My son has narrowed their choice down to these two schools. He is a recruited athlete at the schools, does not have a chosen major in mind yet. He likes small class sizes, enjoys academics and being outdoors. He seems to be favoring Whitman. Cost is roughly the same. I am a little bit concerned simply because I had never heard of the school before our college search started. My general impression is that Whitman is more of a regional school while Grinnell is more nationally recognized and would be able to open more doors professionally after graduation. Any opinions would be appreciated. Thank you.
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Grinnell is consistently on the list of Colleges that Change Lives and is a top ranked liberal arts college. I donât see these two schools as peers academically.
Also, Whitman is having some financial difficulties. June 4, 2025 | Whitman College
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That was my sense as well regarding them not being academic peers, but I donât know that I have a complete perspective. Thank you for the article regarding Whitmanâs finances.
Iâm not seeing this. Grinnell is a fine school and yes higher ranked. Neither is going to be a big name nationally. Most LACs arenât and certainly not one in the cornfields of Iowa. And if grad school is in the picture, then itâs less important.
I think thereâs a lot of hype about doors opening, etc. and I think itâs the student more than anything.
You have to be there four years, day after day. So be where you want to be - not where you think might give me a leg up after four years of being not where I want to be.
And when, like many others, heâs applying to 100 jobs, 95 of the HR people will never have heard of Grinnell.
No doubt itâs higher in US News and all that, but if he really likes Whitman for his outside of school life, I donât see it as an issue. Kids choose lower ranked every day over high ranked they got into. Both mine did - and both had excellent outcomes.
As for finances, many are going to have challenges and a lot of that is related to endowment and the Big Beautiful Bill. Whitman has a Moodyâs rating of AA3 - their issues are small $$ and they are getting behind them. Many fine schools are having these issues btw - Brandeis, American, and more. Iâd have zero concern about their ability to operate. btw - Grinnell and Whitman both benefit from a âloopholeâ created so they can avoid this new tax on endowments - which will now exempt schools with less than 3000 tuition paying students. This is very recent - after that article was written. I donât know if it impacts their proposed cuts or not.
In this case, no major and he likes Whitman - I donât see an issue. Itâs hard to prove that Grinnell will necessarily provide a better outcome - thatâs pure hope and good marketing.
Thatâs me.
Here are Grinellâs outcomes - on the left hand side has by major but most are saying their jobs donât really tie to their major (which honestly isnât that unusual). They donât list salaries which always bugs me. While he doesnât have a major, he probably has some he can see himself in (usually these type students are non-stem) so click on the links of some to see where they end up.
Whitmanâs outcome page isnât as good - but theyâre not alone - but they have some good info. Even top schools provide nebulous info when it comes to career outcomes. They should all provide salaries - but many donât - likely because they donât want you to know what they are (not great).
Anyway, Iâd let your child choose - itâs their life - and both are quality names - and most wonât know about either of them.
Good luck.
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People in the Midwest will tell you Grinnell is a great school and theyâve never heard of Whitman. People in the PNW will tell you Whitman is a great school and theyâve never heard of Grinnell. People in in the South will tell you they havenât heard of either. And it doesnât matter. They are both great schools.
Things to consider:
Have him look at four majors that may interest him. Is it easy at one to find them and not the other? What does the course sequence look like?
Neither school is that easy to get to. Depending on where you are traveling from, one might be easier than the other. If they are only coming home on vacations, it wonât be such a big deal. If you want to get to some games, it might be a bigger deal. One of our issues with Whitman was the travel time to get there (weâre in New England), but also that for their athletic conference, there was a lot more travel involved, where at Grinnell 90% of their games were within 3 hours. Iâm sure this will vary by sport. That can make a big difference in the amount of time spent away from academics. Whoever, if he really loves one over the other, I think they are pretty equal.
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Wow. Great reply. So helpful with the links and rational assessment. Thank you.
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Great point regarding the travel time for games. Four hours at Whitman.
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Wow. Great reply. So helpful with the links and rational assessment. Thank you.
Very well said !!
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Many students find it easier to find internships and jobs in the region where they went to school (of course, this is more true for regional schools than national schools but in this case Iâm not sure this distinction matters as much). If your son really likes the outdoors, itâs likely not just a passing phase of youth. There are few places better for an active outdoor lifestyle than the pacific NW, and it might be a place where he could be happy in his post-college life.
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My studentâs at Whitman, Iâd be happy to answer any questions you might have, and feel free to message me privately. Iâll add information here for other readers that may come across this thread, focusing primarily on the outdoors aspect of your questions:
I would describe Whitman as one of those hidden gems because of its location; if it were on the East Coast it would be well known, but as families there and in the Midwest can throw a rock and hit a dozen terrific LACs, there really isnât a reason as to why they should or must look across the country at others. So itâs not really on anyoneâs radar 
Iâd describe the kids at Whitman as âsmart and kindâ - and yes, a lot of them are very outdoorsy and the outdoor program itself is fantastic, and they have a terrific rentals shop on campus for any and all outdoor gear at inexpensive prices (from kayaks, to tents, to backpacks and snowshoes, sleeping bags, stoves, etc.; plus all the clothing you might need such as hiking boots, rain jackets, and puffy jackets, gloves, hats, insulated booties, parkas and insulated winter pants, rain pants and gaiters and more). Plus there is the Bob Carson Outdoor Fund, which makes it possible for every student every year to go on a trip. The inexpensive rentals shop and the BCOF makes it possible to try so many activities that you wouldnât have the opportunity to elsewhere.
