This Week’s College: Grinnell College Grinnell, Iowa
“The Jewel of the Prairie,” Grinnell was founded on a single silver dollar by James J. Hill in 1846. As a freshman, every student will get a replica of this silver dollar to keep, because Grinnell students are all about traditions! The first male students graduated in 1848 and the first woman not too long after in 1865 (they were given Certificates instead of Bachelor’s degrees, though since it seems indelicate to give that name to a lady). Not long afterwards, the first African American graduated, as well. In 1882 the school was destroyed by a cyclone just before commencement. And the school’s yearbook is named... You get the idea, right?
Grinnell is a lot like Charlottesville in that it’s one of those towns people love. It’s constantly rated Top Place to Retire in Iowa, or Best Games (and do check out the Grinnell Games because they are awesome! Dodge ball, Amazing Race, Corn hole? anyone??), or Top 10 Best College Towns. And at its heart is this liberal arts college with three important core values: Excellence in Education, Diversity in Community, and Social Responsibility.
To this end, education at Grinnell is carefully plotted by students with individual advisors, who work with their students all the way through college. Every incoming freshman takes a First-Year Tutorial, which is a 4 credit class and the only required class at Grinnell. It’s also the only class with an entertainment budget because it’s meant to be a class where students and faculty intermingle, get to know one another, and become close. These courses are taught by faculty (meaning tenure and tenure track, no adjuncts or lecturers), capped at 12 students each, and range over 35 different topics. With a heavy emphasis on critical thinking, writing, analysis, and oral presentation skills, the First-Year Tutorial is a way that students who are new to college gain the skills in academic excellence they will need to be successful at Grinnell.
In general classes at Grinnell are small and students receive a lot of attention from faculty. For the first four terms, as student’s advisor will be her First-Year Tutorial professor. Once you declare a major though, you will have a different advisor, one better suited to help you map out your program specifically to your interests. Don’t be surprised though when your advisor challenges you to take a course in something you don’t like. Remember this is a school where they want you to get a quality education. To do that means you have to challenge yourself and do what seems difficult. That’s the purpose of an education.
Students at Grinnell are there not just to learn and to study but to serve as well. Since social justice is one of the core values of the college, it’s also front and center in how people function in the school. There are multiple groups who do everything from bring education into the prisons to helping in local elementary schools, to partnering with local nonprofits to beginning their own NGOs. There’s even a theater group who perform as a way of reaching out to others to begin conversations. It’s not something people give lip service to. It’s something they take seriously and want to be a part of.
Another unique trait of Grinnell’s is the Town Meeting. Grinnell’s third core value, Diversity is also not something they are flippant about and they want to have hard discussions, be supportive and maintain a place where all people of all races, cultures, backgrounds, identities, and ethnicities feel like they have a place at the table. In order to do this, they hold Town Meetings on a regular basis where issues that affect the community are discussed. These can be issues related to work/life balance or self-governance, or they can be issues related to equity between men and women (Title IX), diversity, or disability and ability. Direct Democracy is alive and well, and living in Iowa.
But, you say, it’s Iowa! What is there to do? Well, how about women’s (undefeated) basketball? Or men’s basketball (it’s the Midwest, guys, basketball is big). And so is swimming. They have an award winning chorus, terrific newspaper, art, theater, dance, film, and it’s free to students (oh that’s right, all performances are free for students!). And then there are the one million clubs which cover everything from bee keepers to gamers, from robotics to outdoor sports, sailing club to Model UN. Rock climb, play women’s water polo, join the Korean Cultural Society, or Pancakes and Poetry (mmmmm, pancakes…). Help the local Native American population with their high risk elementary students by joining Ni Ka Na, or get involved with IOWATER and work on water conservation and preservation in the area. There is nothing boring about being in Grinnell.
Most students live on campus (85%) and the housing stock is comprised of residential houses and small living situations (50-60 students in a group). You’ll get to know your fellows and they will get to know you. Being close to one another is how it works here and that feeling of small town closeness is what people like about it. It’s a funky collection of spots though. There are old houses, Eco houses, Language houses, and theme houses. But all of them have lounges, kitchens, laundry, and wifi. The odd assortment of mix and match housing is both quaint and charming, not unlike the diversity of the student body.
