i totally get that. the community of a college was also a big factor in where i chose to apply as well. however, although i could see myself being happy at other colleges (kenyon, davidson, hamilton, etc.), i can’t certainly say i would be as happy as i am at grinnell, if that makes sense? the “fit” aspect is so weird— it’s like a college either has it or it doesn’t, you know?
my grinnell experience has been overwhelmingly positive. i ED’ed to the college without ever having visited (which is a VERY big commitment and one that most people do not recommend doing) and have never looked back. there was a time when i thought of transferring at the beginning of the pandemic, but it really had nothing to do with the college and everything to do with me being nervous about being quite far from home and my family, especially during a time like this. i hurdled through that, though, and have been doing just fine (with my family’s support).
the “stress” culture is arguably characteristic of the STEM departments here. STEM classes are tough, and the workload can be heavy, i won’t lie. thanks to the open curriculum, though, you never have to take a STEM class if you don’t want to. i know people who have never set foot in Noyce (our science center), lmao.
also, i won’t lie and say i’ve never been drowning in work and still felt like i wasn’t doing enough because other people were doing more, because i definitely have. when you’re surrounded by so many exceptional people who are just as, if not more, intelligent and hard-working than you are, it can be difficult to grapple with, at least it was in my case. however, i also got over that with time.
in terms of where students end up: it’s difficult to gauge. many students go on to graduate school after grinnell, oftentimes to top programs in the country. according to the class of 2019’s outcome data, the most popular states among the respondents were california, illinois, iowa, massachusetts, new york, minnestoa, and wisconsin. i hope this helped!