Vibe from Grinnell

Colleges and Universities A-Z Grinnell College
1

<p>I applied to Grinnell (without visiting, I'm from New Jersey) because of its strong academic reputation, open curriculum, and because the various books I read about it said that the students there are interested in social and political issues. Now that I've been accepted, I've been considering visiting...but lately the way that the admissions office has been acting has been quite honestly turning me off. I've spoken with three people from the office and emailed a few others, and for the most part I've found that everyone has been rude, unenthusiastic, and unhelpful. One other thing I don't understand: I got into Kenyon as well, and the admissions people there have been wonderful. They are personal and send occasional emails/letters to admitted students about why we should attend. I even got an email from the woman who interviewed me congratulating me. Why doesn't Grinnell, which from what I have read has a hard time getting students to come to its rural campus, follow suite?</p>

<p>I'm aware that the admissions and financial aid people do not represent the student body. But they do play a role in my education, and they are the ones who represent the school to prospective students and parents. I'm also aware that some people may say that it seems like I should just go to Kenyon, but I was just using it as a point of comparison. I do want to give Grinnell a chance, because I like what I've read but realize that if I go there I have to fit in with the student body. Does anyone have any similar experience with the school or can anyone convince me that my experience has just been particularly unlucky? Can anyone give me an idea of what Grinnell's "vibe" is––students and administration included?</p>

2

<p>I’ve received a number of very friendly emails from the admissions people at Grinnell, so I’m not entirely sure why you haven’t received the same. I would assume it’s just an unlucky fluke.
Additionally, I just returned from admitted students’ day, and I was incredibly impressed with how helpful and pleasant everyone (including administration) was. The happiness of students and availability of opportunities for students seemed to be at the forefront of everyone’s interests. Honestly, I could not have imagined a school that would be more (or even as) geared toward me and my peers than Grinnell appeared to be.
I really think you should reconsider your opinion, and if possible visit, because the vibe I got from the school is the complete opposite of the one you seem to be getting.</p>

3

<p>We loved the admissions people at Grinnell and the tour guides were great. Accepted students days were wonderful. This was 4 years ago, but I doubt that it’s gone so bad since then. I agree with Veriscenti. Must be an unlucky fluke. Or maybe the universe is steering you toward Kenyon, also a very good school. My son has had 4 very happy years at Grinnell and has gotten a great education. One of my nieces is at Kenyon, really loves it and I’m sure is also getting a great education.</p>

4

<p>My experience has been that the Grinnell admissions office is warm and the financial aid office is frozen solid.</p>

5

<p>My daughter and I, too, just got back from an admitted students’ event. Everyone was warm and helpful, including admissions, financial aid (who had been very helpful on the phone previously as well) and student affairs. The students couldn’t have been more engaged and accommodating. We sat down at a crowded table at lunch and the students at the table – all sophomores and not “staff” for the admitted students’ event – engaged with us in candid, helpful discussion on a range of topics, including their own experiences with leaving home. As my daughter left the table to meet with new friends, one of the sophomores ushered me around and chatted with me for the next hour. We had lunch with her and another girl from the table the next day and they answered questions. </p>

<p>As Veriscenti noted, we, too, could not have been more impressed with the opportunities for students nor the interest the administration and faculty has for the students’ development and personal success. </p>

<p>Off topic but interesting to us: Leaving town, we went to McNally’s Foods to get some water for the ride home and they, too, were welcoming and helpful, and stocked all sorts of things that a small, small-town grocery store may not normally do in the middle of Iowa – Thai foods, Kosher foods, gluten-free and much more. Everyone was friendly and engaging, talking to us about the school and the town. Relations between Grinnell the college and Grinnell the town are wonderful, which, in my opinion, says a lot about a school as well.</p>

<p>My daughter, who makes decisions with much deliberation and not quickly, is leaning toward Grinnell.</p>

6

<p>dahlingg, you are not alone. My son was admitted, and I had a question about his future financial aid estimate (younger child going to college next year, so just wanted to know how much they expect us to pay year 2-4. Year 1 is over $44,000, ouch!). I felt the same way when I called the financial aid office. The fact is no one called me back on the promised time. Meanwhile son received phone calls from Varsity coach, the admission office (free fly-in program), and an alumnus.</p>

<p>We visited the campus in November, and son felt Grinnell was perfect. I, on the other hand, didn’t experience friendly vibe there, especially in town. Someone beeped truck horn at me while I was walking alone & looking for a restaurant around 6 p.m.</p>

<p>No doubt Grinnell is a fine institution, but son decided to go to a lower ranking college with generous merit aids.</p>

7

<p>I went to the admitted student reception and the campus was as friendly as I could imagine a college campus being. The professors were incredibly helpful and friendly. At lunch, the students sat with and mingled with the prospies without a second glance. I never had any problem finding someone willing to give directions or guide me if I was looking for a specific place on campus. I got recruited into playing an odd game with foam bats by a few students who were out playing on the green behind the Harris Center. Even in town, everyone was very nice. The people at the hotel immediately guessed I was there to visit the college and struck up a conversation about it. Later, I carried my Grinnell College bag (that is apparently a prospie signal) into a store and talked to the cashier, whose mother works at the school, about the college.</p>

