Best Qualified Pool of Applicants

Applications to Grinnell College have risen dramatically since 2012, when the number was 3,131, the largest at that time. For 2019, the figure is 7,961, a new application record.

“The people here in the enrollment services division have worked diligently and wisely on a variety of strategies to increase our visibility and subsequently our applications,” says Joe Bagnoli, vice president for enrollment and dean of admission and financial aid. 

Although increased visibility unfortunately translates to more applicants being denied admission, “it gives you a great deal of flexibility in shaping your class,” Bagnoli says. “I believe Grinnell’s three primary commitments to academic excellence, social responsibility, and diversity should be reflected in every entering class. Having a robust pool of applicants from which to select the class makes it easier to deliver on all three commitments.”

One major piece of good news is that Grinnell has received its highest number of applications from domestic students of color. “There are not just more students of color in our pool,” Bagnoli says. “They’re not just a more diverse group. The applicant pool also appears to be among the best qualified we’ve ever seen. So, that’s why we’re excited.”

While many factors account for the increase in domestic students of color, one is the increase of applicants from QuestBridge, an organization that helps high-achieving, low-income students apply to colleges. “That’s the single source of greatest increase,” Bagnoli says. Grinnell has partnered with QuestBridge since 2010.

Before admission staff members read applications in depth (and derive a more thorough understanding of academic achievements), they can get a quick sense of the whole pool’s overall academic qualifications from SAT test scores. “The 25th percentile is 1,320 and 75th percentile is 1,500,” Bagnoli says. “This puts us in the company of the most selective schools in the country.”

Applications are up in virtually all categories of data: domestic students and international students, first-generation students, public schools, and private schools. 

“The share of applicants applying for aid is quite high,” Bagnoli says. He learned recently that among the 40-plus colleges and universities that are both need-blind and meet 100 percent of need, “no other college or university, as a share of annual operating expenses, invests more institutional grant assistance to students than does Grinnell College.”