Prospective Engineering Student (?s abt religious tolerance, Grinnell vs. A&M, Campus facilities)

I’m a high school senior from Texas trying to decide whether to apply to Grinnell, and I have been hearing really awesome things about campus life, student attitudes and engaging professors. I think I will really have to go visit campus in order to decide if Grinnell is where I want to go, but as an eagle scout and an avid backpacker I think that being in nature might be more fun than any city.

I had a few concerns though:
First, I am a Pakistani Muslim and though i’m second generation I’m not exactly sure what the environment on campus will be like.
Second, I was accepted into A&M engineering and applying to Honors with a pretty decent shot, I know that A&M engineering program and facilities are top notch, so what would you say are reasons to pick going to Grinnell over A&M
Last, I was really excited about some of the really awesome resources at bigger schools cough makerspaces cough what does Grinnell have to offer in that regard?

It’s a shame I only just found out about Grinnell, but I plan to apply soon so I appreciate it if anyone can provide me with some insight.

Thank you!

A quick overview of my uh “student profile” (bc I’m still open to applying other places)
1570 SAT
3.95 weighted GPA with extremely rigorous course load (4-5 APs last two years)
Senior at DeBakey HSHP (top public school in Texas)
Eagle Scout + co-founded the first Boy Scout troop in my community started with 8 ppl now at 200+cub scouts, 60+Boy scouts and 20 Venture Scouts (im president of Venture)
TONS of activities in the community such as organizing a 5k for Meals on Wheels at a national convention and tying together scouts and my community doing tons of joint-activities

This is my first post on any forum like this so I apologize for being completely clueless, any help is appreciated!

What is your intended major? Are you planning to study engineering? That’s not offered at Grinnell (though they offer a 3-2 program).

Yes sorry I should have clarified that. I am interested in doing the 3-2 program at Grinnell

You might be interested to know that a makers space / Fab lab just opened this month in Grinnell. List of equipment here: https://makerlab.sites.grinnell.edu.

And an article with more information about the MLab here: http://www.thesandb.com/article/new-maker-lab-opening-to-grinnell-students-and-community.html

You might want to watch last year’s graduation speech by Kumail Nanjiani ’01 (who entered Grinnell as an international student from Pakistan) …

really appreciate all the help everyone!

I feel really awkward because it seems like a lot of what I asked was very easy to find on the internet (but I really couldn’t find it I swear).

@Ohioann thank you for the info this is exactly what I was looking for
@intlmom thank you for showing me that talk, going through past speeches and the like has been a great resource!

Students rarely actually do 3-2 programs. If you want to major in engineering, go to a college thatvja it as a major. And I would not say Grinnell is a school that is “in nature”. It is in a rural area with a lot of cornfields. If you are interested in the outdoors, there are a LOT of schools I’d rank above Grinnell for that criteria. Grinnell is a fine LAC — but for an engineer who wants a school with outdoor activity options nearby, I wouldn’t put it on your list. I do think it would be religiously tolerant.

@intparent What would you say then are the qualities of Grinell that you think attract students to teh campus over other LACs? Specifically those in it’s engineering program

You also mentioned having a couple other schools in mind, would you mind sharing a few of those?

They don’t have an Engineering. program. So… none. They do give decent merit, and would be a solid choice if you wanted to major in something like math or chemistry.

Few LACs have Engineering majors (if the LAC vibe is what you like about Grinnell). Those that do with good nearby outdoor activities - Harvey Mudd (hard to get into, though), maybe Bucknell, Lafayette College. State universities, maybe Montana State, University of Vermont, or Michigan Tech. Colorado School of Mines comes to mind, too (they really should change their name, it is misleading — they are a strong Engineering school). Run the net price calculators on each school website to see how the costs look for you.

For outdoor activities…Grinnell is on a prairie with a lot of surrounding farmland. There are nice areas for hiking, and biking is also popular, but the area is covered in snow for much of the school year.

The school attracts students for the reasons you mentioned: campus life, smart and friendly students, and wonderful profs. Another draw is the school’s academic facilities, especially for the sciences. It also places very well in grad school outcomes in the sciences.

To answer your specific questions:

The best way to understand the environment would be to visit and talk to students. Accepted students events in the spring would be a good way to do that.

If you decide that you’d prefer to major in straight up physics, chemistry, math, or CS over engineering, AND if you decide that you would flourish more in the smaller LAC environment, then Grinnell would be my pick over A&M. The 3/2 program is a good safety net if you want one of those majors but also want to leave the door open for engineering in case you change your mind. If you are strongly certain that you want to major in engineering but are also drawn to the smaller school lifestyle, intparent’s advice above is spot on.