Genuinely curious: What is the appeal of Grinnell if you're not from the midwest?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's the appeal of Bowdoin if you are not from the East Coast?

Also, unlike its East Coast counterparts, Grinnell awards generous merit aid.

Amazing launch point for anyone interested in environmental studies- multiple research centers. Very few colleges own an island.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The correct question is simply “What’s the appeal of Grinnell?”

And the answer depends on how you feel about hick towns in the Midwest, endless cornfields, and Charlie Munger.

This school is for farm kids and the kind of people who love to hang out at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha.

Otherwise, there is no reason for normal people to attend.

You people are really pathetic. You don’t have anything better to do on a Saturday afternoon? What a sad life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s merit money tbh. That’s the reason the kids I know have gone there chose it.

Mixed experiences, btw.

Based on survey information, Grinnell placed a notable 22nd nationally for classroom experience:

Best Colleges for Classroom Experience | The Princeton Review https://share.google/sV0GvdYu1pjibQOH8

[Anonymous]

DD and I visited Grinnell this summer. Nice campus. What struck us most was how incredibly safe it was. The town was lovely and tiny. And you would not feel unsafe walking alone in the dark. The school has excellent career services and top academics. We saw no litter of graffiti on campus or in town. Little kids were riding their bikes with friends - no parents. Idyllic.
And really really good merit aid. But not easy to get to and really, other than very cute town, not much around. It def seemed like the school had tons going on all the time to counteract this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The correct question is simply “What’s the appeal of Grinnell?”

And the answer depends on how you feel about hick towns in the Midwest, endless cornfields, and Charlie Munger.

This school is for farm kids and the kind of people who love to hang out at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha.

Otherwise, there is no reason for normal people to attend.

Actually, this post is probably a pretty good litmus test, though perhaps not in the way PP intended.

If the PP sounds like the kind of person with whom you’d be eager to spend lots of time, Grinnell is probably not for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The correct question is simply “What’s the appeal of Grinnell?”

And the answer depends on how you feel about hick towns in the Midwest, endless cornfields, and Charlie Munger.

This school is for farm kids and the kind of people who love to hang out at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha.

Otherwise, there is no reason for normal people to attend.

You people are really pathetic. You don’t have anything better to do on a Saturday afternoon? What a sad life.

+1 Beyond pathetic. I'd hate for my kids to be around such arrogant snobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's extremely woke, which I guess is still a positive for some.

My kid likes it but crossed it off the list because it's in Ohio.

My kid crossed Princeton off the list because it's in California.

[Anonymous]

My kid crossed off all the frigid, unfriendly, arrogant environments of New England schools and went with Stanford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's extremely woke, which I guess is still a positive for some.

My kid likes it but crossed it off the list because it's in Ohio.

Good! Keep your kind elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

The system!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's extremely woke, which I guess is still a positive for some.

My kid likes it but crossed it off the list because it's in Ohio.

What the heck? It’s in Iowa.

Good friend’s daughter chose it for its small size and the merit money (that’s the only real way she could make it work). But they’re originally from Missouri and are quite familiar with the Midwest vibe. All are happy so far!

She didn’t literally mean Ohio; she’s expressing a natural disdain for all states with a 4 letter name.

Taking dislike of four-letter words to an extreme. I suppose that's as good an explanation as any.

[Anonymous]

It's only an hour to Des Moines, and only an hour to the cultural center of Iowa, Iowa City.

[Anonymous]

OP: note the snark throughout this thread. Now imagine a school where the snarkiest, most disparaging PPs would never, ever attend. That, right there, is part of the appeal.

Add to that a billion dollar endowment, safe community, merit aid, money for internships, and national/international community of smart kids who by nature are open-minded and at least somewhat adventurous (because let’s face it: you don’t sign up for four years in middle of Iowa if you aren’t!). A kid could do worse!

[Anonymous]

They give great merit aid, I think that's a big reason people choose it. It has a lower yield than other similarly ranked schools.

Also agree that it and Carleton are culturally very midwestern. Kids are into academics, but are less likely to be obsessed with prestige. Very different than DC.

[Anonymous]

Very remote and extremely woke.