<p>I recently visited both Mac and Grinnell. So I can only speak about those two schools. I visited Middleburry last year, loved the school, beautiful town but on a sunday afternoon NOTHING was open. Kind of scary to me… </p>
<p>Now between Mac and Grinnell: both campus are gorgeous, and both are quite prestigeous schools. I know that Grinnell is ranked higher, but the location can’t be compared, which is one of the many reasons why I chose Mac.</p>
<p>We drove to Grinnell, all the way from Saint Paul, so that might have affected my decision, but miles and miles of nothing before getting there, really freaked me out. When we finally got to Grinnell, the campus was indeed gorgeous, and I know the academics are outstanding, so it seemed as an oasis in the middle of the dessert. The students seemed happy, normal college students… however, the surroundings had several things that caught my attention:</p>
<p>First: The people we saw around town, did not seem to be particularly educated. It trully was a shock, because when I visited Mac, the people in the surrounding areas seemed educated, polite, and extremelly nice (not in the school, but in the stores, cafes & supermarkets, which I also like to visit to get a sense of the surrounding community). While visiting Grinnell, I got a completely different feeling. It seemed that Grinnell and the town were two completely different entities, and there was an abysm between both. I just coulnd’t see myself finding any reason to visit the town, so it felt to me, that I would have to basicaly live within the campus, and found that to be to restricting for my taste.</p>
<p>Second: I know this might be irrelevant to many, but within less than 10 minutes from the Grinnell campus there is a Monsanto plant, which is something I did not like at all. I am completely against GMOs, and the proximity to campus was something that I found really upseting. I did some research, and it seems that in the Grinnell plant, Monsanto is producing seeds, not fertilizers. However, I have been learning about Monsanto for the past years, and once I realized that Monsanto and Walmart are the major employers in Grinnell, I found it very upseting to think that any internship opportunities might be linked to those options, due to lack of others.</p>
<p>Third: Even if the Monsanto plant does not supposedly produce fertilizers, I still can’t ignore the fact that there are soooo many corn fields surrounding the campus, and it is inevitable that the air must be frequently sprayed with Monsanto fertilizers quite frequently. When we got out of the car, there was a funny smell in the air, and all I could think about, was that with so many farms surrounding Grinnell, students have to be breathing fertilizers more often than they realize. It is just not something that I feel safe about. I know a lady that now lives in Colorado, who developed lung cancer while living in a rural area of Iowa, and was told it was most likely due to the prolongued exposure to fertilizers.</p>
<p>Fourth: It might be a superficial observation, but while visiting Mac and other campuses I always notice lots of bikes, that seem to be the most comon method of transportation for students. While visiting Grinnell however, I saw rows of cars parked in front of the dorms. To me, that translates to the fact that if you don’t have a car, you are basically traped in campus, and if so many students have cars it means that they see the need for it. Personally, I don’t plan on having a car the first years at least, so I would rather live in a place where I don’t need one.</p>
<p>Financially, both schools offered me the same amount of aid. Mac offered me a generous package right from the start, and Grinnell sent me an inicial offer that was not as generous as Mac, but then got increased, so now it is slightly more affordable than Mac, however I did not like how I felt about living four years there. </p>
<p>I had never visitied the twin cities but fell in love with the area. It seemed like a safe, exciting, interesting and cultural place to live in. I really value the possibility of internships and having compared what’s available (of not) at rural areas, I think it just weights too much to ignore. Mac’s campus is gorgeous, and I do believe I will receive the quality of education I am looking for. </p>
<p>Well, that’s my two cents.
Hope it helps!</p>
<p>P.S. I forgot to mention: Since I read your thread in the Middleburry thread, I don’t know if you are aware that several science majors in Mac have internship opportunities at the Mayo Clinic… that is something you might want to take into account! </p>