<p>Everything I have read about Grinnell sounds like a perfect place for my laid-back, intellectual, out-of-the-box thinking DS. The only thing that is holding him back from going out for a visit is that he LOVES the outdoors and enjoys all that that entails. He is an Eagle Scout, volunteer fireman and search and rescue, rescue scuba diver, wilderness first responder, and has climbed a few of the highest peaks in CA. What is all of you guys opinion? Should he apply or go back to his other choices he is considering.... Colorado College, Whitman, Sewanee, St Lawrence, Reed, Lewis& CLark, Warren Wilson... I actually think he would fall in love with Grinnell if he visited, but just don't know since we live in CA.</p>
<p>Hmmm, I was surprised that no one waded in here. Let me qualify this by saying that I know nothing about Grinnell, other than the fact that my son had no interest. We did visit St Lawrence, Lewis and Clark, Reed and my DS is a freshman at Whitman. My S does not have the outdoor experience that yours has, but he wants to get more and outdoor programs and access to the great outdoors were important to him. He liked St Lawrence and it certainly has an active outdoor program, but he wanted more of an academic challenge and the town and winters weren’t attractive to him. He knew immediately that Reed would be too all consuming academically and he wanted SOME free time to play intramurals, ski and rock climb. He visited Lewis and Clark on a Saturday, so didn’t get the full experience, but wasn’t over-awed by the students he met, our kids can make some snap decisions that never go away.</p>
<p>At Whitman he started out the freshman year going on what they call a Scramble. For kids that are interested, they offer a 7-8 day outdoor experience. There are different groups for hiking, backpacking (on trail and off), sea and river kayaking, rock climbing, etc. The groups are small and led by 2 or 3 upperclassmen who are part of the outdoor program and have wilderness first responder training. There are loads of opportunities for kids with outdoor skills to lead groups throughout the year. A person qualified and interested, can get work study jobs in the outdoor rental shop.</p>
<p>The school facilitates two Wilderness First Responder classes a year. My son is signing up for January’s class because he’s interested in becoming a Scramble leader. That said. he really picked Whitman because of the gregarious student body and the rigorous academics. </p>
<p>We looked at Warren Wilson on paper, but the retention and graduation stats weren’t great. I think that’s a place for a very particular type of student. My kid is too mainstream.</p>
<p>My husband and I were fascinated by a California school called Deep Springs. Your self -sufficient, intellectual, outdoorsy son might be a perfect fit. If you haven’t already, look it up.</p>
<p>You should probably post this in the parent’s forum, sometimes the college forums are eerily quiet for long stretches. Have you looked at Bowdoin? It was one of my son’s favorites, great academics, great outdoor opportunities. The tricky part is that there is no merit aid, only need based aid, so if financial aid is important (as it was with us) it might not work. Your son EC’s are stellar and will count a lot at the right place. My son got a great scholarship at Whitman.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to Grinnell’s outdoor recreation program. [Grinnell</a> Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP) - Grinnell Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP) | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/athletics/gorp]Grinnell”>http://www.grinnell.edu/athletics/gorp)
If you want more specific info and don’t get any feedback from someone who knows here, then ask admission if they’ll give you the name of a GORP leader to talk to. </p>
<p>Looks like you don’t want East Coast, but if you do, then all the Maine schools (Bowdoin, Colby, Bates) plus Williams, Middlebury, maybe Skidmore.</p>
<p>My son wouldn’t be described as outdoorsy, though he did go on the pre-orientation canoe trip (GOOP) and loved it. I’m sure there are outdoorsy kids there, but it honestly isn’t the first descriptor that pops into my head when I think “Grinnellian”.</p>
<p>I agree with Bethievt. Some schools-like Bowdoin, Bates and Colby in the NE-are well known for their outdooring programs. It’s part of the history and culture of these schools and, if I recall from our college visits, some 60% of their student bodies participate actively. Not true of Grinnell. It’s surrounded by farm and prairie, which doesn’t lend itself to mountain climbing or scuba diving. Palatial sports facilities-but not outdooring.</p>
