<p>I am a high school junior from Minnesota and am undecided what my major will be.
I have a 3.95 unweighted gpa and am enrolled in AP literature.
Next year I plan on taking AP calc, College in the Schools Spanish, AP English, CIS physics, and College in the Schools political science.
I got a 28 ACT score and plan on taking it again.
I have been involved in a church committee (only youth member), which was 25 meetings in a year and 2-3 hours each.
I am involved in youth group, and have been on 3 mission trips across the USA and Canada.
Natl Honor Society junior year
Science olympiad
Tennis captain, tennis for 4 years, soccer for 3
Community service junior president
Tennis board junior member</p>
<p>Greenbay23. Your stats look good and you might consider reaching out to the tennis coach, even if youāre not sure if you want to play. Our experience was having the sport connection helped us get connected to others at the college.</p>
<p>This is one of the most enjoyable threads Iāve ever read on CC. I, too, have a quirky, unpretentious East Coast kid who thinks heād prefer a LAC to a larger university and will most likely be applying to Grinnell next fall, along with Macalester, Oberlin and possibly Carleton and Kenyon. At this point, he thinks he wants a school in more of an urban/close-in suburban setting, but I think he needs to check Grinnell out, and he has expressed interest in the school. Heās probably going to major in math or a related subject, but heās a true theater geek and would really like to be able to continue performing in college if not minor in theater. </p>
<p>Weāll have visited both Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges before the end of junior year since, in addition to being fantastic schools, they are standing in as surrogates for our āsmall, LACs with national/international presenceā as we begin this process. Since we probably wonāt be making our Grand Midwestern College Tour until summer (not an ideal time, I know, but itās probably the best we can do), and many of you have children who have looked at H & S, are there any similarities you would note between the students at those schools (which I realize differ from each other) and the ones at Grinnell? </p>
<p>Are there any noteworthy differences between their course offerings and campuses? Swarthmore has engineering, which is a great bonus, but Iām not sure DS wants to study engineering. (Weāre visiting Lafayette College on Presidentsā Day to see another school that offers engineering in a LAC setting. Lafayette is probably a safer choice for DS, but it may be too conservative for him. Weāll see!) </p>
<p>Also if you missed it and have any interest, Grinnell alum Robert Noyce was profiled on PBSās āThe American Experienceā last week and it included a segment about his time at Grinnell. Very inspiring and it just added to the schoolās mystique for me:</p>
<p>[Video:</a> Silicon Valley | Watch American Experience Online | PBS Video](<a href=āhttp://video.pbs.org/video/2332168287/]Video:ā>http://video.pbs.org/video/2332168287/)</p>
<p>Many thanks to all of you for your wonderful contributions here!</p>
<p>Lucieānot sure what Iāve posted upthread, but my son applied to Grinnell, Carleton, Macalester, Oberlin, Reed, Pomona, Vassar, Haverford, Goucher and Lewis & Clark, all great schools. He was fortunate to be accepted to all and chose Grinnell. He did not want a conservative place. Unconventional thinking was important to him, but also small classes, great profs, serious students. He didnāt have a major in mind, but I was expecting history and/or French, just based on his interests. Any of the above schools would have been fine for these majors. What he didnāt want was preppiness, a strong Greek presence or a big sports scene.</p>
<p>bethievt, thanks for the info! Youāre one of my favorite posters on CC because your son sounds so much like mine temperamentally and your approach to looking at schools closely mirrors what Iām trying to do with our search. </p>
<p>DS is at Lafayette as we speak with his dad (his younger brother is sick so I didnāt go). It sounds pretty cool on paper, although considerably more conservative than a Grinnell of Haverford. (Interestingly, the new president of Haverford is coming from Lafayette and his replacement, Lafayetteās first female president, is coming to the school from Middlebury, so Iām hoping there will be a continued de-emphasis on the Greek scene there, etc.)</p>
<p>Can you talk at all about the commute to Grinnell from VT and how hard that is on your son and the rest of your family? DH had a major health issue last year, and weāre somewhat nervous about DS1 being too far from home in the event of another family emergency. </p>
<p>Many thanks!</p>
<p>This thread is old but still contains a lot of useful information. Some of it may be out of date. Still, worth the bump because Grinnell was such a great experience for S that it deserves a closer look by those who want a LAC experience.</p>
<p>Anyone know something about CS at Grinnell? How good is the program?</p>
<p>Bumping this thread for those of you trying to make tough choices in the next few weeks. It was this thread that confirmed my thinking that Grinnell would be an excellent fit for my son. (Sadly, the school did not agree!)</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone in the high school Class of 2014 making tough choices between now and May 1!</p>
As people start looking at for schools for the coming application cycle, this thread has a lot of useful info on Grinnell.
