Why Grinnell?
I’m from Syracuse, New York — it’s in upstate New York, four hours north of New York City, and it’s very pretty and near a lot of mountains. My high school probably has more students than Grinnell does.
I wanted to go somewhere where I would meet people from around the world who had different backgrounds than me. I knew I wanted to go somewhere that was more diverse and where I would be exposed to a lot of new people. But I also wanted to be on a first-name basis with my professors and classmates. I wanted it to feel familiar.
I came to Junior Visit Day at Grinnell in February of 2020. That was when I decided that Grinnell was my number one choice. When I came to Grinnell, students around me were asking if I needed help getting around. They were asking what I needed or if I had any questions, and their enthusiasm for Grinnell was clear. Each student and staff member was very considerate and accommodating.
I love Grinnell’s individually advised curriculum. That’s actually why I wanted to come to Grinnell in the first place. I knew I wanted to be at a smaller school. I never even considered going to a large university. But when I read about Grinnell’s curriculum, I was pleasantly surprised that a college would offer that kind of flexibility and authority to their students. From there, my search narrowed down to schools with open curriculums. I wanted to feel like I was going into my advising sessions with my plan and not the plan that my adviser had for me. That’s why I came to visit Grinnell — because I wanted that individually advised curriculum.
I was very drawn to Grinnell for the academics. But when I came here and I saw the community, that’s when I knew that I wanted to be here. And I think that’s pretty common for most Grinnell students. They want to visit initially because of the academics, but the community is what makes them stay.