To begin, Grinnel and Holy Cross are both fantastic LACs to attend!
One of your worries was about the disparity in selectivity among the two schools. However, selectivity can often be a disingenuous measure of a school. For example, Holy Cross and Grinnel are quite close in the number of applications they receive, yet Grinnel’s acceptance rate is lower, thus making it appear more selective. However, Grinnel aims to maintain a student population of 1,800 while Holy Cross maintains a student population of 3,200. Thus, Holy Cross will always accept more than Grinnel because it seeks a larger student body (while still maintaining small class sizes).
Additionally, selectively among the two schools in regards to SAT is unhelpful. Grinnel requires SAT scores while Holy Cross does not. Despite this, the NCAA requires all division 1 schools to report the SATS of student-athletes. So those slightly lower SAT scores of Holy Cross are greatly derived from athletes, which tend to hold lower SAT scores than your average student.
While Holy Cross is a D1 school, this shouldn’t make it appear any less prestigious academically. According to the NCAA, Holy Cross holds one of the nation’s top athlete graduation rates, and for the last decade it has also been ranked in the top 15 for APR of schools where it is in good company with the Ivies.
Further, it is important to acknowledge that Holy Cross, like the Ivies, does not hand out merit aid. The College is committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need. The school does not sacrifice lower-income students to attract high school students that are better off and tend to have higher stats, thus highlighting the school’s commitment to social justice.
Finally, the perception that Holy Cross is conservative and forces religion upon its students seems to be greatly misplaced. After a little of research, in the past few decades, Holy Cross has sported 6 different congressmen, all who were democrats. Also, Obama’s speech a writer and current political commentator Jon Favreau graduated from the college.
In regard to religion, while the school is Catholic, it appears that they do not force any religious views upon its students. Rather, they seem dedicated to having a multicultural student body through its support of other faiths on campus.