<p>Anybody have any really strong opinions about one of these schools vs. the other? My daughter is torn between the two.</p>
<p>DD2 looked at Grinnell but it never really caught her interest. She is now at L&C and loves it. Being located in Portland is a big plus that Grinnell won’t be able to match.</p>
<p>Grinnell is signficantly stronger academically, and has a very considerable endowment advantage over Lewis & Clark. As Erin’s Dad says, the immediate environments are quite different: Portland, OR versus the cornfields of Iowa. Has your daughter visited?</p>
<p>Your query made me do some research. Although Lewis and Clark looks like a beautiful school it gives me pause that it doesn’t offer either of my kids’ majors. And by the way, neither knew this would be his/her major going into college.</p>
<p>D majored in American Studies and S is finishing in Classics. So, to my eyes, Lewis and Clark is missing some basic elements of a liberal arts education that Grinnell isn’t, so for my kids I would choose Grinnell.</p>
<p>I guess if environment is very important, and an urban environment is preferred, obviously Lewis and Clark is the winner.</p>
<p>My son is at Lewis and Clark as well and is very much enjoying it. Not sure I agree with the “significantly” stronger comment - but I suppose that depends upon the measuring stick as to what constitutes significant. </p>
<p>My son enjoys both the academic side of L&C as well as the social side. Downtown Portland plays an important role in the social side of things - it seems like he is downtown most weekends, enjoying the food, theatre, movies, street scene etc. </p>
<p>My daughter briefly considered Grinnell but wasn’t interested due to the location. Too hard to get to from the west coast.</p>
<p>They are both really good schools. My son was admitted to both and chose Grinnell, but he was ok with the small town, rural environment. Not everyone would be. The college brings in loads of great, free activities, so there’s plenty to do. The advantage of being in a small town with little to do is that it makes for a very close, campus-centered environment. I loved the international focus at L&C. And yes, it isn’t that easy getting in and out of Grinnell. Finances being doable at either, the “best” school is probably the one your D likes the best. She can get a great education at either.</p>
<p>I think both schools are good, but I think Grinnell is in a different league than L&C, and unless there are significant financial issues or Iowa is a complete deal-breaker, I would lean towards Grinnell.</p>
<p>I’m a big fan of both of these schools, for different reasons. Grinnell is the “better” school, according to the rankings, but I think these are really significantly different places and different schools.</p>
<p>Which of them appeals to your heart more. Honestly, in the end, a lot of it just comes down to where you most want to be. Which campus vibe was most easy for you to be around. People are so different and it’s really important to be at ease at the school you choose. It really helps with the settling in and finding your place. JMO</p>
<p>both are good schools but provide different experiences. wrt post #4, i don’t think Lewis and Clark is missing any basic elements of a liberal arts education. classics and american studies are not ‘majors’ but classical studies is minor and american studies is spread throughout other departments dealing with race, gender, religion, political culture, etc. in other words, one can be intellectually challenged at both in all fields of academic inquiry.</p>
<p>Okay, see your point, but if my kid wanted to be a classics major, he couldn’t. I look at the list of majors and found some other gaps.</p>
<p>It was a benchmark I used when assessing colleges (how extensive their offerings were in terms of majors.) Of course everyone has his/her own criteria.</p>
<p>And I totally agree with post #8 that people perform best where they’re happy. Usually folks get a sense of where they’re supposed to be.</p>
<p>I am an admittedly biased Grinnell alum, but if a PhD is in your D’s future, you might be interested in this list of undergraduate schools with the highest PhD productivity. Grinnell is on the list in numerous disciplines; in a cursory glance I didn’t see L&C at all.</p>
<p>[REED</a> COLLEGE PHD PRODUCTIVITY](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html]REED”>Doctoral Degree Productivity - Institutional Research - Reed College)</p>
<p>Grinnell. </p>
<p>The differences in financial resources are overwhelming. Grinnell has one of the highest per student endowments of all colleges and universities in the United States. They have insane resources and it is an impeccably managed college financially. </p>
<p>That is an important consideration at any time because all college resources stem from the financial situation. Now, when the next four years will be dominated by adjustments from lowered revenues, it’s huge. It’s the difference between keeping and cutting programs, keeping and reducing faculty, etc.</p>
<p>If it’s close, OK, no big deal. This isn’t even close. It’s two completely different universes of resources. Grinnell had roughly a $700,000 trust fund for each and every strudent to use the income from during his or her four years at Grinnell. That money pays for professors, internships, science centers, and on and on and on.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/grinnell-college/438138-why-grinnell.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/grinnell-college/438138-why-grinnell.html</a></p>
<p>Grinnell’s greater academic rigor, strong customized academic advising and huge resources makes it the stronger school overall. But if your D isn’t happy with a high level of academic intensity, or a rural location, then L&C may be a better fit for her.</p>
<p>Grinnell!</p>
<p>We looked at both and hands down Grinnell seemed a better overall school in many ways. Grinnell’s academic reputation, endowment, incredible campus, phd productivity, research opportunities ect… I agree with M’s mom that if you can’t deal with a rural area like Grinnell than of course L&C wins, although Lewis and Clarks campus is tucked away. It’s in no way downtown Portland. Also, Grinnell brings in so many things for the students, that most don’t feel the need to leave campus. And, it’s all free.</p>
<p>FWIW, my best friend is a senior at L&C. While she’s liked some parts of her experience there, I get the impression she has been sort of underwhelmed by the school in numerous ways.</p>
<p>So, another vote for Grinnell, I guess.</p>
<p>Definitely Grinnell, if you don’t need the amenities of a city close by.</p>
<p>Grinnell has more “substance”
Lewis and Clark has location
I happen to like Iowa and think location doesn’t matter that much because the campus community is where the real life happens most days, most hours anyway.</p>
<p>In my view many of the other comments on this thread are either misinformed or too polite. There is simply no comparison between these two schools. Grinnell has a national reputation, a more diverse, accomplished, and capable student body, a huge endowment, and has long been universally regarded in academia as one of the very top liberal arts colleges in the entire country. </p>
<p>Of course rankings don’t mean everything, but when every ranking that one can think of has Grinnell leaps and bounds ahead of Lewis & Clarke they have to count for something. In fact, if anything Grinnell’s ranking in most publications is probably lower than it should be because of its location. U.S. News’ “reputation” score for Grinnell, for example, is fifth in the country among national liberal arts colleges, behind only Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, and Wellesley. </p>
<p>Lewis & Clarke is a nice school, but seriously – we’re talking night and day here.</p>
<p>Thank you, everybody, for your thoughtful comments. My daughter has visited both – in fact, just returned from Lewis & Clark – and is definitely going to Grinnell. She felt that Grinnell had a sense of community and identity that Lewis & Clark lacked, perhaps because it doesn’t have an attractive city nearby. She felt welcome at Grinnell, whereas everybody at L&C, from students to administrators, felt aloof. And ultimately, she felt that Grinnell offered the type of liberal arts education she’s seeking, one in which she can discover what she’s interested in.
Again, thanks. Your honest and thoughtful comments were very helpful to me.</p>
<p>Congrats to your daughter momprof! My s will be attending Grinnell starting this fall as well, and we couldn’t be happier. We fell in love with Grinnell and felt a lot of the same things you described above. I hope to see you around on here.</p>