<p>If you think it’s unwelcoming, go visit. I got the completely opposite impression. Compared to UW-Madison, which I visited two days later, Grinnell was extremely warm and welcoming.</p>

8

<p>I think these are all great schools and prospies get the vibes they need to get. The best fit for one is not the best fit for all. We felt the incredible sunny friendliness. I don’t doubt other who feel it somewhere else.</p>

9

<p>ShoeCream - what do you mean by “free fly-in program” ?? I have a first year who loves it and an admitted student who (for various, odd coincidental reasons) has never had the opportunity campus. She is attending the 4/21-22 admitted students event. My impression is that both admissions and financial aid are hard working and responsive - I have had kids applying, two years in a row, both with unqiue school situations. I have had some serious questions regarding financial aid and have met with the director both on the phone and in an impromptu drop-in visit to the financial aid office (I was there to drop off my son after spring break). I’m a bit ‘hands off’ once my kids leave home (and, frankly, I think they appreciate that), so perhaps my interaction at Grinnell is more limited than some parents, but I can’t say I have anything but good impressions.</p>

10

<p>ljbnu84 - The free fly in program is for first generation ethnic (black, hispanic, native american, asian, etc) students. It’s pretty awesome! They’re flying me all the way from NC. I think it’s their way of recruiting minorities.</p>

11

<p>Agree with bethievt, sometimes you “get the feeling” from the one that is meant to be. We had 3 awful conversations with Rice and one email with attitude, so I said no way to 4 years of that. But there are legions of Rice students and families who give rave reviews. So, while you cannot give too much weight to one interaction, if there is a pattern, well, then it just may be telling you something. Son will be at Grinnell this weekend checking out the vibe for himself.</p>

12

<p>My son did not receive any personal contact from any admissions departments from the colleges he was accepted to, so Kenyon is doing an unusual service there, and it does sound like a great idea to reach out to students individually. However, I would look at how the school helps the students once they’re on campus as the more important barometer than how admissions treats them. </p>

<p>In this, I can only give specific examples from our Grinnell experience. Before students arrive on campus, a number of documents are mailed: one is a multi-page questionnaire that will be given to the advisor (the tutorial professor, who remains the advisor until the major is declared, at which point the advisor is from that department). This questionnaire asks the students about their high school experience, their goals for Grinnell, their strengths and weaknesses, among other questions, and the advisor also sees the application file. The ongoing relationship with the advisor can, of course, vary by professor and the student’s interests; my S’s advisor told me that in the past he had some students who hardly came to him, and others who saw him regularly and who he remains close to. </p>

<p>The other document is a letter titled “To students with disabilities” that is sent to all students. It is a very welcoming letter, and acknowledges that students often do not want to get assistance or accommodations, even if they did so in high school, and suggests that “let’s at least have a conversation about what your options are.” </p>

<p>Institutionally, Grinnell provides alot of academic and social support: but it recognizes that the students are young adults and need to take responsibility for themselves; if the student needs help, he / she needs to take advantage of the resources.</p>

<p>The benefit of a small liberal arts college like Grinnell is that professors are there to teach and they want their students to succeed as students and as people. My son’s own experience with his professors has confirmed this. The only personal detail I will provide is that a professor gave him an unsolicited suggestion on a summer program based on an intellectual interest that was tangentially related to the course he was taking; and that is what he’s doing this summer!</p>

<p>I also think the self-governance system is a defining support for the “Grinnell vibe.” I was struck on reading an article in the NY Times about some misogynistic behavior on the part of some students; a female student was quoted in the article as saying she just shuts her windows. This would never, ever happen at Grinnell! Self-gov is all about being responsible to each other and for each other as members of a community. There have been bias incidents on campus at Grinnell, but they do not go unanswered by the students. </p>

<p>Here is where self-gov is explained:
[Self</a> Governance - Student Affairs | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/studentaffairs/selfgovernance]Self”>http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/studentaffairs/selfgovernance)</p>

<p>Self-gov doesn’t mean that the students run the school, but gives them a voice in how institutional decisions are made, with seats on a wide variety of administrative committees, include faculty hiring and review (in each department, students are elected to a Student Education Planning Committee), the college budget, presidential search, the social justice award, and numerous others. (note: by college budget, this is not just the student affairs budget, it is the whole enchilada, which includes to “help identify and reconsider institutional priorities as circumstances change.” this is from an institutional planning document available on the college website.)</p>

<p>Are there administrative decisions the students don’t agree with? Sure there are! Do the students make their dissatisfaction known? They sure do!! Are these issues always resolved to the students’ satisfaction. No. But, the students learn how to function as a community and as part of broader societal and institutional constraints. </p>

