A liberal arts education can be a valuable experience for students looking to gain both breadth and depth in a variety of different fields throughout their time in college. Grinnell College, located in picturesque Grinnell, Iowa, is number thirteen on the list of “Top Liberal Arts Colleges” of 2026, according to US News & World Report.

If you’re thinking that achieving the status of being among the top 25 liberal arts colleges across the U.S. will probably correlate to higher exclusivity and a lower admissions rate, congratulations! That would be correct. 

Let’s take a closer look at the statistics for Grinnellians and see what GPA current high school students should be aiming for as they start to plan their cases for admission.

Grinnell College Acceptance Rate

Last year, for the Class of 2028, a grand total of 9,758 students applied for admissions. But only 1,416 were admitted. Take out your calculators! Drumroll, please…that’s only a 14.5% acceptance rate.

The GPAs of Grinnell College Students

Grinnell College does not make public the GPA breakdown of their applicants or enrolled students, however, we can utilize some of their other data in order to determine what students should be aiming for.

GPA Percentage of Grinnell College Class of 2028

In the Class of 2028, here are the details on where students fell according to class rank:

Assessment	Percent
Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class	56.2%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class	31.4%
Percent in top half of high school graduating class	10.9%
Percent in bottom half of high school graduating class	1.5%

Almost 90% of students who earned admission and then enrolled in Grinnell College in the fall of 2024 were in the top 25% of their high school graduating class. Better start studying now!

It’s pretty easy to assume that students hoping to earn admission to Grinnell College for the Class of 2030 and beyond will need a strong GPA, supported by a rigorous course history and a high class rank (for those schools that unwisely choose to rank), to earn acceptance and become a true Grinnellian. 

GPA Percentage of Grinnell College Class of 2027

The following is the class rank breakdown of the students in Grinnell College’s Class of 2027, as according to the 2023-2024 Common Data Set:

Assessment	Percent
Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class	64%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class	30%
Percent in top half of high school graduating class	5%
Percent in bottom half of high school graduating class	1%

GPA Percentage of Grinnell College Class of 2026

The following is the class rank breakdown of the students in Grinnell College’s Class of 2026, as according to the 2022-2023 Common Data Set:

Assessment	Percent
Percent in top tenth of high school graduating class	66%
Percent in top quarter of high school graduating class	24%
Percent in top half of high school graduating class	8%
Percent in bottom half of high school graduating class	2%

Grinnell College Acceptance Rates for Classes of 2024 – 2028

Another piece of data that is useful in extrapolating the competitiveness of a school’s admissions process is obviously the acceptance rate. But how has Grinnell’s acceptance rate changed over the past five years? Are there key trends that can help in our GPA deduction process?

Grinell College Class Year	Acceptance Rate
Class of 2028	14.5%
Class of 2027	12.6%
Class of 2026	10.8%
Class of 2025	10.5%
Class of 2024	19.2%

Based on the data released each year from Grinnell College, for the past five years, they have boasted an acceptance rate of less than 20%. The most competitive years were for applicants in the Class of 2026 and Class of 2025, who faced about a 10% acceptance rate both of those years. Although the rate has crept up by around 2% for the past two years, we’ll be keeping an eye on the Grinnell College Class of 2029 and Class of 2030 statistics to see if the trend continues or if the rate dips back down again.  

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Grinnell College Admission

Clearly, there’s been some fluctuation in the acceptance rate at Grinnell College over the past five years. Which means, it’s harder to predict what that number will be next year.

However, Ivy Coach feels strongly that students hoping to gain acceptance to Grinnell College, along with any school of a similar (or lower) acceptance rate, should focus on maintaining a strong GPA. Like the majority of Grinnell students, it will be important for students to graduate in the top 25% of their graduating class if they want to secure a spot amongst the Grinellian ranks. 

Nervous about your student’s chances of getting accepted into Grinnell College, or any of the other top 25 liberal arts colleges? We get it! It can be a scary process. That’s where Ivy Coach, led by a team of former elite university admissions officers, can help. Fill out our complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch to outline Ivy Coach’s Strategy Session. 

Our Strategy Session is designed to provide you and your student a roadmap to successful college admissions and alleviate the stress that comes with staring at low acceptance after low acceptance rate, hopelessly wondering what to do next. Wonder no more.