<p>If that’s really important to your son’s happiness then some of the other schools might be a better fit.</p>
<p>Bopambo… Thanks so much for all of your info… I have followed a couple of your threads on the Whitman forum and so happy that your DS is so happy at Whitman. I know he will LOVE Whitman. We actually were supposed to visit this Spring but there was a huge storm and we couldn’t get over the pass. We started in Portland and visited a few school there first. He LOVED Reed, but I know it will be too intense for my DS as well. He will also want plenty of free time to backpack, rock climb, etc. He kinda had the same opinion as your S on Lewis and Clark, thought it was okay, but not overly thrilled, hated Willamette. The only problem I see about Whitman is that I’ve heard they are sticklers for high GPA’s. My DS has about a W 3.6. UW 3.2. He goes to a VERY rigorous top college prep in CA where 50% of the kids go to top 20. He has very high test scores. On his schools Naviance he it looks good, but hard to really tell because of his lop-sided stats. We plan on going back up to visit this year. </p>
<p>As far as the Maine schools, I know that they all have great outdoor programs, he’s just not sure. He doesn’t want a preppy, Jock culture. He is more the hippy, intellectual, laid-back, flip-flop wearing kid. Loves discussing ideas. He owns and a kilt for god’s sake. LOL!!! He will visiting some East coast school this Spring. He will be at a school called The Mountain School in Vermont for his Spring semester so a good place to start. He will definitely apply to Whitman and if he gets in I hope he goes. It’s a lot closer that all the way across the country.</p>
<p>I think that he should apply to Grinnell and make his decision after the letters all come in. That’s what my S did. He never visited until Accepted Students Day. Looking at the decision in spreadsheet pluses and minuses, Grinnell would never have won out over his other choices (eg., for location, choice of major.), but the fit with the students and sense of community won the day. </p>
<p>It may be that at Grinnell there are other outdoor activities that he would become involved with and do the mountain stuff on his breaks and summers. Rock climbing, canoeing, caving, flat tracking, etc. sound like what he would do out there. He may not find a big outdoor crowd, but I find it hard to believe that he wouldn’t have at least some people to do this stuff with! </p>
<p>The Grinnell supplement is one of the easier ones. Just short answers. I don’t know if they have the mascot question again, but that was a really fun one for my S!</p>
<p>I also think he should send a few applications to the Eastern schools and then visit if he gets in. Bates and Bowdoin do not have onerous supplements, either. He should really consider Middlebury. There is the prep, jock element for sure, but also the 'granola" bunch heavy duty, too.</p>
<p>SDoncc… Thanks so much for all your advice. I think, like what happened to your DS, that he will put fit above everything else, including high peaks. He has said that if he loves the academics and student body than he would be willing to compromise on the outdoor stuff… to an extent. I also think that he tends to gravitate towards outdoorsy people. It seems like Grinnelians?? would foot the bill there. We will for sure visit Midd this Spring since we will be so close. For some reason he doesn’t think he will like it, I don’t know why. We are also visiting Bates, Bard, St. Lawrence, Wes, and maybe Conn. College. He has Carleton on his list too, but don’t know if we will make it all the way to MN. I think I will take your advice and just apply to Grinnell and some of the other schools that look good, but maybe won’t have time to visit. Then if he happens to get in, go out for accepted day. We are hoping to visit Colorado College this Fall. It also seems like a paradise for my DS, and he loves the idea of the block plan…plenty of time to enjoy the outdoors, and from what I’ve heard, sounds like it’s full of his people.</p>
<p>He might be interested in College of the Atlantic in Maine Green Mountain in Vermont and Prescott in Arizona. Once he attends the Mountain School program, he’ll get ideas from the students in his semester. He might find other kilt lovers at Macalester, but the reputation there is more international than outdoors. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t dismiss Grinnell at all as a school that might hold his interest. There’s a prairie research center off campus and the campus facilities are among the best in the country. I would second the advice to apply and then visit.</p>
