<p>Grinnell, at which my eldest son is a sophomore, was definitely the great find of our admissions search. My son wanted a school with a relatively high % international kids- which is hard to find at the small LAC's (Grinnell, Macalester, Occidental..lead the list I think). He also wanted a school which was unpretentious, social in a relaxed way and highly personal. He is at the school for him. When I went for his move in last year, I also felt the parents I met were people I could have befriended!</p>
<p>My H hadn't visited until this week, when he happens to be in the US for work. He was taken aback by how isolated the school is- he knew the town of Grinnell was in the middle of nowhere, but he was struck that the perimeter of the school was so residential- This seems to suit my son quite well, though I have the feeling he will do a semester elsewhere next year for a change of pace and a different challenge. He has been having a great time with the social, musical, cultural, religious, informal activities on campus. His classwork is engaging and challenging. He has a good relationship with his professors, is even working on a script with one of them. The school has buckets of money and they spend it on the betterment of facilities, programs and faculty to enhance the education of the lucky 1400 undergraduates there. My other son would never have picked Grinnell, it is a school that is what it is and this suits some, but not all....My sons grew up in a chaotic city of 10,000,000 people and the peace and quiet, and lack of shopping, suit son#1 just fine....</p>
<p>I am applying to Grinnell. I called for an alumni interview a few days ago. I do not have the money to fly there and I just missed the multicultural program opportunity to get a travel grant. </p>
<p>But it's definitely one of my top choices. :)</p>
<p>Thanks to A.S.A.P. and to Abe--Grinnell seems a wonderful place, Iowa isn't as 'Iowa' as I expected (its geography is prettier than most of Illinois') and my daughter will be pleased to know there is a movie theater in town!</p>
<p>Acceptance rates can be tricky to interpret. Wash U in St. Louis carpet bombed all college seniors to try to increase application numbers so they could reject more and get the acceptance rate down and US News ranking up.. I think Grinnell plays a more honest game than many schools and only encourages students who are a good match</p>
<p>I just sent in my application to Grinnell and I am just wondering what you think my chances are. I have a 3.65 UW, outstanding ECs, top 10% of my class, but I only received a 22 on my ACT. What are my chances?</p>
<p>Did anyone out there visit both Grinnell and Carelton? We have only visited Carleton and really don't know how the two schools compare, but would imagine that they are very similar.</p>
<p>Few differences which Grinnellians and Carletonians admit to: (1) the student body is similar but not identical -- so look at each as the applicant may (probably will) prefer one to the other; (2) location as Carleton is within a short drive to a real city while Grinnell is not; (3) 2000 students versus 1500 students does make a difference; and (4) when reviewed on a sterile profiling (percentage to go to law school or whatever) they look almost identical, but that is not believed to be the case.</p>
<p>We visited both summer of 2005. Student tour guides were both great, and very personable. It was summer, so there weren't oodles of kids around. Both are somewhat isolated (not a problem with my daughter) and Grinnell is a little more so than Carleton, although bring in entertainment/speakers. Carleton has no room for extra cars, Grinnell had more. Academics did seem about the same. Admissions people were both nice and made everyone feel welcome. Daughter was denied at one, waitlisted at another and enrolled at a different college, but if she had all 3 to choose from, I believe she would've taken Grinnell over Carleton.</p>
<p>I looked at both places and loved both of them. One big difference is that Carleton runs on ten week trimesters, which has pluses and minuses.
The Positives: Only three classes at once, allows you to focus, there is a six week break from thanksgiving to new years between first and second
trimesters
The Negatives: Academics move fast, midterms or finals are always less than five weeks away which may induce stress (depends on who you ask)
Grinnell runs more traditional semesters. I think these are two tremendous schools and you can't go wrong either way. I chose Carleton, which is where I'm headed this fall, primarily because I live in Minneapolis and liked the proximity to my home. I think the others in this forum have summarized the question well. Grinnell is a bit more isolated, but both schools have a very campus centered social life. You really can't lose.</p>
<p>We visited both Carleton and Grinnell, as well as Macalester, Oberlin and 16 other schools. These 4 in the Midwest and Reed are big favorites with my son and he has the stats to possibly get in anywehere, but these schools seemed so wonderfully friendly as well as intellectual.</p>
<p>It's like a Davidson in the middle of Nowhere, as my counselour told me.
I told her, Isn't Davidson in the middle of Nowhere?
"My point exactly." - She said.
Thus I eliminated it from my college lists - even tho the only reason why it was on there was because an obnoxious woman kept bringing it up when I worked at the polls volunteering during elections..</p>
<p>But it is also pretty far for me to go.. especially if I'm going to go to the middle of nowhere.. far away. I did apply to Davidson which is north carolina by the way. It's not too far from where I live. But Grinell is a good school for those relatively close to the school. Disregarding location, it is a brilliant school with excellent programs - but too small for my liking.</p>
<p>I'm so glad to be done with college applications.</p>
<p>How fun to see this thread again! My S will graduate from Grinnell next month. He did get accepted everywhere he applied and chose Grinnell. It is “in the middle of nowhere” but brings in so much entertainment. The best entertainment for my son though seems to be his friends there. They just had their annual Disco party, lots of fun traditions. Also great professors and classes, of course. And good merit scholarships.</p>
Do I have a chance I have a 31 ACT and a 3.6 unweighted GPA, and after the interview the admissions counselor said I was the first person she had written pages on. I have 22 Extra curricular activates.
If you have any questions, I’m fairly sure I’ll commit.