<p>Based on my son’s experience with choosing from among his acceptances, all I can say is do visit! What sounds like a perfect fit on paper, might not be one in reality. Dahlingg, my S applied to Grinnell for the exact reasons you did, and the visit after he got in (he had never seen it before, and didn’t interview, although he tried to get an alumni interview). You may choose differently than he did, but I would strongly urge you to get to campus so that you can make an informed decision, and see what fits best for YOU.</p>

13

<p>Finally, I"m really sorry that shoecream did not have a good experience in the town of Grinnell itself. My S loves the small-town feel, particularly that when he walks down the street, strangers will look him in the eye and smile!</p>

<p>FWIW, dahlingg, while both Kenyon and Grinnell are both rural, the immediate surroundings have a completely different feel. To us, Kenyon felt really isolated, while Grinnell did not, believe it or not! While I wouldn’t put Grinnell itself as the number one college town we saw among all the schools we saw… the College is two blocks from an historic town district, has some of the usual name stores (fast food, Walmart) nearby, and is set in really pretty countryside if you get out on your bike. I would actually say that the town center feels less like a college town, than like a community serving all its residents. The college really makes an effort to interact with the town; students can feel a part of this or not as they choose. </p>

<p>We had a funny experience when we drove out to Grinnell for the first time: all we could see surrounding the car was total blackness, and we wondered what the heck we were getting into! Well, we got out of the car at the Carriage House, and felt like we had stepped into a movie set, Groundhog Day, to be precise. That was our first impression!</p>

<p>Then, as we drove back to the airport in daylight, we saw that all those wide open spaces were beautiful rolling farmlands. Not flat and dreary, as I might have envisioned, but really pretty, at least in our opinion!</p>

14

<p>Important edit to my post #12:</p>

<p>I neglected to write that the NY Times article was about an incident at Yale! </p>

<p>I noticed this too late to edit it in the post itself!</p>

<p>There actually was a misogynistic incident last year at Grinnell, and it created an uproar among the students!</p>

15

<p>a number of schools offer free fly-in programs to selected students, either for fall visits for seniors considering where to apply or April visits for accepted students. It is often related to encouraging diversity, but not always.</p>

16

<p>The office of admissions has been very warm and kind to me! I have receive various emails, I received a call from my admission officer and there was a post card signed by various students within my admit pack. I have found that they have been more warm than most other schools I got into (read Princeton). I think that your experience of more of the outlier than the norm.</p>

17

<p>My son is a freshman and we could not be more pleased with every interaction we have had thus far. From the first time we called to leaving after New Student Orientation/Family day, we were welcomed with warm smiles, nice conversation and were really made to feel that they truly cared about our son. I am sorry if there was a person that didn’t have this experience. I am amazed daily at how genuinely caring the professors and the administrators are at Grinnell. A nice little story goes as follows…My son did not get his shuttle set up in a timely manner(this is the service that takes the kids from Grinnell College to the airport). He told the office that sets up the shuttle what his dates/times of departure were for his airline and they told him that they were sorry that the shuttle was full. Lo and behold he then had to scramble to get a much more expensive private cab to take him($86). Well, the day he needed to travel, out of nowhere the shuttle escort showed up at his dorm and they called up to his room and said they had added a shuttle just for him. I have been told that these kinds of stories are not uncommon. Too boot, I will add that the College only charged us the $30 fee that they charge for their shuttle fee, even though our son received a private shuttle. I was so impressed with them. They said they wanted to make sure he got home and didn’t miss his flight. I have talked with multiple parents who have had the same experience as we have. I am very happy with our decision thus far and I will add that our son is THRIVING at Grinnell.</p>

18

<p>I also had some rudeness from people at the Office of Admissions, but I did visit, and didn’t get that vibe when I was there in person.</p>

<p>When I say rudeness, most of it was from the woman who answers the phone (whoever she is); she was impatient with me and acted like I was being stupid when I asked her questions. Once, I didn’t have access to the internet and wanted to know if I had the correct address for the Office of Admissions. She told me, “It doesn’t have an address! It’s just Office of Admissions, Grinnell College!” like it was the most ridiculous question ever. I looked online, and of course it has an address. Another time, I left a message for someone who never called me back.</p>

<p>That being said, the students working in Admissions were very nice, and they redeemed things for me. I did talk to a couple of nice school employees, too.</p>

19

<p>Too late to give you feedback before you pick, sorry. But, my experience, as a parent of a child who chose Grinnell, is that Grinnell doesn’t have to try as hard to attract admitted students, so they don’t. Many of the other schools my son applied to were more attentive and wooed him more than Grinnell. However, both he and I liked Grinnell the best. I like that they are laid back. This is reflected in their students, administration, and “requirements”. It is one of the few colleges that doesn’t have a large list of required classes and the campus is self-governed. This is a major attraction for many young people. I think Grinnell knows what it has going for it, continues to attract highly desirable students and teachers, and therefore doesn’t have to work as hard as other schools at convincing students to go there. That, imho, may be what you experienced. Good luck in college!</p>