Founded in 1846, Grinnell College is a private, co-educational, liberal-arts college that seeks to educate its students in the liberal arts through free inquiry and the open exchange of ideas. As a teaching and learning community, the college holds that knowledge is a good to be pursued both for its own sake and for the intellectual, moral and physical well-being of individuals and of society at large. Grinnell provides a lively academic community of students and teachers of high scholarly qualifications from diverse social and cultural circumstances. The college aims to graduate women and men who can think clearly, who can speak and write persuasively and eloquently, who can evaluate critically both their own and others’ ideas, who can acquire new knowledge and who are prepared to use their knowledge and abilities to serve the common good.

 

 

 

STUDENT PROFILE
# of degree-seeking undergraduates                    1,639
% male/female                                                           46/54
% African American                                                   5
% American Indian or Alaska Native                      <1
% Asian or Pacific Islander                                      8
% Hispanic                                                                  6
% White                                                                        62
% International                                                            11
% Pell grant recipients                                              12.7
Distinguished first-generation and minority alumni Herbie Hancock, musician; John Garang, vice president, Sudan; George Moose, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, ambassador to Benin and Senegal; Sen Katayama, co-founder, Japan Communist Party; K.C. Wu, governor of Taiwan Province, Mayor of Shanghai

 

ACADEMICS
full-time faculty                                                            158
full-time minority faculty                                             27
student-faculty ratio                                                    9:1
average class size                                                     10
% first-year retention rate                                          94
% graduation rate (6 years)                                      86
Popular majors Biology, History, English, Political Science, Economics

 

CAMPUS LIFE
% live on campus n/a
Multicultural student clubs and organizations Asian Students in Alliance, Grinnell Multicultural Alliance, MidEastern-American Solidarity Group, African Student Union, Native American Student Alliance, South Asian Students in Alliance, Asian American Coalition, Concerned Black Students, International Student Organization, Student Organization of Latinas/Latinos

Athletics NCAA Division III, Midwest Conference; baseball, m/w basketball, m/w cross country, football, m/w golf, m/w soccer, m/w swimming, m/w tennis, m/w track and field (indoor and outdoor), softball, volleyball More on Athletics...

 

ADMISSIONS
# of applicants                                                                 3,217
% accepted                                                                      43
# of first-year students enrolled                                   464
SAT Critical Reading range                                          620-740
SAT Math range                                                               620-710
SAT Writing range                                                           n/a
ACT range                                                                        28-32
average HS GPA                                                             n/a

Deadlines
early decision                                                                  11/15
regular decision                                                              1/2
application fee (online)                                                  $30 ($0)
fee waiver for applicants with financial need             yes

 

COST & AID
tuition                                                                                 $34,932
room & board                                                                   $8,272
total need-based institutional
     scholarships/grants                                                  $23,227,157
% of students apply for need-based aid                    68
% of students receive aid                                              100
% receiving need-based scholarship 
    or grant aid                                                                   99
% receiving aid whose need was
     fully met                                                                        100
average aid package                                                      $30,751
average student loan debt upon
     graduation                                                                   $19,526