This is new:
āHarvard Business School Expands Online Initiative to Liberal Arts Collegesā
āHBS says it has reached agreements with five elite liberal arts colleges . . . [Hamilton, Williams, Wellesley, Grinnell and Carleton]. The business school had previously formed a partnership with Amherst College, and the online program is already available to Harvard undergraduates.ā
(WGBH News)
Hi
Unlike the majority of the people who have replied on this thread, I am a senior in high school who applied to Grinnell. I think it is amazing how you guys are all so involved in your childās college search process. Both my parents went to college in a different country are new to this whole process, so I have to do the research/work on my own. This thread was really helpful for me to find out more about Grinnell especially because I have not been able to visit myself.
I know that I am more of an LAC type of person rather than a large university type, and I am applying to approximately 15 liberal arts colleges. After doing some research and interviewing at other liberal arts colleges, I have found that they are pretty much all the same, making it extremely difficult for me to decide which college is the best fit for me (mostly because I canāt visit.)
I want to attend medical school after undergrad, and that is playing a major role in helping me decide what college I should attend. Do any of you know about Grinnell Pre-Medicine or any sort of guidance to help me get into medical school? Other than Grinnell, I am seriously considering Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, and Rhodes. I was wondering if you guys also had insight on those colleges as well.
Thank you so much!
@SoccerGirl: Grinnell receives recognition for its premedical opportunities in this online list: āThe Expertsā Choice: Colleges with Great Pre-med Programs.ā
SoccerGirl, S was pre-med at Grinnell (is now in his 4th year of med school). The very strong sciences were excellent prep, he got to know the faculty very well so his committee letter was especially strong (several interviewers commented on it, so the committee at Grinnell clearly knows how to write a winner), and he still had time outside of class-work to be a Div III athlete and have a serious girlfriend. So the work/life balance is doable if you are organized. He worked very hard (and still does, by the way - medical school is a long slog) but he has no regrets.
Things that impressed me were the level of cooperation between students who were pre-med: notes shared when someone missed classes, lab results shared by other teams (with the profās blessing) when a lab crashed, Chinese food out with the entire org chem class on Thurs nights, course review prior to exams taught by a an advanced student, etcā¦
I expect the experience of pre-meds at other well-regarded LACs, like those you mentioned, will also be positive. So find the school that fits your personality and budgetā¦Good luck!
Figured Iād bump this up again with many high school students, like my daughter, on the verge of making a decision. What are great read this thread is.
We are going out to the accepted students program on 4/10-4/11 and are excited to see the school.
I visited Grinnell for the first time last August when we brought Dās stuff out (sheād flown out a week early for the Grinnell Science Project). She flew on her own for an accepted studentsā weekend. I was blown away by just about everything. Our older kid went to Carleton, and I was mourning it a bit, but no more. The first nightāwhile the GSP kids ate with President Kington), H and and I ate at Relish, a terrific restaurant (the roasted red beets with my meal were perfection) and then walked the two blocks to the campus.
The town is quaint and the Victorian houses that surrounds the campus are lovely. We stayed in one thatās been turned into a B&B. Hope you enjoy your visit, @lexluthor5!
