Grinnell College
Grinnell, Iowa
- Private nonprofit
- Town
- 1,729 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 15%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $15,203per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 87%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $72,10610 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Grinnell College has no general education requirements or core curriculum, requiring only the First-Year Tutorial and First-Year Experience courses.
Grinnell requires all full-time undergraduate students to live in student residences and participate in college dining plans for all four years.
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 15%About 1 in 10 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1410–1540Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 31–34Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Grinnell College's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2024–25, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
- Admit rate in this report
- 15%1,416 admitted of 9,758 first-year applicants
- Early decision admit rate
- 34%283 admitted of 828. Early decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
- Off the wait list
- 3%36 admitted of 1,180 who stayed on the wait list (2,021 were offered a spot)
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1430–1520First-years who sent scores
- ACT, middle 50%
- 31–34First-years who sent scores
Early applicants often include recruited athletes and students who knew this was their first choice, so a higher early rate doesn't mean applying early raises any one student's odds by that much.
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Grinnell College's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Grinnell College Common Data Set 2024–25. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $15,203full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $87,598sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $72,346Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 87%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 93%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $72,10610 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $8,750federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 1,729Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 22%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 18%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Dordt University Sioux Center, IA — admits 68%
- Saint Ambrose University Davenport, IA — admits 77%
- Luther College Decorah, IA — admits 72%
- Drake University Des Moines, IA — admits 64%
Also worth a look
- Davidson College Davidson, NC — admits 13%
- Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME — admits 7%
- Williams College Williamstown, MA — admits 8%
- College of the Ozarks Point Lookout, MO — admits 12%
- Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA — admits 7%
- Pomona College Claremont, CA — admits 7%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Grinnell College, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.