IRL, they are functionally the same from a grad school or early employment perspective. The rest of the world- that is people not applying to college, the colleges themselves and a lot of people who hang out on CC- see colleges in tiers, starting with the top tier being ‘super famous for being prestigious’ and the bottom tier being ‘never heard of it’. In between are person or specialty-specific tiers (eg, Big 10 schools, performing arts schools such as Julliard, where my relative/friend went, the colleges that were big in my HS, etc).
Grad schools will know both and see them as the same tier.
Employers may or may not know either- it will depend a lot on where you apply for jobs and the background of any given person considering hiring you. Those who know both will see them as being in the same tier.
Once you aren’t applying to colleges (or hanging out on CC) you will discover that most people see colleges in very broad tiers. When looking
What will make a much, much bigger difference is what you do while you are in college, esp your grades & your internships/activities. There will be more opportunities at either than you will be able to take advantage of, so the key question imo is: is either environment likely to suit you better? Grinnell is great- but I have known students who found it…small…by the end (the ones who do a study away term or year say that makes a big difference). Macalaster is also great- but I have known students who say that it’s a ‘fit’ school- it really suits you, or…it doesn’t. Do more homework into figuring out which is likely to suit you better- that will make the biggest difference to your life- both for the 4 years of college and beyond.