Grinnell College Top Questions

I had absolutely no idea what I wanted from my college experience and that was the reason I applied to seventeen schools! Understanding what you're looking for is the first major step to finding an institution that matches your needs. To get closer to knowing that, I would suggest sitting down and thinking very hard about what you want your daily life to look like. Do you want to belong to a club or start your own? Do you want to have intellectual conversations over lunch? Do you want to be lost in a crowded auditorium or do you want to stand out in a discussion? Do you like to live in a city or somewhere with a small town feel? Whether it's a diverse student body, the best lab equipment, small student-faculty ratios, great libraries, or a prominent Greek system, it's important to think about what you imagine your daily routines to be. After that, nothing can fully replace a traditional campus visit to see how the school , professors, and students seem and whether it could be a good match for you.

In the process of choosing "the right college" that phrase should not be employed. No single right place exists, and pinning all your hopes on one is folly. Several problems include: 1.) if either the school rejects you, or you do not find it in the first place, wherever you end up will end up will seem tarnished before you're there. 2.) even if you are lucky enough to attend your "ideal college," it may not be like its brochure or your visit; it might change. For instance, my own school has erected many buildings in my four years. 3.) the things we decide makes a school perfect, are not the things we should look at. If you love a school because the students are smart (e.g., they scored higher than you on their SATs) you will probably spend your time feeling inadequate. It is like salivating over the gorgeous dress two sizes too small: you might force it on, but it will never look as good as something that fits. Instead, look for engaged professors, a teaching philosophy matching your learning style, and don't think twice over a financial aid package keeping you out of debt.

Look for what interests you in a school. Think about the types of social settings you like, the sizes of classes you'd like to have and the level of academic rigor you like. Always remember, where ever you pick, you can make the most of it. There is no ONE right school for anybody. You have a right type of school. Find that, and once you do, you will feel at home.

Pay attention to the surrounding area as well as the college itself - you're choosing a place to live for four years, not only a school. Once you start at school, take advantage of the community and the things it offers - get a public library card, go to off-campus coffeeshops and restaurants, and make friends with members of the community. You could even consider joining community volunteer organizations, such as tutoring kids at a local school. It gives you a place to go when you need to get away from the college atmosphere and valuable experience and exposure to people of varying ages and generations (which undergraduate institutions tend to lack). You need to find a place that suits your academic needs, but also one that provides access to non-academic opportunities.

Firstly, one must remember that colleges and universities are trying to recruit students, so they may make the school sound a little more squeaky clean than it is actually. Overnight campus stays, as many may know, are the best way to get to know the campus. However, I speak through the perspective of someone who both visited campus as a prospective student and hosted prospective students as a current student when I say not even those can reflect the campus with total accuracy (for example, I visited campus at a time when students were grieving the loss of a classmate). Keep an open mind above everything else, and consult as many sources as possible that reflect STUDENT opinion. Perhaps most importantly, though, is don't choose a campus over another because its college guidebook ratings were higher. A higher "prestigue" rating cannot stay up watching dorky Japanese horror movies with you. The secret to squeezing the most out of college is to not hold back. Don't be afraid to using the academic resources, even if you're not quite sure you need them, and don't be afraid to be you. Someone out there is almost exactly the same.

There is no substitute for going out there and seeing that school or university on the top of your list for yourself. No book or survey can give you all the answers, they can only help narrow the search. Take a weekend, schedule a visit, sit in on a class and, if you can, spend the night. You will hate yourself if you choose a school based only on its academic record or the quality of its basketball team. You want a place that you can enjoy every day., it will be your new home for the next 4 years. You wouldn't buy a car or a home without checking it out, don't take this opportunity for granted. Go and see for yourself. (And check out Grinnell.)

To find the right college, you really have to go and visit. Grinnell wasn't my first choice until I saw the campus and met some of the students. I'd suggest staying overnight in a dorm to get the feel of what student life is really like. It's hard to get an accurate feel of what the college is really like with just a guided tour. The tour guide is trying to sell it to you and your parents. An overnight stay is like test-driving a car as opposed to simply having the salesman tell you how good it is. To make the most of your college experiece, just get out and do things! Don't sit inside your dorm room eating ramen and watching movies. Join clubs, do things you love, and you're bound to meet other people like you. Take classes that look interesting but are maybe not what you're used to. Step outside your comfort zone a little, but don't go so far that you feel unsafe or you lose sight of who you are. Be yourself while at the same time branching out and widening your experience.