Grinnell College Top Questions

Yeah, pretty much. Except I tend to think of diversity as kind of being a burning in the melting pot scenario. Conservative minorities have a pretty tough time with the social scene (or those who aren't over the top liberal). The unsocially awkward don't interact well with the others. Football players ironically are considered a pariah social group. Though it's diverse, people are mostly friends within their cultural and ideological assosiates.

Almost. The leftist voices generally yell the loudest and can push more moderate thinkers underground, but you'll find all sorts of people including evangelical Christians, Republicans, fashionistas, jocks and students who can't seem to functional without a beer in their hand.

Student Briel talks about the stereotypical Grinnell student, the lack of cliques on campus, and what trait any incoming student should have.

to some extent. Yeah, there is a culture of lack of sleep is cool, everyone here is definitely at least to some extent a high achiever or they wouldn't be here, some are more socially and environmentally active than others, they are awkward people, they are stressed out more than a "normal" school. They're not necessarily affluent, but many are. Some flaunt it, others not so much. There is a higher rate of depression here but that can be attributed to a lot of factors.

Some of the Grinnell stereotypes are correct, but this is not generally true across the board. Grinnell is an open and safe community that harbors individuals from all races, creeds and backgrounds. One goal of Grinnell College is to bring together individuals of such different backgrounds. This allows the students to learn from each other on a personal level, and not just an academic level.

All students at Grinnell are hard-working, have a lot of interests, and are passionate, but the stereotype that we’re all weed-smoking hippies is untrue. People here rarely fall into one stereotype. Even if someone looks like a “jock” and plays varsity football, you’ll often see him also playing Axis and Allies (a WWII strategy game) with Dagohir people (medieval, sword foam fighting group on campus… AKA nerdy) or as a jazz pianist at the beatnik underground café. A girl who seems preppy actually has a nerdy side, a love for Manga (Japanese anime) or knitting. In all my experience, as soon as I think I’ve figured someone out, they completely surprise me.

As crazy as these sound, all these stereotypes are completely true. So if you are really into religion or dressing nicely most of the time, you find find much support on this campus where people turn up to lunch in pajamas (and towels yes!) and are mostly agnostic or atheistic

Grinnell blasts the stereotype "nerd" out of the water. Most people at Grinnell are nerds, but in very different ways. There are DAG nerds, Star Wars nerds, Shakespeare nerds, Latin nerds, music nerds, etc. and combinations of all of the above. Grinnellians are smart, but normally not shy. We are hardworking, but we can party hard too. Grinnellians are also passionate about most everything; that includes academics as well as fun, and just about everything else you can think of. We are a quirky, outside-the-box bunch that are generally friendly, smart, and different.

The stereotypes are not entirely true. Grinnell students are kind of nerdy in that most really like to learn, and most Grinnell students are liberal. Some are more "hippie" and "nerdy" then others; but most Grinnell students are not the classic stereotype of the hippie who never bathes and wears tie-dye and the science book nerd. And while there are a lot of people who drink and there are drugs on campus, there are still a lot of people who don't do either of those things. The amount of drugs and drinking at Grinnell isn't different then any other college, it just seems like there's more because everyone is so open about it.

This is what I've seen with my own eyes, so I hope they're accurate.