<p>All I've got to say is you can't really complain about the tuition hikes...they are happening everywhere as a previous poster as stated. Where i'm from the state school is $16,000 (one of the top public schools in the country). Tuition has risen a couple of thousand in the last 2 years. Its not just the private schools that are doing this. Its sad that tuition is rising, but its just part of life.</p>
<p>... a two year old informational piece from the Macalester student newspaper regarding tuition hikes at LACs:</p>
<p>"During its January meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a 6.9 percent increase in comprehensive fees for the 2004-2005 school year. The total cost for tuition, room and board and general fees next year will be $34,156, compared to this years total of $31,944. </p>
<p>Next year, tuition (not including room and board or the activity fee) will increase 6.3 percent. Vice President of Administration and Treasurer David Wheaton said that this rise is higher than Macalesters usual rate of tuition increase, which he said has been around five to six percent for each of the past few years. </p>
<p>Statistics on the web site of the Office of Institutional Research show that Macalesters 2002 to 2003 percentage increase of 5.5 percent was the exact mean for schools in its peer group. Carleton Colleges tuition increased six percent, Oberlins 5.8 percent, Pomonas 4.5 percent and Grinnells 4.1 percent. "</p>
<p>It's tough all over. Per the College Board, tuition at four-year private colleges was up 5.9 percent in 2005; four-year public tuition was up 7.1 percent. At some state schools - due to state budget cuts - there have been mid-year increases.</p>
<p>We've had a decent experience at Grinnell with merit aid. We weren't expecting any - but got what we later learned was a modest grant - then, after our son well first year - we asked for more and they gave him another $1000 - which isn't much, but it certainly helped. For those of you who don't get the aid package you were hoping for, you might want to try to negotiate before you accept - especially if you've got competing offers. We didn't know how to play this game, and I think we missed out. A couple of other things to consider with merit aid -- Grinnell aid will follow you if you study abroad in an approved program. That's not the case everywhere. Also, in the summer, Grinnell will pay up to $2400 for approved internships.
On the negative side, the pay for on-campus student jobs is low compared with our state university (where there are lots off-campus jobs that compete for students). I'd be curious to know what pay is like for student jobs at other schools in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>Additional input on the issues in this thread.
My son lost 20 pounds his freshman year...mostly he complained the food was bland. He seems to have gotten used to it this year however...He is looking forward to the new dining service, but sad that the dining hall of his current dorm, which is quite Hogwarthy-worthy, will no longer be used for the purpose...no doubt it will re-emerge in some other form..</p>
<p>Among other reasons he is happy at Grinnell, as a second semester sophomore he is taking an upper level seminar with 4 other students. He reports, fortunately, that all 5 of them are liking it, like to talk, etc...his courses have a lot of reading and writing demands, and I know he is busy- but always manages some down time as well. Basically, to him it seems Grinnell is very much 'as billed.'</p>
<p>Another fun fact: Grinnell's financial aid is lop-sidedly generous. It's "generous" for rich families receiving merit scholarships, but for poor families Grinnell is hardly a boon. The stinginess of Grinnell is reflected by the rather high cumulative debt its students graduate with--$16,744 for the graduating cohort, which is, as you should note, more than 50% higher than the cumulative debt for the truly top LACs such as Amherst ($12,109), Williams ($10,900) and Swarthmore ($12,413).</p>
<p>To be honest, I'm puzzled as to how Grinnell came up with its $16K figure. Some people seem to be going into much, much more debt than that. I have a ridiculous amount of outside scholarship money and my cumulative debt is still projected to be thereabouts.</p>
<p>Exeuntsl
Congratulations on your outside scholarship money. $16K is certainly a lot of money, but relative to a number of other material things that cost that much (e.g., a low-mid range new car), it's a good value. I remember having similar feuds with financial aid folks my school. Resistance is futile--but go for it.
PS. The fallen seeds of the female Ginko do smell bad.</p>
<p>Um...I got my finaid package from Grinnell today, and I only had 1080 dollars in loans, so I think it was pretty generous to this poor person! I'm happy!</p>
<p>just to validate previous statements refering to the ginkgo tree seeds, i was touring the campus in late october and found the stench quite disgusting.</p>
<p>Um...there are gingko trees all over, and I don't think that's Grinnell's fault. Maybe I'm just used to it, because we have them in St. Louis, and even though it's bad, it's not a smell that lasts all year around and considering that the smell in Grinnell is nothing compared to the stench of pollution, I don't see why the trees are such a large problem. THere are worse things people, seriously.</p>
<p>I grew up in Grinnell, (I've been living in Des Moines for High School) and here's what I can offer as to these things:</p>
<p>The gingko trees aren't terrible... pretty much any campus is going to have some unattractive little feature like that... The bigger problem is the alfalfa plant on the edge of town which can aggravate allergies... welcome to the midwest though...</p>
<p>Grinnell offers excellent aid to poorer students, from the articles that were published in non Grinnell sources last year merit aid is shrinking but need based aid is growiing...</p>
<p>The food isn't great... They are getting a new student Center and revamping dining next year though, so who knows?</p>
<p>I'm a Grinnell junior. Here is my take on these so-called "truths."</p>
<p>-Grinnell tuition is at or below most of their peer institutions, and the average student receives more aid. The average graduating Grinnellian has less student loan debt than the average graduate from the University of Iowa or Iowa State University, according to a recent third-party study that was published by the Des Moines Register.</p>
<p>-Grinnell doesn't smell bad unless you go to Cowles lounge on the Saturday morning after a football party. Then it smells like warm beer and stale pizza.</p>
<p>-Grinnell students do work hard. For many of them, it is because they are obsessive about and dedicated to their majors. However, you can get by without pulling all-nighters all the time. It's all about time management and using study time effectively.</p>
<p>-Grinnell's median GPA is around 3.2 according to an S&B article this semester, which is neither inflated nor deflated in comparison to peer institions.</p>
<p>-Grinnell takes care of her good students financially. My aid package has gotten BETTER while I've been here, because I've performed well and talked to the financial aid office about my disdain.</p>
<p>-There are a lot of spoiled cynics at Grinnell. Just because it's in the middle of Iowa doesn't mean you get to escape from elitist, spoiled, whiny brats who think they are smarter than their professors and know more than every other student, and that they deserve full rides and pristine treatment from the college.</p>
<p>There, that's the truth.</p>
<p>To Exeuntsl...
