heard that Grinnell is in middle of nowhere but academics are great, Trinity is a party college and only for rich folks, and university of richmond is middle of the two …ranking wise Grinnell is the best and trinity seems to be lowly ranked
Tentative academic interests?
liberal arts - maths, stats, business
Grinnell and Trinity are liberal arts colleges (LACs); neither one offers a business major.
Richmond sometimes is classified as a LAC (by USNWR, for example), but it does have a business school. It has undergraduate accounting and business administration majors. According to its CDS about 36% of its students major in “Business/marketing”. So if you think you might want to major in business, Richmond may be your best choice.
If you are serious about mathematics, especially pure math, Grinnell might be a better choice.
FWIW Grinnell seems to rank perennially among the top 10 (or so) colleges for per-capita rate of alumni-earned PhDs (across many fields, including math/sciences AFAIK).
That does not necessarily mean Grinnell’s math instruction is far better than Trinity’s or Richmond’s.
It does suggest to me that, for whatever reason, Grinnell may be attracting a higher percentage of students who (either when they enter, or by the time they graduate) are more motivated or better prepared to study certain fields (possibly including math) at the highest level. But try comparing the course offerings, requirements, and online faculty bios to see if Grinnell’s program seems to be stronger in areas that might interest you.
I wouldn’t say Trinity is “lowly ranked” (assuming you’re talking about the one in Hartford, Connecticut). All 3 of these schools have very high sticker prices and will enroll many students whose families are affluent enough to cover the full cost. Another concern about Trinity may be the location, which apparently is not too attractive (although the campus itself is beautiful). Can you visit?
any more counselling and guidance here? any thoughts on Grinnell versus Carleton?
Carleton offers a somewhat more wide-ranging curriculum than Grinnell (most notably, Carleton offers a full geosciences program). If choice of electives outside of your intended major might influence your decision, Carleton could be a nice opportunity. In any case, I recommend you pick your favorite from Carleton and Grinnell, then compare that school to your NESCAC option and the University of Richmond for your final decision.
Carleton is a great school. Did you just get accepted? You should probably start a different thread.
If you got into Carleton, I would take a serious look (not for business, but math and stats, yes). Great school and only 45 minutes from the Twin Cities, where internship opportunities abound. If you’re thinking more about a business degree, then Richmond.
@esagarh560029 Of these, I’d go with Grinnell or Carleton. Neither have a business major, but both place undergrads very well with businesses or in grad school. My son preferred Grinnell after visiting both, but I know many who love Carleton as well. They are similar in many ways, but a few differences include:
- Town - Northfield wins in my opinion
- Facilities - Grinnell wins
- Nearby Metro - Minneapolis beats Des Moines
- Open Curriculum - Grinnell wins
- Endowment - Grinnell wins
- Carleton enrollment is a little larger
- Financial Aid - Grinnell wins with frequent merit aid
- Grinnell has semesters while Carleton has trimesters (trimesters can be trickier for study abroad)
- Grinnell is need blind, Carleton is need sensitive
- Grinnell is more international (18% vs. 9%)
Search for Grinnell vs.Carleton on CC. There are many recent threads that go into much more detail. I’d visit both and follow your intuition. Both are excellent schools.
A student we know majored in economics at Carlton and had really good internships, one at DLA Piper Law in Los Angeles, over a quarter he took off. He did the Carlton London study abroad summer and he could take three classes in London and travel, and keep on track to graduate. Thats why he took spring quarter to work at a law firm, instead of go to school. He landed at a good economic consulting firm in Boston after graduation , and done very well in his career.
He loved Carlton and met his girlfriend there too!
His younger brother is now at Carlton, trying to follow a similar path. Carlton has some fun traveling sports teams like Ultimate frisbee.
Carlton is very rigorous academically, and just the right distance to the Twin Cities, for weekend trips.
Minnesota gets polar vortex weather every few winters but not every single winter. That means 20 below zero daytime temperatures for about a week.
With respect to the study of business from some of these schools, you might want to consider their relationships with HBS: http://blogs.wgbh.org/on-campus/2015/5/5/harvard-business-school-expands-online-initiative-liberal-arts-colleges/.
Another way to gauge their strength in the marketplace is to take a look at post-graduation job placement. I’ve been poring through some of them and the remarkable thing is how similar the top LACs are with a combined total of graduates going into business a/o finance of ~21%. Carleton, Grinnell and Richmond could almost be interchangeable:
https://careerservices.richmond.edu/post-graduation-data/index.html
https://apps.carleton.edu/career/assets/Print_EmployEducByMajorMASTERLiveProd_20160802_.pdf
Thanks for all the advice.
Which one of Grinnell and Carleton is more accepting of different cultures? international students? which one is less partying-- really appreciating the advice here, best regards
I don’t know about Carleton, but can answer your questions for Grinnell. Grinnell is incredibly accepting of all students and has a large percentage of international students. My son lived in substance free housing for 1st 3 years, he choose a single senior year on side of campus with substance free housing, but not a substance free dorm. They are very popular choices. He describes the campus as 1/3 drinkers, 1/3 drugs and 1/3 substance free. Whatever your choice, you will find your people and not be judged. Again, Grinnell is Iowa nice and accepting.
This is very helpful about Grinnell
Does anyone has similar knowledge about Carleton? about the drinkers, drugs and substance free?
any perspectives on carleton? thanks
You may find survey data of interest: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/2119062-princeton-review-rankings-related-to-alcohol-consumption.html#latest.
I’ll provide a somewhat limited perspective on Carleton College. Our current junior there has lived in substance-free housing but hasn’t felt a need to seek out that housing each year. Does not party and seems to never feel left out by following that route. Academics and outside activities keep them busy as it is. See the following limited links to substance-free housing there:
https://apps.carleton.edu/newstudents/contact/faq/?faq_id=110131
https://apps.carleton.edu/handbook/housing/?policy_id=1711100
https://apps.carleton.edu/carletonian/?story_id=1064020&issue_id=1064007
Carleton has – for 60+ years – taken an egalitarian approach to student life, much more so than other colleges and especially more so than the eastern-U.S. LACs we visited as perspectives… Back in the day, this was established doctrine, and it has carried forward to the present. You need to visit your target campuses to capture the feel of each and to find which environment best suits you. So, acceptance of differences seems not to be much of an issue there in Northfield (nice downtown, BTW)…
Rated #1 in undergraduate teaching for a number of years, you will be provided good contact with and engaging teaching by profs there. At the college-selectivity level you are considering, a great education can be had at any of them. Find out where you feel you best fit in. To do that, you need to land on the campuses for a visit – don’t skimp on that.
wow-thanks, did not realise that substance free housing was also available. it gives the feeling of safety and folks having choices
Curious: Why is this relevant to choosing a school?