You'll find rigorous academics, small classes, individual attention, and a close-knit community at many nationally ranked small liberal arts colleges. So, what makes Grinnell special?

• Grinnell students are mature, responsible people who want to learn. The curriculum is rigorous, and its structure reflects that, in the end, each student is responsible for making the most of what the College offers.
  
  
• Individually advised curriculum; only a handful of colleges in the country give you the freedom to design your own academic program.
  
  
• Self-Governance; the system that enables students to provide input and make changes in almost every area of college life. This also means that no student is assigned the duty of policing other residents. Students are responsible for structuring their lives according to the tastes and desires of the campus community.
  
  
• Resources; Grinnell professors have had great success obtaining external funding for valuable academic programs and research. For example, the science faculty recently earned competitive grants from the National Science Foundation for an automated DNA sequencer in the biology labs. Plus, the $1 .4 billion endowment ( 7 th largest per student among all public and private U.S. colleges and universities, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2006) allows seniors to conduct research through the Mentored Advanced Projects (MAPs).
  
  
• What else will the large endowment get you? Technology; there are over 200 computers available for student use and most of them are available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
  
  
• Grinnell is one of the few remaining colleges that has a need-blind admission policy and offers generous financial aid to all admitted U.S. students.
  
  
• Clean air, no traffic, a great view of the stars, and virtually no crime; there aren't too many places in the world that can offer that.
  
  
• Fiske's Guide to Colleges did not say this about any other college: "Grinnell is a powerhouse on the national scene. Ever progressive, it was the first college west of the Mississippi to admit African Americans and women, and the first in the country to establish an undergraduate department of political science. It was once a stop on the Underground Railroad, and its graduates include Harry Hopkins, architect of the New Deal, and Robert Noyce, inventor of the integrated circuit, two people who did as much as anyone to change the face of American society in the 20th century."

On a lighter note:

• Where else can you sing the National Anthem before a varsity basketball game and then play in the game itself?
  
  
• Disco: the largest annual Grinnell celebration. Hey, where else can you find a use for that 70's designer wear you have lying around the house?
  
  
• Bakery-Runs; where else are 2:00 am runs for fresh pastries a regular (and welcomed) occurrence?