Ah–I guess that is all that was in there, now that I think of it (and go back to look). Hmm…I wonder if anything else is coming.
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We are visiting April 18-19. I can’t remember if that is the first or 2nd set of dates. We’ve never been but Grinnell has made it to the top 3 for my student so we need to check it out before committing.
My husband and daughter are attending 4/11-4/12; first time to visit from PNW. It also made it to top 3! Whitman, Macalester and Grinnell are on her final list. If you’re willing to share, curious which are your top 3.
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We are headed to Whitman for an admitted student visit on Monday! 
It is a really special place but it’s not in the final 3 (at the moment) as my son is a Junior at Whitman and I think my daughter wants her own school. Grinnell, Haverford & Bryn Mawr are the top 3 for my student (at the moment). (We live on the East Coast.)
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We went to Whitman last week! How does your son like it there? Are you from the Philadelphia area? Such a crunch time…
Do we have any idea about their this year’s acceptance rate
Acceptance rate stats for the class of 2028 will likely not be available for a while, but here is an excerpt from an article published in the Scarlet & Black, the Grinnell student newspaper, dated February 12, 2024:
"After both rounds of Early Decision (ED) admissions passed in January, Grinnell has offered admission to 282 out of 828 applicants, a 34% acceptance rate. Joe Bagnoli, vice president for enrollment and dean of admission and financial aid, said that with a total target class size of 460 students, those admitted during ED will occupy around 57% of the class of 2028.
Over the past four years, Grinnell’s admission rate for ED has been over 50%, while the Regular Decision (RD) rate has averaged 14%. For the upcoming class of 2028, the ED admissions rate decreased and the overall rate, combining ED and RD, is also projected to decrease from last year’s 12.7%."
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460-282 = 178 remaining seats. Their yield last year was ~38%
So, for RD they admitted only ~470
Are we talking about 5% acceptance rate for RD. This is brutal
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Do we know how many students applied this year? My D has two good friends who applied. One was denied and one WL… Had no idea it would be so tough this year!
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It’s been tough for years. The overall acceptance rate the year my D applied (2022) was 9%. I don’t know how may applications were received for RD this year, but that info will ultimately be released.
Regular admissions is aways more competitive than early decision .
I totally agree and I certainly never implied otherwise.
At admitted student day, they said over 13k applicants and a 12% acceptance rate overall
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I am right now having trouble choosing between Grinnell and Smith. Here are my needs/wants in a school:
- a good STEM program since I may major in mathematics
- also a curriculum that allows me to explore my interests(so more open) but doesn’t force me to do things I dislike(like language)
- an accepting community! i go to a small private school where people tend to be judgy and cold, so i’d love to go somewhere students are not overly competitive with each other
- i want a somewhat good party scene since I have never been a partier but I would like the option(whether that is there, or at near by schools)
- i would really like to have a single all four years or at least for most of college
- a lot of options for clubs
- research opportunities early on for undergrads
- options to join acapella groups, take music classes/private lessons
- a culture where the students consistently go into the town/city near by(since i don’t wanna be stuck on campus all the time)
- good at supporting post-undergrad(whether that’s prepping for med school, law school, phd programs, etc. or finding a job)
- good internship opportunities
Have you made your decision yet? I was accepted to both schools and have many of the same desires. Grinnell may be best for you on all fronts, especially with the free music lessons, internship opportunities, and accepting community, but the town issue. Grinnell, Iowa, is super small, but students go into town for the cute coffee shop, restaurants, movie theater, and a few shops. All of this is walkable from campus.
Conversely, Northampton is also walkable with cute boutique-like shops, coffee and ice cream places, and restaurants. Four other colleges are connected by bus to Smith, making getting truly off campus more likely. I’ve visited both schools several times, and I felt like Smith was more intense than Grinnell - but not better academically.
Replying to both you and user36, with apologies for not seeing this sooner! My daughter is currently a second year double majoring in math and French, so I can speak to many of your concerns. The short answer is that she loves it there and is particularly happy with the academic offerings. Grinnell’s open curriculum means that you only have to take one required class in your first year (I think it’s called the First Year Seminar, or something like that), so no language requirement if you have no interest.
Grinnell College, in her opinion, is very accepting and open. The sad fact is that there will be judgy people everywhere you go, but she finds her fellow Grinnellians to be much more open minded than what she experienced in high school.
There’s definitely a party scene. Her social calendar is overflowing, in sharp contrast to her high school years. Some of that is because she is an athlete, but there are many campus-wide social activities that she takes advantage of.
Not sure about having a single all four years. You should check with Res Life at Grinnell if that is a deal breaker for you.
There are tons of clubs to choose from, including an a cappella group as well as the Grinnell Singers (which my daughter has participated in for both years–she loves it!). I can also confirm that music classes are available.
The town of Grinnell is indeed small but easily walkable from campus. My daughter finds it very charming, particularly since she knows that she likely will not live in such a small town after graduation. She also heads to Des Moines from time to time for concerts and plays. It’s only an hour away and Grinnell offers shuttles.
There are definitely research opportunities both on and off campus. My daughter will be doing an REU this summer. If you are unfamiliar with this national program, look it up. It’s available to all undergrads, nationwide, but it is very selective and it helps to be studying at a highly ranked college.
I can’t personally speak to numbers 10 and 11, but there is info on the Grinnell website and I cited links in an earlier post.
Best of luck with your decision and congratulations on having two really wonderful choices! Please let me know if I can answer any other questions.