Grinnell College

Date: Sep 19 2014
Major: Undecided (This Major's Salary over time)
If you are one of the following people, Grinnell will be perfect for you:

a) An athlete who enjoys having friends only from your team and drinking heavily 4 nights a week

b) Someone a little "quirky" who maybe didn't have such a great time in high school

c) A little pretentious, someone who asks what your preferred gender pronoun is before addressing you and talks about Charles Bukowski like he puts the stars in the sky

However, if you don't fit any of these molds, do not come to Grinnell. I did well in high school and had a great group of friends. Coming to Grinnell, I am overwhelmed by the atmosphere here. The drinking culture is huge - between that and marijuana, there is nothing else to do on the weekends. Yes, there is no pressure, but it is so, so far-reaching that you would be hard pressed to find other things to do. The people here are extraordinarily clique-ish. Three weeks in, everyone had cemented their friend groups and made it very difficult to penetrate them. A lot of people are nice, but are either cliquey or very "unique." (into pokemon or anime or computer games) Seriously, my first year was so terrible and lonely, please think before coming here. The academics are incredible, the profs are amazing, the campus is pretty good for being in Iowa, but the social scene is just something I could not get past. Also, remember that it is the middle of nowhere. The campus is small, the student body is small, the town is small.