professors really respect the students as well and he could sense a great community feel to the whole place. A+ rating from us.</p>

<p>One last thing, Grinnell is know as being one of the most Intellectual colleges out there. These kids love to learn. Not just for the sake of learning, but because they really enjoy knowing and understanding things and the world they live in.</p>

<p>Good luck and feel free to pm us if you have any questions. =)</p>