Grinnell College Top Questions

There are generally parties every weekend for all students on campus, organized by one club or another. There are probably a bazillion student organizations, something for everyone. It depends on the dorm, but many students do leave doors open. My sophomore year, our floor had a fantastic time -- floor parties were not uncommon, even if it just involved chowing down on stolen cheesecake from the dining hall and doing papers or homework until 3 in the morning. The dating scene... well, there are no words. It's interesting, to be sure. People party (if that is what they're into) as often as they like. Fridays, Saturdays consistently, many Wednesdays, sometimes Mondays and Thursdays too... but if you're not into drinking and partying, there are other people who don't drink, you just have to find them. The lack of Greek Life is amazing... instead of several frats and sororities, we just have one big college family. You can easily get by without drinking -- find friends, go into town, there are movies shown on campus, there are weekend wellness events such as bingo, karaoke, Super Smash Brothers tournaments, the list goes on and on...

There are dances with alcohol almost every weekend.

Many people are invloved in groups and clubs here which is great and they organize so many activities so that, even though we are in the middle of nowhere, there is always something to do. Athletic events are sometimes popular but it really depends on the weekends. There are always movies to watch in the theatre or a play to go to. Grinnell is constantly bringing in guest speakers and muisical acts for students to enjoy for free. Personally I think trying to date at Grinnell comes with pretty slim pickins' but thats just me and so many people from Grinnell actually get married. I met my closest friends at a preorientation (the Grinnell Science Project) where there were only about 35 kids. I never would have met them if we had not all gone to this because we live on opposite sides of campus. If you are invited to a preorientation no matter where you go I recommend attending it. You learn so much about the college, where things are, have a few people that you know and can eat with or spend time with, and you get into your room early. Every year there are certain parties that take place like Block Party (the end of the year party), 10/10 (The all campus party for the first payday), Disco (every one dresses up in crazy 70's clothes and has a blast, and Waltz (the formal dances). People are partying all the time but the great thing is that if you do not drink or don't feel like drinking there is no pressure to do so. It is easy to go to parties and not drink. We do not have the Greek System here but we do have project houses like soccer house, football house, German house, Spanish house, etc.

Grinnell has a very active athletics department and students from Grinnell always compete well within the Mid-West conference. The Grinnell Rosenfield program is responsible for bringing in guest speakers on a regular basis - they do not disappoint. While homework may consume more time than it did in high school for most, the college brings in bands to perform on the weekends and usually shows about 4 new films directly on campus every week. If you are awake at 2:00 am on a Tuesday, no doubt you are taking a break from your studies to walk across 6th ave to the Bakery shop, where every evening after 2:00 am (except Saturdays) you can walk in the back door and get fresh pastries for a dollar.

Oh my goodness, there is so much to do here! There's at least one party every weekend, as well as several campus-hosted (and alcohol-free) movies, concerts, lectures, and theatrical pieces. And there are bakery runs! Bakery runs take place around one in the morning Mon-Sat when we go over to the local bakery to get fresh donuts. They're delicious! Ultimate Frisbee is also ridiculously popular here. There are tournaments and everything. I personally am involved in theatre, and I love it. I have been amazed by every production this year. As far as friends go, I found mine all over the place. Some are from my dorm, like my roommate. Others are just people that I happen to get thrown together with. It just depends. And with dating, well, it exists. For a supposedly mostly-academic school, there's a lot of dating drama. Grinnell has no Greek system, so sororities and fraternities aren't all that important. However, we do have themed houses, like Football House and German House, that are alternatives to the dorms for those that qualify. \

i like me some concerts

The town of Grinnell does not have a lot to offer fun-wise. I mean, I love lots of things about small Midwestern towns, like friendliness and lack of pretension, but honestly there is not a lot to do. Grinnellians make up for this by making their own fun. There are a ton of different clubs, and new ones are starting all the time. For example: yoga, board game club, improv, swing dancing, concerts (the college brings a lot of music to campus). People just do normal, low-key things like play videogames, watch movies, and just hang out with friends too. On a lot of weekends, there are all-campus parties that have a lot of history. Annual events include Disco, 80's, a short film festival, a cross-dressing event called Mary B. James, Underwear Ball, Winter Waltz, and Spring Waltz, to name a few. Sometimes those require drinking to be fun, but not all of them, and not always. For non-drinkers, there is a group that has a well-attended event every Friday night but I don't know too much about that.

Most people wear their walk of shame clothing three days in a row.

Doors are always open on campus... pretty much all events are well attended, there are football players in plays, and music majors on the tennis team. Physics majors on the baseball team. Everyone participates in a wide variety of things. If you're awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, you're studying... let's be honest! There are so many things to do on a Saturday that aren't drinking! You can go to a movie, go to a dance, go to a show (theater, dance, music) go to a concert, go to a bonfire, watch a movie, go to a game, go to a crafty party, there's so much to do! There are a number of traditional parties and dances each year, that include cross-dancing, disco dancing and costumes, as well as a really classy Waltz every semester.

my weekdays are usually filled with homework, eating, watching television or being active my weekends are usually filled with friends, parties, sleeping, and always some homework i love that we don't have fraternities or sororities.