<p>I'm a freshman at Loyola U Maryland and want to transfer to Grinnell next year. My questions are:</p>
<p>-- How hard is it? Like what GPA would I need as a transfer student? What do you recommend I do next year at Loyola to ensure that I have a good shot at getting in here? </p>
<p>-- I know the transfer deadline is April 1st, but my spring semester doesn't end until May...so would I just send in my spring grades late? Is there a disadvantage?</p>
<p>-- I'm an English/Philosophy major. I'm a guy. I love books and I really don't like partying or sports (which is sort of why I don't want to go to Loyola). Is Grinnell a good match for me?</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about transfering, so I can’t help you much. Grinnell is a great school. My son loved all four years. It doesn’t have a big sports focus, though there are excellent facilities for sports and fitness. The students tend to be serious about learning things and, though they do have lots of unconventional parties, I don’t think anyone would call it a party school. My son, who avoided parties in high school really liked them at Grinnell. Good thing you like to read a lot because I suspect you’ll have a lot of reading to do well at Grinnell.</p>
<p>About getting in, what are your grades and test scores like? How have you done in college your first year. Obviously, you’ll want to get your GPA up as high as you can. Do you have any ECs? Do you participate in class, so that some profs will write good letters of recommendation? About the spring grades, I assume you’d explain the situation and have midterm grades sent if they do those. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Partying and sports are still big at Grinnell, but maybe not so much as at the school you’re coming from, especially if you get a room on east campus.</p>
<p>You’re right, Kudryavka, but if you have been in Ann Arbor, MI, for instance, or Tempe, AZ, on the day of a football game (I’m only listing those because I’ve been to both), you will see partying and sports that will knock your socks off. The amount of money and energy some schools put into big-time sports is something my son wanted to avoid. There is a party culture at Grinnell for sure, but it is different from the Greeky thing at some colleges. Not better or worse, just different.</p>