andreaaaaaa

bethievt and M's Mom, you guys seem like Grinnell experts. so, i was wondering, does you know if/how Grinnell recalculates GPAs? last year, i got a C in sports med, which is an elective class. do you think that would affect my chances?

M's Mom

Flattery will do it every time! But seriously, a lot of this is just having been around the block a few times. I don't know how they recalc GPAs, but I have to believe that it takes more than a single C to knock you out of the running at all but the most competitive places, assuming everything else lines up. You might also want to explain the C if there's a good reason (not an excuse-you know the diff, I'm sure).

andreaaaaaa

Right. Well, my dad died during the summer before my junior year, so my junior year in general was not as strong as my freshman and sophomore years. My GPA went from a 3.85 - 3.9ish freshman and sophomore years to a 3.5 - 3.6ish my junior year. My overall GPA is about a 3.72 right now (unweighted).

Out of a total of 13 grades during my junior year, I had one C, one B-, three Bs, and one B+. The other 7 grades were a mixture of A and A-. Five of those grades are from community college classes, five are from AP classes, and three are from regular classes.

Also, I think it helps that I am doing better during my senior year. I just got my college grades back, and they are three As and one A-. Hopefully that will at least somewhat make up for my lackluster junior year. What do you think?

bethievt

andreeaaaaa

We don't know, but the Grinnell people we've met have been just the best. If this school is a major first choice for you, let them know. Of course, the death of your Dad would have completely thrown your life into turmoil. Your guidance counselor should address this so you don't have to unless you want to. I wish I could give you a hug right now. My Dad died when I was 21 and that was way too soon. So sorry for your loss.

ilk07

i have been falling in love with grinnell, and i was just wondering...
what is grinnell, Iowa like? do the town and school have a good relationship? and do kids often go into town for fun/ what is there to do? just curious

andreaaaaaa

kids mostly stay on campus for fun. there are a ton of campus events and most of them are free. there's not much to do in the town, but larger cities like Iowa City are not incredibly far away. you can look at this website to get an idea of the restaurants in town, and stuff like that.

thanks, I am sorry for your loss as well.

so, how did your son handle this essay - Please share with us how you first learned about Grinnell. (500 chars)? the real answer for me would be college mail/googling, but that seems pretty bland. I am not sure what to write.

mythmom

Tell the truth, but tell it well. The voice of the writer is all. One could make something quite exciting, funny, specific, or all of those about opening a mailing and falling in love with a school.

Hey, I fell in love with Vassar's type face.

My S wrote he learned about UChicago from his mom and was accepted.

Exercise your voice. That's where the individuality comes in. Think of how many sopranos have sung the same aria. Boring? Not at all.

bethievt

andreaaaaaa

He just told the truth--always the best policy and even more so on a college app. And even more than that on a housing form. As mythmom says, the truth can be interesting. You did your research and what you found intrigues you--and why. They want to know why you are interested in them. I'm pretty sure I initially found Grinnell in the Fiske Guide and their description of the students sounded just like my son, so I suggested he read about it and he also thought it sounded right up his alley. We found some local alums to talk to and they were lyrical about the school--and were also some of the smartest people anywhere. We visited the campus and loved it, etc. The truth will set you free.

ilk07

Tiny town, VERY rural and agricultural, though with a hip little coffee place and a few nice restaurants. It's all about the campus, which is loaded with exciting people and activities. My son says he hardly has time for computer games anymore because there's always something more interesting going on (this is probably true of any good college, but people might not expect it of a tiny campus surrounded by cornfields). I think the relationship between the college and the town is pretty good. The students do a lot of tutoring of little kids in town and there are other cross-over activities.

M's Mom

On the "How did you first learn...", S was positively terse: He found it in "The Hidden Ivies," then read more in Fiske. It took one sentence-no essay at all.

He did a lot more research after that, but since they said 'first learn,' he took that to mean that the question was market research on Grinnell's part on how people find out about them rather than a chance to sell himself. Of course, since he visited, interviewed, met the rep when they came to his school, etc...there were many other opportunities for him to express interest.

xALTRUISTx

M's Mom...I love you.

jk

Thanks. You're a physician...I mean...philanthropist...I mean...lifesaver.

M's Mom

I'm bringing this thread back because, now that S is there (and loving it), I want to make sure Grinnell gets the good press it deserves. In true mid-western form, Grinnell does a mediocre job of promoting themselves-something the president, Russell Osgood, has acknowledged and is working on.

I also know that some of the review books that describe Grinnell are seriously out of date: For example there is one that grades the food at Grinnell as a 'D' but the review was written before the new student center was opened and the menus overhauled. A lot of the information in the review is seriously out of date. That leads me to believe that information in the other reviews that they put out isn't up to date either and can't be relied upon.

bethievt

I totally agree with you M's Mom. My son is even happier there this year than last. It really is a great place and is so unpretentious, from the president on down, that it may be under-valued by some. I'm really grateful for their large endowment in these tough economic times too!

mhny

Another happy parent chiming in here -- my daughter is ectstatic with her first year at Grinnell. Just saw her off at the airport after fall break. I'm sad to see her go, but also happy that she's returning to a place she already loves so much. Every single aspect of the experience: academics, friends, extra activities, work study -- all are even better than we had expected. What a jewel of a school!
A particular relief to us, her parents, has been that she finds the academic work very challenging but less brutal and more rewarding than what went on in her absurdly competetive high school.
Would like to add, for those choosing between Oberlin and Grinnell, that music performance is very strong. My daughter was adamant that she wanted to keep doing music, at highest level possible for her, but did not want a conservatory; I think she wouldn't have had much chance to keep playing and singing at Oberlin -- thank you AGAIN Grinnell.

waxfam

mhny, you could be writing my daughter's story as well - ecstatic with her first year at Grinnell, academics challenging but less brutal than ridiculously competitive HS, passionate about singing but did not want a conservatory...and did I mention LOVES Grinnell? She actually sent an email to the new head of guidance at her HS extolling the wonders of Grinnell (she was the only student to apply last year, and the first to attend in many, many yrs)

hornet

I'll make it three happy first year parents. D also turned down Oberlin as well as three other similar top LACs. She's a violinist and chose Grinnell because she felt, at her level, her chances of studying violin with someone other than another undergraduate would be slim at Oberlin. I will add that D was a fairly serious musician, played for 11 years, won scholarships and attended a couple of national summer festivals; she was just not the level of Oberlin's conservatory.

The peer support is fantastic at Grinnell. D attended a highly competitive, class rank/grade conscious high school where there was little academic camaraderie. Grinnell has been the opposite-everyone works hard together and she has not seen the cheating that plagued her high school. Grinnell is "the gem of the prairie!