Lovely campus. Small, quaint liberal arts college in a small Iowa town. I took a tour with an alum and a 2024 almost grad. Quiet and serene. They pointed out some of the more eccentric history like the peace rock. I loved how they preserved some of the older buildings. read more

Grinnell College - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Grinnell, Iowa

See all

With a picturesque campus and world class facilities, Grinnell is certainly very special. An education here will prepare anyone to pursue a career in any field. read more

Grinnell College - This is a building in Grinnell college - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Grinnell, Iowa

This building houses the Center for Careers, Life and Service, the program that makes sure you're ready for the world when you leave Grinnell, and also that you leave the world a better place as well. read more

Grinnell College - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Grinnell, Iowa

See all

World-class higher education. Amazing in every way. I'm sure the $1.8 billion endowment in 2015 doesn't hurt in assisting the institution to hire incredible professors, coax a number of celebrities to speak on campus, construct beautiful and iconic buildings, and maintain a marvelously well-connected alumni network. Events: Grinnell is somewhat renowned for bringing in speakers and events that one would never expect to come to a small liberal-arts college 50 miles from the nearest city. In my time here, I've seen famous people (Cornel West, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Bill McKibben, Jonathan Kozol, Gallant), presidential candidates, retired presidents and vice presidents (Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders x2, Martin O'Malley x2), and division conferences for sporting events. The Faulconer [art] Gallery had $25 million in art pieces from private collections on display in Fall 2015. We've hosted a TEDx talk and have a number of musicians and artists visit campus to hold workshops and give presentations to students. Education: I don't really need to comment on this much. The education is incredible. Class sizes are small (often under 15), professors teach all classes and have numerous office hours to chat. Lifestyle: Grinnell is a small campus, spanning approximately 2 city blocks. This means that getting around is super easy and unless it's raining or snowing, there will be little hesitation in heading across campus to attend a Harris party or a Gardner concert. Alternatively, you can just as easily head to Burling and get some studying in, or hang out in the Spencer Grill(e) in the JRC with friends. The Dhall is central to campus life, being the only full-service dining hall, so there are always opportunities to see people while you're there. Facilities: Grinnell has pretty amazing facilities. The Bear athletic building is incredible, which is probably why Grinnell hosts many of the conference's swim meets, indoor track meets, and indoor tennis matches. Noyce has some of the best laboratories I've seen, and Bucksbaum is amazing for fine arts. Students also have a wide variety of options for on-campus housing, with project houses for home-style living, East campus for modern dorms, and North and South campus for a more retro feel. Gates Tower and the loggias that connect each of the dorms are iconic to Grinnell. Alumni: Hillary Mason '00, Peter Coyote '64, Robert Noyce '49, Kumail Nanjiani '01, to name a few notable alumni. You can reach out to our Alumni Relations office or Career office and ask for help in locating a Grinnellian in your career interest, field of study, or whatever else. There's almost always someone! In addition, the Grinnell community has been spread far and wide. I ran into more Grinnellians in San Francisco over the course of a few months than my Michigan State or Ohio State friends combined. Each time I saw someone we spoke for a while and made plans to meet up later, and at one point I saw 20 other recent graduates (under 5 years) at a cookout one of the alumni put on. It's great because I feel no anxiety about reaching out to graduates asking for career advice, references, or suggestions about Grinnell or life in general. Student Jobs: The work-study and student job positions at Grinnell have been pretty good. You can work on campus regardless of if you're in a work study program. This is a fantastic policy because most student jobs are highly social and skill-building, and I think they are a must-do while attending Grinnell. Working as a Technology Consultant, I've been able to grow my problem-solving and technical knowledge, and in my time working I've been promoted to be student manager which has allowed me to gain further skills. The scheduling for shifts is extremely flexible and the TC Corps was a tight-knit community. I also worked in the Theatre department assisting to construct set pieces for shows, hang lights, and maintain the performance spaces. This was great because (as a CS/Math major) I haven't gotten the opportunity to involve myself in the theatre as much as I would like, but the weekly shifts allow me to still maintain a connection with the department. I also love photography, so being able to work at the student newspaper has been a fantastic way to develop my skills. In addition, I've been able to work for the Communications Office with professionals in photography, graphic design, and media relations. Drawbacks: As with anything, there are always a few things that are not perfect. I know that a number of students are sensitive about the occasional lack of communication between the administration and the students when implementing new policies, hiring new staff, or making changes in any of a number of realms of college life. The dining hall is also fairly restrictive, forcing students to leave coats and backpacks in a pile outside its doors and restricting students from taking food out without spending one of your meals on a box to store food. read more