Pros:
“The Jewel of the Prairie,” Grinnell was founded on a single silver dollar by James J. Hill in 1846. As a freshman, every student will get a replica of this silver dollar to keep, because Grinnell students are all about traditions! The first male students graduated in 1848 and the first woman not too long after in 1865 (they were given Certificates instead of Bachelor’s degrees, though since it seems indelicate to give that name to a lady). Not long afterwards, the first African American graduated, as well. In 1882 the school was destroyed by a cyclone just before commencement. And the school’s yearbook is named... You get the idea, right?
Grinnell is a lot like Charlottesville in that it’s one of those towns people love. It’s constantly rated Top Place to Retire in Iowa, or Best Games (and do check out the Grinnell Games because they are awesome! Dodge ball, Amazing Race, Corn hole? anyone??), or Top 10 Best College Towns. And at its heart is this liberal arts college with three important core values: Excellence in Education, Diversity in Community, and Social Responsibility.
To this end, education at Grinnell is carefully plotted by students with individual advisors, who work with their students all the way through college. Every incoming freshman takes a First-Year Tutorial, which is a 4 credit class and the only required class at Grinnell. It’s also the only class with an entertainment budget because it’s meant to be a class where students and faculty intermingle, get to know one another, and become close. These courses are taught by faculty (meaning tenure and tenure track, no adjuncts or lecturers), capped at 12 students each, and range over 35 different topics. With a heavy emphasis on critical thinking, writing, analysis, and oral presentation skills, the First-Year Tutorial is a way that students who are new to college gain the skills in academic excellence they will need to be successful at Grinnell.
In general classes at Grinnell are small and students receive a lot of attention from faculty. For the first four terms, as student’s advisor will be her First-Year Tutorial professor. Once you declare a major though, you will have a different advisor, one better suited to help you map out your program specifically to your interests. Don’t be surprised though when your advisor challenges you to take a course in something you don’t like. Remember this is a school where they want you to get a quality education. To do that means you have to challenge yourself and do what seems difficult. That’s the purpose of an education.
Students at Grinnell are there not just to learn and to study but to serve as well. Since social justice is one of the core values of the college, it’s also front and center in how people function in the school. There are multiple groups who do everything from bring education into the prisons to helping in local elementary schools, to partnering with local nonprofits to beginning their own NGOs. There’s even a theater group who perform as a way of reaching out to others to begin conversations. It’s not something people give lip service to. It’s something they take seriously and want to be a part of.
Another unique trait of Grinnell’s is the Town Meeting. Grinnell’s third core value, Diversity is also not something they are flippant about and they want to have hard discussions, be supportive and maintain a place where all people of all races, cultures, backgrounds, identities, and ethnicities feel like they have a place at the table. In order to do this, they hold Town Meetings on a regular basis where issues that affect the community are discussed. These can be issues related to work/life balance or self-governance, or they can be issues related to equity between men and women (Title IX), diversity, or disability and ability. Direct Democracy is alive and well, and living in Iowa.
But, you say, it’s Iowa! What is there to do? Well, how about women’s (undefeated) basketball? Or men’s basketball (it’s the Midwest, guys, basketball is big). And so is swimming. They have an award winning chorus, terrific newspaper, art, theater, dance, film, and it’s free to students (oh that’s right, all performances are free for students!). And then there are the one million clubs which cover everything from bee keepers to gamers, from robotics to outdoor sports, sailing club to Model UN. Rock climb, play women’s water polo, join the Korean Cultural Society, or Pancakes and Poetry (mmmmm, pancakes…). Help the local Native American population with their high risk elementary students by joining Ni Ka Na, or get involved with IOWATER and work on water conservation and preservation in the area. There is nothing boring about being in Grinnell.
Most students live on campus (85%) and the housing stock is comprised of residential houses and small living situations (50-60 students in a group). You’ll get to know your fellows and they will get to know you. Being close to one another is how it works here and that feeling of small town closeness is what people like about it. It’s a funky collection of spots though. There are old houses, Eco houses, Language houses, and theme houses. But all of them have lounges, kitchens, laundry, and wifi. The odd assortment of mix and match housing is both quaint and charming, not unlike the diversity of the student body.
Pros:
- It’s a very open and welcoming place
- You will get to know your professors well
- Your education will be extremely personalized to you
- It’s very small and very intimate
- It’s very small and very intimate
- It’s in Iowa and that’s a cold, long winter
- People who come here are very earnest and are not into “playing the school game”
- You need to be serious about work
- You can’t hide with this much one on one attention!