Grinnell College admits students without regard to their ability to pay, and it meets 100 percent of domestic students’ demonstrated financial need. Approximately 70 percent of Grinnell’s students receive some form of need-based aid. Starting in 2008, the College set a loan cap of $2,000 a year on student financial aid packages, ensuring that no domestic student need incur more than $8,000 in need-based loan debt upon graduation. At the same time, the College has steadily increased its aid commitment to international students. In addition to need-based aid, the College has a long-standing merit aid program.

As part of its extensive initiatives to increase the diversity of its student body, the College provides a four-year full-tuition scholarship each year to 20 promising students from urban backgrounds in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., through the Posse Program. The program has been a significant success, and the College continues to seek new opportunities for achieving ever greater diversity.