Grinnell offers Early Admission to superior college-bound secondary-school juniors who will neither complete their senior year nor receive a secondary-school diploma. (Students graduating early from secondary school are considered regular candidates for admission.) Early Admission candidates may file their applications by the Regular Admission application date only. Personal interviews are required of all Early Admission candidates, and must be completed prior to the application deadline.

Advanced Placement Examination and International Baccalaureate Credits

A student entering Grinnell will be granted four credits for Advanced Placement (AP) examinations of the College Board upon presentation of a score of 3 (or higher) [calculus (BC), computer science (AB)], 4 (or higher) [art, biology, calculus (AB), chemistry, Chinese, classics, computer science (A), economics, English language/composition, environmental science, French, German, government, history, music, physics (B or C), psychology, Spanish, and statistics], and/or 5 [English literature/composition].

In addition, Grinnell College recognizes International Baccalaureate (IB) level work and will grant credit for examination scores of 5 or better on Higher Level courses only. Upon receipt of a transcript from the British Examination Authority, the College will also grant 4 credits for each British Advanced-level examination (A-level) score of B or higher. The granting of credit for IB and A-level work is equated to the granting of credit for Advanced Placement.

For satisfaction of graduation requirements, the credits awarded are divisional credits, not assigned to an academic department. However, a student may request permission to apply these AP/IB credits awarded toward satisfaction of the requirements for a major. For exact information about how credits will be awarded, consult the Office of the Registrar.

AP/IB credits will be cancelled upon the successful completion of any equivalent Grinnell course. Students should contact the Office of the Registrar for more details.

Grinnell does not grant credits for the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) test or other such programs.