I recently got accepted to Grinnell (2019) and I am extremely excited! The one thing that I have had on my mind, however, is the social scene. I’ve been pondering about it and I guess here are the main questions I have:
-Since it is so small, can it be socially “claustrophobic” at times? (i.e., do you feel like you’re with the same people 24/7 and you never meet anyone new?)
- I consider myself to be fairly liberal, but how liberal is liberal? (I’ve read a few reviews regarding uncontrolled drug usage and/or people who look down upon you if you don’t fit into the extremely liberal mindset.)
thank you very much for any answers/suggestions!
Congratulations! I am a current student who loves Grinnell and I will answer your questions honestly because I want you to know if you are actually a good fit.
- Yes, it is a little bit weird that I recognize a good portion of the student body by face. We only have one dining hall so you basically see every person at the college every day. However, I am always meeting new people. I feel like there are enough people so that I will still not know everyone I want to get to know when it comes time to graduate. I actually love it because Grinnell allows people to create close friendships easier. At a big school,you won't really be able to have enough repeated encounters with the people you like to make friends.
- There is a lot of drug usage. There is also a lot of people who don't do drugs at all, like me. It's not really a consequence of the "liberal mindset". The drugs have more to do with the fact that Grinnell students basically never have any institutional consequences for substance use. Other schools will kick you out if they catch you drinking a certain number of times. Therefore, everyone at Grinnell is open about their substance use.
I’m very liberal, even at Grinnell, so I’m not sure if I’m qualified to tell you about the scary liberals here. Basically, if you are scared of the gays (and you don’t have any desire to change that), then please don’t come to Grinnell. Also, if you like to make fun of fat people you probably would fit in better at another institution.Yet, a decent amount of people here are not very political and there are pockets of campus that are somewhat conservative. You should know that the least controversial joke here is a joke about Republicans. It’s almost unfair because there are so few Republicans here to defend themselves.
Thank you very much for your honesty! I’m definitely not one to discriminate and believe that everyone is created equal. Mostly I just wanted to know if it was hard to fit in at such a small school, but it sounds like the smallness can actually be a benefit in fostering “real” friendships, etc. I’m not Republican, but I admit that I don’t follow politics a whole lot 
I still don’t know most of the people who go here.
Congrats on your acceptance!! Also a current student who loves it, I’ll do my best to answer, and please feel free to message with questions. I had a lot of similar worries before coming, and I absolutely LOVE Grinnell, if that means anything to you!
- It is a small campus, most people live on-campus, and you will likely see the same people every single day (even if you don't want to see them). However, this offers some really great benefits - you become extremely close with your friends, and you get the chance to really know people. I spend basically all of my time with my group of friends, but I also have lots of other circles of friends, and I think this is the case of most people. I also definitely see people who I don't know at all, so it's not like you're COMPLETELY isolated. Ultimately, it's up to you and how you approach the social scene at Grinnell. I will say that becoming so close to your friends is a really unique and amazing experience - when else will you be able to be with your closest friends basically 24 hours a day? I've never felt the claustrophobia in terms of my friends - you can always spend a night in, or with other people - but it sometimes exists in the geographic sense.
- People are definitely left-leaning. But I think this is a fact at all colleges, and the best part of it for me has been that it really challenges me to solidify my own beliefs. When someone has a different idea than you, it ultimately makes you question and try to figure out what you think. There are definitely some "crazy liberals" on campus, and there are some (though they are quiet) Republicans. The most important thing at Grinnell is respect for others, so this really plays into it. I wouldn't let the political aspect play too much into it.
Thank you all very much! I have officially decided to attend and could not be more excited!. 