Grinnell College receives fewer applications overall, early decision acceptance rate increases

Grinnell College received 479 early decision I (ED I) and 386 early decision II (ED II) applications for the College’s class of 2029. The combined 865 applicants represent a five percent increase from the number of individuals who applied early decision to Grinnell for the class of 2028. A larger share of the increase came from early decision II applications. 

“We’re very excited about that,” said Sarah Fischer, assistant vice president of admission. “We take that as increased interest in Grinnell … more sought after schools, more perceived prestigious schools, have higher demand for early decision, right? So we were happy to see that.” 

Despite the increase in early decision applicants, applications to Grinnell are down by about 4 percent, Fischer said. 

The increasing trend in the number of students applying early decision to Grinnell may be partly attributable to the Grinnell Choice Scholarship, a $20,000 annual award guaranteed to domestic students who are admitted early decision. Since introducing the scholarship about five years ago, early decision interest at Grinnell has increased steadily. 

In addition to an increase in the number of total applicants for early decision, the acceptance rate for ED I increased as well, going from 34 percent for the class of 2028 to 48 percent for the class of 2029.  The acceptance rate for ED II applications was 18 percent. However, “There’s no advantage to applying one over the other,” said Fischer. “It’s really simply just the composition of the applicant pool for that particular decision round that then dictates admit rate.”

There is no statistical difference between income levels of ED and regular decision applicants, Pamela Sittig, director of financial aid, wrote in an email to The S&B that. “Each application round has applicants from all income backgrounds,” Sittig wrote. 

Other differences between the pools of applicants are harder to ascertain. In reference to the rollback of affirmative action, Fischer said, “I and the rest of the admission staff don’t see the composition of the applicant pool until we’ve released decisions. So I actually don’t know what the composition of both our early decision pool as well as our regular decision pool is right now.”