You clearly don't understand financial matters. Penny-pinching? Glutton? Do you comprehend anything about financial management, the cost of running this institution, or how the endowment is managed? I work in the Pioneer Fund office, I attend financial planning meetings, and I make at least some effort to educate myself about the expense of running a quality liberal arts institution. For example, Grinnell takes OVER a 100% net loss on every student...and that's if said student were paying 100% of their tuition, room and board. The loss is even greater for students receiving aid, need-based or otherwise. Which brings me to another point; Grinnell's dedication to completely needs-blind admission, meeting full demonstrated need, and offering merit-based aid. If I had any faith in your ability to do research I would tell you to go look up our peer institutions' stats in those fields, but based on your commentary thus far I don't so I will tell you. There are 13 or fewer institutions in the country with need-blind admissions that can also guarantee to meet full demonstrated need. Grinnell is among them. This figure includes Ivies and state schools. The annual operating budget for fiscal year 2005-2006 was approximately $90 million, of which $21 million went only to grants and scholarships.The endowment principle must be preserved in order to sustain Grinnell's committment to quality education for all, regardless of their financial situation; this is the reason that endowment spending has decreased in recent years. The decrease has also been in response to the economic slump and a drop in giving from alumni who, like yourself, do not have a thorough comprehension of the costs and demands of maintaining an institution of higher education (in particular one that provides as many free services as Grinnell does). How many other schools are so generous in helping fund student clubs, organizations and parties? How many other schools subsidize their students' access to business such as the Strand movie theater in town? How many other schools have a free on-campus movie theater, free on-campus concerts, free on-campus speakers, panels, symposiums, poetry readings....? You tell me.
As far as the caliber of Grinnell students? Your bitterness, coupled with your demonstrated ignorance (and by the way, everything I just explained was from an open discussion on college finances, which you could have attended and used as a forum to express your views and concerns if you really wanted to make a difference instead of just whining on an internet message board), suggests that perhaps you are not genuinely qualified for Grinnell and might be better suited to a school with a lesser degree of academic rigor. Grinnell maintains a policy of taking a chance every year on a certain number of students whose board scores or grades are lower than ideal, but whose resumes in total offer the suggestion some kind of genuine passion, gift or inspiration; in contrast, schools such as CalTech and the Ivies rarely if ever take such gambles. It is often those "wild card" students, rather than those who are flawless by the numbers, who become some of the College's most distinguished alumni.
Maybe you should transfer. I for one love it here and would not trade it for the world. I am a current sophomore; as far as workload, mine is currently insane. However, that is because I am enrolled in three mid- to high-200 level courses and a 300-level seminar, all in social sciences or humanities. The critical thinking, analytical and research demands being made on me are tremendous; however, this is a large part of why I value my Grinnell experience. I am asked, in all four of my academic courses, to go beyond the mere regurgitation of assigned material. My professors challenge me to, and in fact demand that I, go beyond simple rote memorization and recitation and into the realm of indepent critical analysis. They teach me to think about and analyze the material, which is a skill that can be applied for the rest of my life in more ways than you could possibly imagine. I also am able to take music lessons, participate on a varsity sports team, hold a campus job, and partake in numerous co-curricular clubs both formal and informal. All this, in addition to having a personal social life. Furthermore, there are grants, fellowships, and stipends available for summer internships or research, paid summer research through the College, and the opportunity to study abroad. All in all pretty amazing if you ask me.
Name me one other place in the world that can do all of that.</p>
<p>chartreauxx -- maybe all students should work in the Pioneer Fund office. I think another aspect of Grinnell's endowment is that it has grown largely because of the extreme generosity of a few generous people and some very smart investing. The college intends to be around for 100s of years. In that time, will Grinnell see another Noyce or another Rosenfield? Not that Grinnell should be in an endowment arms race, but schools like Williams and Amherst undoubetly have wealthier alumni and the per capita giving and opportunities for huge gifts at these schools is much greater. If Grinnell spends down the endowment, what will be left for future generations?</p>
<p>chartreauxx, what a thorough ass-kicking! Would you marry me?</p>
<p>So I got my aid package today. It looks good, but should I be concerned with the information given above?</p>
<p>No........</p>
<p>To whoever complained that Grinnell's total cost this year -- including tuition room and board -- is $34,000. Compare that to Kenyon at $47,000. Grinnell looks like a bargain by comparison!</p>
<p>well next year isnt grinnell 43,000? and kenyon is 47,000... not much of a difference.
I am most likely coming to grinnell even though Grinnell gave me 30,000 so id still have to pay 13,000 a year compared to Kenyon which gave me 37,000 a year so i would only have to pay 10,000...</p>
<p>im hoping if i call the financial aid office and tell them how much Kenyon gave me they will give me more financial aid
on a side not University of Illinois gave me 0.
Who said public education was cheaper? haha</p>
<p>Ah the gingko tree fruits! Brings back memories of the U. of Illinois campus 30 years ago. They do smell bad, but remember, smell is one of the strongest memory retrieving triggers, so you will be able to remember your college years whenever you smell smooshed gingko fruit. Also, I recall, it gave us something to talk about.</p>