<p>Your parents will be able to go with you to most of the things at the admitted student day. The only thing you’ll probably be going alone for would be the class observation. You get the chance to observe real classes that are happening on that day, but it would be very distracting if the prospy parents accompanied them, so it’s usually just the prospies that are allowed in to observe classes. Your parents would also obviously have to get their own place to stay for the night; the overnight is just for the prospective student.</p>
<p>Overnighting really isn’t anything to get nervous about. You get matched up with someone who will let you stay in their room in the dorms. It’s that simple. Your host will also probably show you around and whatnot, but it depends on what you want to do and how much your host is willing to act as a tour guide.</p>
<p>If you’re overnighting, I will warn you ahead of time that there’s a pretty good chance you’ll end up on a floor with gender neutral bathrooms. It freaks some people out at first, but it’s honestly not a big deal, and when you actually attend there’s a policy where any student that feels uncomfortable with a gender neutral bathroom can have one of the bathrooms on the floor changed to single sex to accomodate them.</p>
<p>Also, when you’re touring the college, don’t feel shy. The academic buildings are more or less public. Yes, you’re allowed to just walk into Noyce or Bucksbaum and look around (though obviously you need to be respectful, especially if classes are in session). If you have a particular interest, make sure you find out what buildings are usually used for that subject so you can go check them out later. If you’re an athlete, you should spend extra time checking out the Bear. If you’re a musician or artist, make sure to check out Bucksbaum. If you’re into sciences, go get lost in the upper levels of Noyce.</p>
<p>Hi Klossie–you are doing it right (posting). Accepted students weekend should be fun. As I recall, my son was assigned a host. I think they’ll send you a program and you can pick what you want to do. I remember the weather being lovely and the campus looking great, with flowers out everywhere. It seems to me there were some things for parents and some for students, but this was five years ago. I do remember it being fun and welcoming.</p>
<p>There should be plenty for you and your parents to do. There is a full day of panel discussions that you can attend; one (or at least one) is just for students. It was a rainy day when we attended, so we never even did the official campus tour and still managed to have a very full day. (ironically, this was the one school out of all the applications that we never did the tour!).</p>
<p>For the overnight, you will be assigned a host, and sleep on their floor most likely. Unless you end up with a rare not nice Grinnellian, I’m sure you will have a good time! There will probably be a campus event you can attend. Later in the evening, my S’s host wanted to go to a party, so my son followed along and managed to talk to alot of people this way, even though he just stayed on the outskirts of the event and I think the conversations he had during the night played a large role in his decision to attend!</p>
<p>See how friendly Grinnellians are! We all answered your questions at once! (I consider myself an adopted Grinnellian, since my S is at the school…)</p>
<p>They do limit the number of prospies who can attend any one class, out of courtesy to the students who are in that class, but I know for my son it was actually a benefit to get in a class in which he didn’t really understand what was going on (300 level Economics) so that he could observe the student engagement instead of getting himself too focused on the subject itself.</p>
<p>They do let parents sit in on selected classes during family weekend in the fall. I really enjoyed that, though I made sure ahead of time that it was ok with my son.</p>
<p>The bathrooms I saw at Grinnell felt private enough because there were individual stalls for everything, so gender neutrality shouldn’t matter much.</p>
<p>Thanks so much everyone! I’m looking forward to the visit, definitely looking forward to exploring the campus a little bit by myself too. It still seems completely surreal that I’m going to college, especially a college like Grinnell, this August!</p>
<p>I just got back from an admitted students weekend, and i will let you know that I had a great time. My host was great and took me with him to do everything so its not as if I was just using his room. Most of the students i met were very happy to meet me and very nice and accepting.</p>
<p>Klossie–I predict you will love the campus and the students you meet.</p>
<p>burnty–glad you had a great time! My son liked to host prospies and made an effort to include them in things because he had a few sub-optimal experiences with hosts (not at Grinnell, but it could happen anywhere).</p>
<p>My son is going to attend the admitted student weekend this coming Thurs-Fri, and he is trying to decide between Carleton and Grinnell. For his own reasons, the plentiful frisbee playing is a big selling point of Carleton. I have heard folks talk here about soccer, but what my son is really interested in is pickup frisbee, not necessarily the high powered intercollegiate variety. Can someone tell me about Grinnell and frisbee? Will he see kids tossing one around on the laws or just kicking a ball? Thanks!</p>
<p>As I looked on Mac field through Grinnell website, I don’t see any boundary lines. Is it possible to play soccer or sports on Mac field? Why don’t the international soccer club play on one of the soccer fields. Grinnell has 3 soccer fields so I think there are more than enough fields for everybody.
There are Men’s soccer club and International soccer club, what’s the difference between these two clubs?
Where do the Grinnell Outdoor Recreation Program usually take students to? Will you be kayaking, hiking, climbing or anything like that?
I’m an international student from Vietnam, which is far away from the US so I can’t visit the campus myself. Sorry if my questions are naive.</p>
<p>Even my son threw around a frisbee at Grinnell and he mostly dislikes athletics. There is also an area called “the beach” in front of one row of older dorms where students play volleyball and have BBQs.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about soccer or GORP. My son did GOOP, the outdoor orientation program before he started first year and really enjoyed that, a canoeing and camping trip in WI. Even though it rained a lot, he said it was fun and a great way to make some friends right away.</p>
<p>You can compare science programs, or medical school acceptances, or food, or quality of life. You can compare all those things. But for half a century Grinnell has taken a back seat to no on when it comes to ultimate frisbee. The only thing that can keep a serious frisbee player from Grinnell is fear of the ghosts of the Greats who still haunt South Campus (if they can find it!)</p>
<p>Yes, I know the Grinnellephants are great! But, for a kid who has never played frisbee much (but who really wants to), and certainly not on a high powered team, I am wondering if there are less-high powered frisbee teams or intermurals or such–I fear he wouldn’t be good enough to play with the “greats.”</p>
<p>well, really, one of the most important “Why Grinnell” reasons is this: there’s so many great things you can do with the school’s name, “Grinnellephants” being one example…</p>
<p>I don’t know if there are teams or intramurals for “amateur” frisbee players, but if my son was able to participate in frisbee games, anyone can participate in some form of frisbee play. It seems to me my son said there were informal “pick-up” teams, like one dorm floor playing another.</p>
<p>Thanks bethievt, that is what I was looking for–maybe he could play in the “big leagues” of Ultimate, but I bet he needs more practice first. Dorms or pickup games sound good. He is at Grinnell NOW for the admitted student days so hopefully he will see some guys playing the game. When we visited Carleton last May, there must have been 10 frisbees in the air at any given moment, and he was enthralled. It is going to be a tough decision: Carleton vs Grinnell.</p>
<p>Another question for all you Grinnell experts out there: I know Grinnell gives $2000 a year for National Merit Scholars, but do you know if they make a big deal about it or not? It seems Carleton makes a super focus on NM, number of students in each class who are, etc. I wonder if it comes with any public acknowledgement at Grinnell or just the quiet nibble off the bill?</p>