Through the SSRA program (be sure to tap âload moreâ multiple times to see all the classes, which also change from year to year) my student (whoâd only been on a climbing wall once as a little kid) has taken multiple indoor rock climbing classes and certification courses (Whitman has a fantastic climbing center), and theyâve become a certified climbing wall instructor. They also did a 9 day Wilderness First Responder class at the end of last yearâs winter break, and are now a certified WFR as well.
Last fall they took a kayaking class that culminated in a 5 day sea kayaking trip through the San Juan Islands over October break. Another class in wilderness leadership led to a week long hiking, climbing, and camping trip in the canyons of Utah during spring break their first year. They also signed up for a day trip snowshoeing, and then another class in winter mountaineering that led to a long weekend snow camping trip!
They joined the climbing team their second year (which includes people of all abilities and levels of experience) and the climbing team hosts an annual weeklong trip to Red Rocks to camp and climb and go bouldering for a week of every spring break (and people can join for as few or many days as they like).
This is all to say that if youâre outdoorsy youâll find your people, but also if youâre just curious about the outdoors and have neither the experience, nor the gear or any appropriate clothing to try thingsâWhitman is a wonderful place for you to try all those things out and have opportunities you couldnât find elsewhere. (My student is on study abroad this fall, and wishes they could take the alpine mountaineering class this fall which culminates in summiting Mt. Baker!)
Walla Walla is a small town, but it punches above its weight being in the heart of wine country; itâs full of great food and people regularly visiting from all over and itâs a diverse community. It may superficially appear that Whitman and Grinnell are âboth in small townsâ but those are very different small towns, and the proximity to broader experiences (both city and outdoors) is quite different as well. We also looked at Grinnell and decided against it for being isolated in a way that didnât feel comfortable for my student; itâs a terrific school! It just wasnât the right fit for my student.
My student wanted small, seminar style classes with accessible faculty and theyâve found that. They also didnât know what they wanted to major in prior to college, wanted a liberal arts education and room to explore, and at the end of sophomore year they declared a combined major in the sciences (being vague so as not to identify them!).
Editing to add: My student also wants to stay in the broader PNW after college, and the Whitman alumni network is strong here; when my student was in high school making their list of colleges, people from all professions were asking them what schools were on their list, and theyâd nod and say âah, nice!â to all the other choices (places such as Macalester, Grinnell, Carleton, etc.) but when my kiddo mentioned Whitman frequently their eyes would light up and theyâd exclaim: oh, thatâs a great school! And they would know someone who attended who is one of their favorite coworkers, or attorney, or scientist, or friend, or they were an alum themselves. Whitties are known as smart and kind âout hereâ and thatâs a boon to students in ways that donât show up on a chart.
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Both are good/great schools. Grinnellâs resources outstrip Whitmanâs by a lot. Grinnellâs endowment per student is $1.5 million while Whitmanâs is about $500,000. Greater resources means greater financial aid, more travel stipends, more paid research, etc etc etc. And I do believe Grinnell is much more nationally recognized than Whitman, which is something that is important to our family.
Now all that said, do both schools pass the broken leg test? Presumably heâs visited both. Is he OK with attending either school? If the answer is yes, Iâd be guiding my son towards Grinnell. However of course if he didnât like it, I wouldnât.
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Iâm sure this is OPâs concern.
Grinnell is ranked #13 in US News along with Davidson, Hamilton, Smith, Vassar and Wesleyan.
Whitman is #58 and in a tier with fine, but lesser perceived schools, such as DePauw, Gettysburg, Oberlin, St. Lawrence so on paper, and in part because of reasons you bring up, itâs easy to see why the parent would have a concern (although some see Oberlin as a top school).
So I get the parentâs concern if this is the concern but I go back to - if one stands out as I want to be here - well four years is a lot of days - so be where you want.
Itâs likely - no different most companies will have Michigan and say Colorado or Utah or WVU working together - itâd be no different in companies where kids from LACs work.
I donât really think rankings matter per se.
However, it is true that Grinnell is a VERY well-resourced institutions. Whitman not bad, but not at that level.
It is also true that Grinnell faces a systematic problem persuading students to go to college in rural Iowa. Which it manages to overcome every year, including by using its institutional wealth in ways that attract top students.
I agree the Pacific Northwest, though, is just a very desirable location, at least for any sort of outdoorsy person.
My point is the pros to each of these colleges are real things, and in my view your son has already won by being recruited by two such great options.
And then which is the âbestâ for him can be a personal choice. As long as it is based in something he truly values, then that is not going to be a bad decision.
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Would help to know which schools your son eliminated before narrowing his options to Whitman College (1,500 students) and Grinnell College (1,760 students).
Grinnell is ultra-wealthy, while Whitman is detailing cutbacks due to necessity.
What type of outdoor activities does he enjoy ?
With respect to post graduation opportunities, this site places Whitman higher than Grinnell by Career Outcomes:
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He has been looking at all SLACâs as he would like a smaller student body and smaller class size. We considered New England SLACâs, but we live in Colorado and it was too far. He enjoys hiking and mountaineering.
Regarding your sonâs interest in outdoor activities, this site includes Whitman:
Just for fun - I did an all trails search. 11 trails in Grinnell - more than I thought. And like an hour away is the Cedar River which had trails all over. I just drove from Cedar Rapids up to Mn and it seemed pretty long.
Walla Walla didnât have many more (16) but had more elevation.
Thatâs just a city to city comparison, not beyond.
Perhaps Grinnell has enough nature - but the student would have to decide.
Also, given the student is an athlete - did they have preference for one coach over another ?
Whitman has been a fan favorite here on CC for a long time. Iâd argue that it is pretty close academically to Grinnell. Grinnell has much better finances and a very solid reputation. If he likes Whitman, it is a great choice. It has been in quite a few âhappiest studentsâ lists over the years. I think Grinnell probably has a slightly more arty and creative vibe.
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