<p>Hi. I just want to know if the college would judge my application for a transfer differently after I have been waitlisted and was on the short summer waitlist all the way through. Would they favor my app more or more prompt to reject it because I didn't get in my first try? Or would they be indifferent? Thanks.</p>
<p>This is not an indifferent school. Your applying for a transfer would show great interest, but it doesn’t mean you will be admitted. It is surely worth a try. Obviously, you would want to do your best at your current school.</p>
<p>I think you would have a leg up on other applicants. Keep in mind that being waitlisted means that Grinnell would have liked to admit you; thought you would be a positive addition to the school–there just was not quite enough room. </p>
<p>This was a particularly difficult year to get into Grinnell. The admit rate for 2009 dropped significantly from the year before and Grinnell was aiming for a class size this year of 380 students–down from the usual 400-- because it got an unexpectedly high yield in 2008 and ended up with a large class of 460 or so.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I agree with both bethievt and Dairy State K8. Work hard at your current school and apply as a transfer. I am sure Grinnell admissions, which are great people, will consider your continued interest in joining the college.</p>
<p>Can you share your stats with me? My D is interested in Grinnell but has 3.4 and 26 on the 26. Her EC are good - 4 years band, 4 years X country and track. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I’ve given away my Fiske and Insider’s guides. If you look in a college guide at your library or high school guidance office, you will see where your D stands stats-wise with current Grinnell students.</p>
<p>Is she a member of a minority group? Have any other hooks? I did see that 65% of this year’s entering class were in the top 10% of their graduating class and 93% were in the top 25%.</p>
<p>Artfulmom, take a look at the Common Data Set for Grinnell. Lots of useful information of this sort.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for responding. I like my current school actually, but it doesn’t offer the major that I am interested in. I know Grinnell is well known for my major and the distance between my house and the college is ideal for me. </p>
<p>Artfulmom, my stats are 3.9 and 26 ACT. Interestingly enough, some of my club activities were band, X Country and track too. I volunteered a lot because I love working with children.</p>
<p>I have attended a few sessions regarding admissions at Grinnell. Here are a few things to think about.</p>
<p>First GPA is not just the grade. Grinnell asks: did you take the toughest courses the school offered? If the answer is no and you still had great greats, they will likely not die to admit you and could likely reject you.</p>
<p>Secondly, the weighting for admissions is simple – 25% grades, 25% SAT, and 50% everything else under the sky. This may change or have changed, but the rough numbers show the small LAC’s still have to give a great amount of weight to dry numbers of grades and scores.</p>
<p>Thirdly, the school needs not the rounded student, but the rounded student body. If they need a cross country runner, that may be your break. If they don’t, that may be your bust.</p>
<p>Lastly, when 40-45% are admitted, and you were wait listed, that tells you something. This is not a tough school for admissions when contrasted to others rated by US News and World Report. Most of the top 20 tend to have admissions of 20% or less.</p>
<p>But, your desire to go will show with your energy to transfer. And, as Grinnell has about 8% leave after the freshmen year, it will have spots to fill and with an admissions rate I would discern to be even more favorable than the regular.</p>
<p>If your grades are good at the “other” school, you may get what you want.</p>
<p>Interesting comments from FotB. Very true that for the fall of 2008 among the USN&WR top 20 ranked LAC only Smith had an acceptance rate higher than Grinnel (Grinnell 43%, Smith 48%) but for the fall 2009 Grinnell reported an acceptance rate of 29% which made 2009 a more selective year and thus harder for Ntk-124 to get in. I think Ntk_124 chances to transfer will largely depending on freshman GPA and not so much on high school records.</p>
<p>Father of the Boarder is also wrong about how Grinnell weighs the various factors. Unlike many LACs, Grinnell is on record about what counts and how much: the transcript (grades and courses) counts for 50 percent, test scores count for 25 percent, and “everything else under the sky” counts for 25 percent.</p>
<p>Taken directly from Grinnell’s website:</p>
<p>"Roughly 50% of our decision is based on your high school transcript — GPA, class rank, grades, the rigor of your program, and how well you took advantage of the opportunities available to you. </p>
<p>Approximately 25% is based on standardized test scores (ACT or SAT — we accept either), and 25% of our decision is based on promise of contribution (extracurricular activities, essay, recommendations, and an interview if you had one)."</p>
<p>USNWR has said Grinnell’s acceptance rate is 43% for years - as a matter of fact most LACs have been the same. Leads you to question USNWR a little bit. 2008 was around 35% I think and this year was around 38%. One big caveat is Grinnell almost never takes anybody from the waitlist. Grinnell is almost never a “What the hel” school. Many people who go there do so because somebody important in their life told them about it. Everybody I have ever known who has gone to Grinnell has fond memories and is extremely loyal.</p>
<p>That said, what I have heard (in the case of all colleges) is that being on the Wait List means they decided to accept you but didn’t have room. Many colleges will go to waitlist people for transfers first (the decision has already been made). Because most waitlist people probably don’t reapply your chances are probaby really good if it is true that Grinnell has an 8% attrition rate and you don’t have a bad time in your current college.
Good luck!!</p>
<p>I meant 35% last year and 28% this year!!!</p>
<p>USNWR doesn’t have the numbers wrong; Grinnell is simply being more honest than many other LACs in what it reports to the magazine. Grinnell only reports to USNWR the number of COMPLETED applications that they receive, not the TOTAL number. Last year 43 percent of completed applications were accepted; this year 35 percent were. A few years ago Grinnell debated whether to report total applications but decided it would be misleading. Other colleges disagree and report figures based on total applications. Grinnell may change how it reports now that it has a new Dean of Admissions.</p>
<p>Also, Grinnell doesn’t accept lots of kids off its waitlist not because it’s not a “what the hell” kind of school but because it does a better job of predicting who will actually enroll than many other schools. Remember that 2/3 of the students offered admission to Grinnell do turn it down and go elsewhere.</p>
<p>Finally, for what it’s worth, while Grinnell accepted a far smaller percentage of applicants this year than it has in years past the actual numerical qualifications of the incoming class – test scores and class rank – is actually somewhat lower than it has been in the last few years (at least).</p>