Iām so glad you found this thread, @lexluthor5, before you and your DD visit. Sadly, I never got to because my son was wait-listed the year he applied. Itās on my bucket list, however. I know of a very happy junior there now. Canāt wait to hear what you and your daughter think. Safe travels!
What a wonderful thread this is. As the parent of a prospective admitted student I found it informative and I am going to make sure my D reads as well. We couldnāt make either of the scheduled fly-in events, but she is going on her own next week for a sleepover and all day visit, including classes. It will be her first visit, unfortunately neither my H or I will be accompanying her, but I am crossing my fingers she will like it as much as I think she will based on all Iāve read in this thread and in others in the Grinnell forum. She is fortunate to have some very nice options with comparable aid/costs, but there is something about this school in Iowa that appeals to me. I canāt wait to hear what she (and others who have posted about visiting above) think after their visits.
@LucieTheLakie @limner We had a great weekend out in Grinnell and loved the school. My D will be part of the Class of 2020!
We spent Saturday afternoon/night in Des Moines and took in some of the sites there and left for Grinnell Sunday morning.
Most business in town were closed on Sunday, which I wasnāt expecting. We did eat lunch at the coffee shop in town that the students go to. Cute place, the guy running the deli in the back was so nice. We had dinner at Relish and dessert at Dari Barn on Sunday night. Seems like the town has enough to offer if they feel the need to get off campus for a bit.
The campus is very nice. Tons of open space. Buildings are in good shape and thereās definitely a mix of old and new. They really need the JRC. Without that central building, Iām sure things much have been a lot different. The study spaces in the library and Noyce look like some very comfortable and scenic places to work. Dining hall looked nice, they kept it clean and the food was good. The dorm that we saw was very large and the one my D stayed in was even larger, she said. She loved all of the people she met, both students and prospects. Thatās the main reason sheās picked Grinnell. They all seem just like regular kids. No one impressing anyone else, everyone just comfortable in their own skin. Definitely saw some colored hair and piercings, but it seemed like a pretty small minority. All of the parents we talked to were very nice as well. We also, as parents, were very impressed with the administration. We definitely got the impression that, if the student wants to do something, whether it be a special major or some wild idea that involves traveling to someplace far, they will figure out a way to make it happen for the student, as long itās something they deem worthwhile. I guess thatās some the value of the large endowment per student that they have. I wasnāt exactly clear on who gets funded for what though, but it did sound like there might be some student funding for some travel/lodging for their MAPs and non-paid internships.
Iāve already booked travel for August, September and October. While weāll never get reasonably priced direct flights from New York and the stop will be a bit of a pain and maybe worse at some point, at least Southwest flights to/from NYC are reasonably priced (low $300s RT on average). Hotels and rental cars are easy to get and reasonably priced as well if booked early. So, easy to book and not overly expensive to travel there for us, but have to hope the weather cooperates. Also, Des Moines is such a small airport, itās very easy to get in and out of, plus Iād think there would be very few delays due to traffic (like at NYC LaGuardia on the other end).
We are all thrilled to be part of the Grinnell family.
@lexluthor5 - thanks for the update and congratulations on your daughterās decision to go to Grinnell. My daughter is at Grinnell today having flown in yesterday and spending the night. I canāt wait to hear about her impressions, though from the little sheās texted us it appears sheās having a wonderful time. I especially appreciated hearing about your impressions as neither my husband nor I could accompany her on this visit. We did attend an open house for admitted students here in Chicago and I was impressed by how many alumni were present and how positive they were about their experience at Grinnell, I donāt think you can fake the kind of genuine affection they have for their alma mater. I know Grinnell is a top choice, we shall see if we are making that drive to Iowa in August . . .
@ChicagoMom62 I can echo everything @lexluthor5 said. Except that my kid has two more visits to other schools before making up his mind. After the NYC info session and our visit this weekend, I have my fingers crossed for Grinnell though.