See all

This college is top-ranked and prestigious. However, after visiting the college twice, talking with students, and looking at what the college has to offer, I am unimpressed. The campus is very small and doesn't seem to have much to offer. The dorms I visited do have a few neat features, such as a built-in whiteboard and bulletin-board outside each room, but overall they're average in terms of size, comfort, and quality. There is a single dining hall for the whole campus, and in my opinion, it suffers both from lack of quality and lack of selection. There are some really smart, interesting students here...but that's going to be true of any good private liberal arts college or any decent state university. Overall, this school doesn't seem to have a culture of intellectual conversation, and the students here don't seem to be all that passionate about anything. While it doesn't have quite the "grind" work culture that some top-ranked schools have, it's a little too far down that road for me to be fully comfortable with it. One thing I don't like about this school is that it seems to have a real drinking culture. Students here drink A LOT, and much of their social life centers on drinking. Now granted, I'm certainly not anti-drinking, but there are different types of drinking, and from what I've seen of Grinnell, the stuff here is the sort of stuff I don't like. To me, rampant drinking is a sign of two things: (a) academic pressure and a negative attitude towards classes and learning such that people feel a need to "escape" from the stress of the workload...and (b) a lack of creativity and initiative to come up with more interesting and constructive things to do, which is often accompanied by a lack of institutional support of these activities. I don't know much about Grinnell so I don't feel I can accurately judge why they have a drinking culture and don't have as many interesting things going on, but those are two things that popped into my head. There's a concept of "self-governance" here, but the students don't seem to take it terribly seriously--it seems to be more of a "hands-off" approach of the administration than it is actual self-governance because the students here seem to be rather apathetic and don't take the concept (or any type of political involvement) particularly seriously. One way this apathy manifests itself is a shoplifting problem in the on-campus convenience store, that the school refuses to crack down on. This sort of permissive culture, which punishes the responsible students, is, in my opinion, the worst sort of thing that can come of a "self-governance" policy. Probably the best thing about this college is the town. The town is GREAT. It's about as large as it can be while still solidly maintaining the small town feel. Unlike some towns which are totally dominated by the college, Grinnell has a healthy share of businesses, residents, and activity that aren't directly related to the college. This may also be helped by the fact that the college is so small. But at any rate, I love the town...stately, broad midwestern streets, beautiful storefronts with lots of character, and people who are always friendly and open, greeting you with a smile as you walk down the street or run into them in the businesses. It's hard not to fall in love with this town. The college, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have as much going for it as the ratings suggest. read more

I attended this college. Although the campus is very small the College is very good at bringing in world-famous art collections, speakers, and professors. The quality of the dorms varies a lot but most of them are your standard, small, dormrooms. The community built on dormfloors, however, is spectacular. Most people can depend on their floor for emotional and physical support, when needed. The dining hall has poor quality although the options change daily and repeat only once every two months or so. The student body is incredible and very oriented towards social justice. The strong emphasis on liberal arts enables students of all disciplines to have intellectual conversations at very odd moments (one that comes to mind is during a mock trial tournament we were arguing about the nature of language and human's perceptions of reality). A lot of people are stressed out by the copious amounts of coursework. There's a lot of drinking that happens but it tends to be very respectful to the property and others. There are also dorms designated substance free to ensure quality housing for students who wish to stay away from alcohol or any other substances. Self-governance is also a very important concept at Grinnell: the idea that each person both individually and as a member of a community is responsible for any actions dictates most hands-off administrative policies. As of that, the culture is very permissive and allows for personal growth and great interpersonal relations. read more

I love this school. My son is a first year. Every interaction I have had with staff has been professional. The work load is challenging and classes are small. This is a great place to send an academically talented young adult. read more

If you see it, run. Burn it with fire before it lays eggs. This place is not safe for us. People. Grinnell. Grinnell. Grinnell. How dare you Grinnell. read more

Alex Z's review is some of the most heart-breakingly funny shit I've ever read on Yelp. I'm still torn between thinking it's a parody or desperate cry for help. The whiteboard comment was particularly funny. You go Alex! read more

I guess Angela Davis, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, President Clinton, Gary Cooper, Herbie Hancock and the person responsible for lowering the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+ are all unimpressive. Liz Kroin read more

I graduated from here, so of course I think its the best! It has maintained a top 25 US News rating for years. Grinnell still uses need/blind admissions which can make it one of the best values in private education if you are financially challenged. read more

Grinnell may be small, but this residential liberal arts college in the middle of Iowa has a diverse and genuinely nice student body, accessible professors, and a beautiful campus. The large endowment also allows for amazing facilities and financial aid. read more