<p>These schools all are very proud of every NMF they attract. Why would they not be? Students might pick Grinnell or Carleton or Mac or Oberlin or many other schools. They can’t really go wrong. It took me a few weeks to realize that my son had chosen his best fit at Grinnell but honestly these schools are all great. If my son hadn’t graduated, he’d have been happy to host your son. But isn’t it good that he did graduate on time, as most Grinnell students do?</p>
<p>Grinnell was ONLY college of many to deduct the $2K NMF AFTER all other FA was calculated. The others took the $2k away from their scholarship/need-based aid. That’s an extra $2k per year.</p>
<p>Phew! I found this thread just in time. ;)</p>
<p>Carleton’s men’s A team competes Div I and last year beat UW-Madison for the natl championship. I watched it online. 
I would say Carleton takes a back seat to no one when it comes to ultimate. ;)</p>
<p>But you don’t have to be super-serious to play, even on the club level, at Carleton.</p>
<p>Tennessee, feel free to PM if you have any Carl questions. Ds1 is there, but one of his best HS friends is at Grinnell. You can’t go wrong either way. :)</p>
<p>How is Grinnell in terms of getting into graduate school? I’m from California and if I go to undergrad at Grinnell I would want to come back to Cali for graduate, particularly USC (strong alumni network in SoCal) or Berkeley…is that possible? I’m worried about Grinnell being kind of obscure and I’ve narrowed my choices down to Grinnell, UCSD, and maybe UCD. I want to go into neuroscience/cog sci/psych pretty much a type of science pertaining to the mind/brain, but that’s subject to change…I’m still kind of looking at various majors but I ruled out history for sure.</p>
<p>It’s one of the best for getting into grad school . Listen up.</p>
<p>Iowa teacher here. Some of my most memorable students have attended Grinnell. They have become some of my favorite adults. </p>
<p>A very well endowed college. Selective. Iowa may not have oceans or mountains, but we do have some great colleges!</p>
<p>@puurples, Grinnell isn’t well known among the ‘lay people’ because it’s small and isn’t a big sports power, but it has immense academic prestige. No, the average person in California doesn’t know what the heck Grinnell is. The average person also isn’t judging graduate school applications. Grinnell is incredibly well respected in academia, producing the 7th highest rate of future PhDs in the country. Statistically, you have better chances with grad school as a Grinnell alum than as a Harvard alum. Grinnell is one of several small, prestigious LACs that produce a disproportional number of academics, along with Carleton, Reed, Harvey Mudd, etc.</p>
<p>All of this information has been super helpful. Thank you everyone!
Can anyone speak to ‘reputations’ of dorms? Ideally, I’d like a dorm that isn’t a ‘party’ dorm, but isn’t substance-free. Is this wishful thinking on my part? Any suggestions? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>@Stagemanagement, the East campus dorms are generally quieter than the North and South Campus dorms, especially the ones that are further north like Rathje. There are some sub-free dorms and a gender neutral dorm on East, as well as a few normal dorms. As an added bonus, East has the newest buildings, so they’re all air-conditioned and a lot of the rooms are bigger. The biggest drawback is that East is pretty far from the academic buildings, JRC, and especially the library/Bucksbaum, so you have to walk more. Also, the buildings have a distinct ‘limestone horror’ appearance, lol.</p>
<p>North is closer to the gym, Mac field, the tennis courts, etc. so a lot of athletes are in North. Parties and substances are fairly common, but less so than South. Air conditioning varies. IMO Younker is the best North campus dorm since it’s less than thirty feet from the academic buildings, right next to the JRC, and still fairly close to both the athletic facilities and the library. It’s the most convenient dorm, though it’s also probably the loudest of the North campus dorms.</p>
<p>South is closer to the library and Bucksbaum, but its real reputation is for stoners and parties. Pretty self-explanatory. I hear Cleveland is the worst (or best) of the party dorms. A lot of the buildings on South are really old, but it’s still probably the most popular place on campus, especially the pits.</p>
<p>“limestone horror”? Take a look here to see a picture the East Campus dorm, by Architect William Rawn Associates, which I think is gorgeous: [Grinnell</a> College - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“Grinnell College - Wikipedia”>Grinnell College - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I love the “pretty far from the academic buildings.” For Grinnell, yes, but in terms of real distance?? Ah, but I understand. I recall hitchhiking to a class in college that was probably 1/4 of a mile from my dorm…</p>
<p>I think that the East dorms in and of themselves are fine looking, but I have to confess that I prefer the red brick Gothic buildings in general for the campus aesthetic.</p>
<p>stagemanagement–unless things have changed, first year students don’t get to choose a dorm. You can request sub-free and you might get it. My son’s first year, there was not enough room in the existing sub-free dorm(s) so they put the overflow on one floor of a non-sub-free dorm. That worked fine. By second year, you’ll have more choice and you’ll have developed preferences by then.</p>
<p>@bethievt, there’s a different procedure for freshmen. You’re right in that they don’t get to do room draw in April, but they do get to express a preference for dorms on their roommate form. If there’s still room left in the dorm after the upperclassmen room draw, the freshmen get in the dorm they selected a preference for. I’d assume a lottery system is used if more freshmen want in a dorm than there are rooms left in said dorm.</p>
<p>@M’s Mom, that’s kind of a joke. They look fine, it’s just that they’re rather different from the other dorms and stick out.</p>
<p>Thanks for the correction, Kudryavka. Some of my “information” is already the stuff of ancient history.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help! I think I’ll request one of the dorms in East Campus. :)</p>
<p>Here’s another answer to “Why Grinnell?” If you have an interest in politics, then living in Iowa in about two years is going to get really interesting as prospective candidates start coming to the state in preparation for 2016… Don’t forget that for many, Iowa is where this journey begins…</p>
<p>Can anyone here tell me what’s “Block Party”?</p>
<p>Block Party is the end of the year party at Grinnell. It’s the second biggest party of the year after 10/10.</p>
<p>Time to bump this for the potential applicants</p>