Grinnell College Top Questions

Grinnell is an incredible place to learn, grow, create strong friendships and unforgetable memories. Grinnell fosters a supportive community while at the same time retaining an appreciation for individuality.

Grinnell is very isolated from the rest of the world, this means we have very few distractions beyond academics and the social life. Our social life is very contained, almost every student is around on the weekends and so community is very strong mainly out of circumstance. You know everyone around you and you cannot separate yourself from them, if you are disrespectful to someone you have to deal with it for your entire time here, so there is a sort of institutionalized respect for other persons. So we are given a large amount of freedom through school policies but we end up with a strong sense of social commitment from an experiential perspective on responsibility.

When I told people I was going to Grinnell, the reactions were not all positive. People that were familiar with Grinnell's reputation encouraged my decision but still warned me that there was a lot of drinking and a lot of drug use. However, the people that only knew the stereotypes mentioned above were very concerned with my decision. I spend most of my time either in the dorms or in the JRC (Student Center). I love studying in the JRC, especially in the upper rooms. There is always a place for me to go when I need it. I also spend a lot of time in the Fitness Center where there is a wide variety of cardio machines and weights available to everyone, not just athletes, and everyone is encouraged to go.

People usually say, "Oh my goodness! You go to Cornell! What a great school!" It's pretty embarassing when I have to correct them, and then tell them it's not Cornell in New York, but Grinnell in Iowa. But hey, I don't really care, I know I'm getting a similar education. I know that anyone who has heard of Grinnell know I'm getting a good education and that's all that matters. This is a really small school, but it's nice because everyone's close. Most of my best friends are upperclassmen, there is no difference between the years. There are also no all freshmen dorms, or anything like that, everyone is friends and on the same page. Might I even say, the self-governence kicks ass. Look at Grinnell for the self-governence. It is the best thing ever, oh, that and the Grille.

The best thing about this school is its community. However, sometimes it's just too small; socially, I get stressed out way too many times. I leave campus for a day or two on the weekends, so I can get a good dose of the world outside of the Grinnellian bubble. Sometimes I wish people outside of purely academic circles have heard of this school. The one thing I don't like about this school is that people feel the need to overemphasize the "no need to conform" ideal on campus. it ends up producing a mainstream based on counter-culture, and that if you're not truly "hippie" or "nonconformist" you get looked down upon. Sometimes my friends say some of the things I do are mainstream, or conformist. It bothers me that it's a current method of self-definition; I'm perfectly content with myself being conformist or mainstream, as long as I'm happy with it. I'm not always with the mainstream, but I am also not always without it. The small size of the campus does not help with these sorts of social pressures, either.

Grinnell is a great place for people who try not to stereotype themselves because everyone enjoys being a unique individual and everyone tends to accept others. It feels like the students who end up here are the kinds of people who were well-rounded socially in high school and enjoy having many groups of friends. Tho close community that exists make students feel like a family. Students are motivated to challenge themselves academically. People like the open curriculum because it allows a student to focus on what they are most interested in, but also allows them to try new subjects here and there. Students like to get involved in lots of activities such as sports, theater, art, DAG, dancing, outdoor clubs, and many other kinds of groups. Students are actively involved in the student government and care about changing Grinnell for the better. The new buildings around campus make Grinnell look like a place to be proud of and they offer a lot resources to the students. Grinnell has a homey feel to it. Students seem comfortable and happy with their living situations, their opportunities on campus, the friends, the faculty, and the general atmosphere.

i love grinnell! the adminstration is caring and very accomidating. though a little slow to make change. i have a great job in town at a coffee-shop. the locals here are real characters...and great people.

The best thing about Grinnell is the people. Not only are they brilliant and self-motivated, they're supportive and welcoming and willing to help each other, inside and outside the classroom. The school is a great size--walking across campus, you always see people you know, but there are enough students here so that there are always new people to meet. You don't necessarily notice how small the town of Grinnell itself is, and if you've got a car or a friend with a car, Chicago, the twin cities, or even just Iowa City are close enough for a quick weekend or day trip. Grinnell's got a reputation for great academics for a reason. You WILL work hard here. It's completely manageable if you're used to AP or IB classes, but there are profs here who expect a lot, and God help you if you get two or more of them in one semester. The only thing I would change is the weather--this winter was long and atrocious, and even at the end of April it can still snow.

I love the open-curriculum and self governance. Basically Grinnell's gives you responsibility over yourself and your actions in the classroom and outside. Also, there are no RA's here or tough-ass security guards. What I'm trying to say is that no one has an eye on you simply stalking you and waiting for the minute you screw up. If you get into trouble on this campus it is because you were a dumbass and went searching for it. For example, you get in trouble for underage drinking. Yet, no one knew you were underage and consuming alcoholic beverages, instead you were being a dumbass and either drank too much and threw up everywhere, caused a scene so security came, or you got alcohol poisoning. If you notice, all of these consequences could've been avoided if you would've just had some responsibility. Hence, self-governance is badass.

I would say that Grinnell is a very unique school in that it is student-governed and also very liberal. Close-mindedness and prejudice are very uncommon on campus so it seems that when an incident occurs on campus, it seems to be a much bigger deal than it would at other places. The population of Grinnell is about 10,000 but the campus is almost like a separate town. The townspeople seem to support and appreciate the college.