Middlebury vs. Grinnell

adamfig8
Thu, 28 Oct 2021 01:25:37 +0000

Hey there,

I’m currently a first-year at Grinnell. This is my first time hopping back on CC since the whirlwind of last year’s admissions’ cycle, but I thought it could be beneficial for you to hear the opinion of somebody here who was just in your position.

Firstly, about your specific points about Grinnell, I will say that the culture is very unique and diverse here. You definitely have your jocks and hippy type people but it’s not overwhelming at all. Overall, it’s extremely welcoming of everyone no matter gender/sexual orientation etc. and I find that everyone really is willing to learn and open having academic conversations. I also personally like the location. Being from a city (St. Louis) I feel like it’s a peaceful getaway and the townspeople are very nice. And something that I thought about in my decision is that I personally wouldn’t wander too far off the campus anyway if it was in any other college town. That being said, in terms of transportation itself, it’s a very walkable and bikeable area (though I do have a car here, which is very easy to park and maintain, in fact I haven’t even refilled my gas since August…) BUT it isn’t super easy to get here if you aren’t within driving distance. It usually takes people who fall into that category about 2 flights and a one hour drive from either Cedar Rapids or Des Moines with school transportation which can actually be quite flaky. On a different note, to your point about smoking, you would definitely not be a minority here
I personally don’t use substance, but it’s an extremely common thing on campus (but I would also add not in-your-face or physically burdensome to someone who doesn’t use).

It does take a lot of soul-searching and is hard to fully know until you arrive on campus as a student for the first time if a school is right for you. I’ve always felt like I’ve been having a good time here since I started, and that it was easy to find “my people,” etc. I know the biggest drawback is the location, and I’m sort of in the unpopular opinion of liking it (yet probably also biased since I’m within an easy driving distance).

If you (or anyone else on this thread) have anymore questions please let me know! And good luck during this admissions cycle