Elpsaa
April 26, 2025, 11:17am
6
Yours appears to be a pretty common dilemma. If you search “Carleton Grinnell” you’ll find students every year with this question, including another potential math major this year. Perhaps some of their questions and the responses will help you decide, though the lack of debt at Grinnell should be a large factor if everything else is equal You may be able to message the other 2029 student and discuss their thought process if they have already made a decision.
Hi all,
My S24 has been accepted at three of his top LAC choices - Carleton, Grinnell and Haverford. He is an international student and while he has attended virtual events (and an in-person informal meet with Grinnell in our city), he has not had a chance to visit any of the campuses.
He is not sure of the eventual major, but is interested in Poli Sci with Philosophy. Rankings are not uniform (US news ranks Carleton and Grinnell much higher than the ranking given to them by Forbes). Other factors that we have thought of are
(1) Weather - while all 3 places will be much colder than where we live, he does not think this is a big factor for decision making.
(2) Location - Haverford seems closest to a city. Carleton is about 45 mins from a city while Grinnell seems a little more isolated.
(3) Academics and job prospects - Carleton and Grinnell seem to send more students to PhD programmes. While my son is not sure if he will pursue a graduate degree immediately after undergrad, what a…
I’ve been accepted to both Carleton and Grinnell and I’m super psyched!! I’m in love with both of them, but I don’t know which school I would be happier at. From what I’ve seen, really the only differences are Carleton’s trimester system and the overall “vibe” of the student bodies. I can’t really get a feel for the vibe, though, due to COVID.
If anyone has any experience, thoughts, or opinions with one or both of these colleges I would really appreciate it. Thanks!!
Hello everyone,
I’m a student fortunate to have been admitted to both Carleton and Grinnell for the class of 2029. I’m really excited but also feeling torn and would love to hear from parents who have navigated similar decisions.
I toured Carleton and loved the student culture and campus (the arb was a great touch!). I haven’t visited Grinnell yet but plan to soon. One major factor is that Grinnell has offered significantly better financial aid—about 2/3 the cost of Carleton. While I’ve long dreamed of attending Carleton, I’ve already connected with some admitted students at Grinnell, and the financial difference is hard to ignore.
I plan to study mathematics but also want to explore other disciplines. I’m also considering graduate school, so I’m curious about any differences between the schools in terms of academic preparation and grad school placement, especially for math or related fields.
For those who have been through this decision process before, how did you or your student …
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