<p>I would take Conn College off the list. Not outdoorsy and a few hours from mountains. Strong in the arts, but didn’t strike me as a good fit otherwise for someone looking for quirky and intellectual. Also a big prep contingent, I think.</p>
<p>Ya, I think Conn. College is going to get the axe, as is Bates…I just read in the new Kaplan Newsweek College issue that Bates is rated # 4 in “Stocked With Jocks” category. Bowdoin #5. One of the reasons my DS loved Reed is because they had no Varsity sports and no Greek life. I kind of thought that Bowdoin was pretty jock oriented, but didn’t know about Bates. Maybe he will have to skip Maine altogether. Darn… they seem to have the best outdoor programs though.</p>
<p>SDoncc… Just wondering from your screen name if you are from San Diego? That’s where I’m from btw… no worries if you don’t want to disclose. One quick question. I think I read somewhere that your S had some lop-sided stats. Do you think my DS with high tests scores but not so high grades 3.2 UW, 3.6 W, stands a chance? Great EC’s with tons of leadership.</p>
<p>I don’t think you should measure all schools that have varsity sports with the same yardstick. LACs with Division III athletics are not the same as state universities with Division I sports. My son was griping about Whitman because the only people who show up for the varsity games are the close friends of the athletes. He was accepted at Bowdoin and it was the same there. Kids participate in sports at these colleges because it’s fun, most aren’t given athletic scholarships. A lot of these schools don’t have athletic scholarships. </p>
<p>Also you can have greek life that is community service oriented (Whitman) or party dominated (Bucknell) and everything in between. St Lawrence has a much bigger sports presence than the others, Division I hockey, believe me, they are proud of that.</p>
<p>OK, now that I think about it, maybe you mean that your son doesn’t care for the people who want to play varsity sports, whether they’re super competitive or not. Jocks are jocks, right? I think that the student body at Whitman and Bowdoin are healthy and active, on the courts and on the mountains. They’re also intelligent.</p>
<p>There isn’t any place like Reed, it’s completely unique. My son didn’t love it like your son did, he instantly saw that he needed less intellect and more physical action in his world. He loves the outdoors but he also plays sports. He loved that Whitman students love to play intramural and club sports, he also loves the outdoor program and the academics. </p>
<p>One of his good friends from high school is going to Reed and you can quickly see the difference in these young men. My S is gregarious, social and a joiner. His friend is more independent socially, having a few really close friends and lives a life of the mind, he’s a very deep thinker.</p>
<p>bopambo… yes, my S is like your S’s friend. Very independent socially, a few close friends and lives the life of the mind… most of the time. He is actually a Varsity swimmer and played Water Polo for a few years and would enjoy some intramural sports but he really just doesn’t gravitate to the jock type. He very passive and not competitive and would rather just pack a bag and climb a mountain by himself. He is planning on taking a gap year and travel the world by all by himself… I think he is crazy!!! LOL. He is as unique as Reed. I think that Reed would be perfect except the die hard academics. He loves to learn just hates to be taught. I think that having DiV III sports would be okay as long as he could find his people in the outing club.</p>
<p>I wish you all the best. It sounds like he’ll make his own unique path. Just curious, did you look up Deep Springs?</p>
<p>5boys, I am from East Coast. I will pm you.</p>
<p>Yes, I did look up Deer Springs a while ago because it sounded like a place my S would like. He didn’t like the all boy thing. He was also looking at the Coast Guard Academy but nixed that too for the same reason… also just wants a regular college experience. DS does sound like an amazing place for the right kid though… maybe just too competitive for my S.</p>
<p>5boys, you say that “I think that Reed would be perfect except the die hard academics.” Just bear in mind that Grinnell is also known for very intense academics and a tough workload. I don’t know how much stock to put in the various college rankings but both Reed and Grinnell are regulars on the lists of schools where students study the most.</p>