Transfer Applicants

Why Grinnell?

We understand that the decision to transfer to another college or university can be a difficult one. Every year, we welcome a new class of transfer students to the college, and students are eager to embark on a new educational challenge as new contributing members of the Grinnell community.

Students choose to transfer to Grinnell for a variety of reasons. However, all transfers benefit from our individually advised curriculum, which gives students the flexibility to take the classes most aligned with their academic interests. All students are also assigned a faculty adviser and a career adviser, who will help ensure that a student's educational journey is fulfilling and purposeful.

We invite transfer applications from students who have completed at least one year of college coursework. We are excited to help guide you through the transfer process. You can find more information about our transfer program and how to apply as a transfer student below.

Transfer Eligibility

Grinnell will consider you a transfer student under these circumstances, even if you’d like a do-over. Since graduating from high school:

1. You have studied at another U.S.-accredited college or university and will have earned 12 or more transferrable credits by the time you enroll at Grinnell.
2. You have studied at another university that is not a U.S.-accredited institution and will have taken classes for more than two semesters by the time you enroll at Grinnell.

Transfer of Credits

We assess all university-level coursework for transfer. If your application is successful, we will provide you with an estimate of the number of credits that will transfer at the time of your admission. We will conduct a final official evaluation of your transfer credits prior to your arrival in August.

Selecting a Major

You can study something new at Grinnell. You don’t need to study the same thing as at your previous institution. Enrolled new transfer students work closely with an assigned academic adviser to design an academic program that fulfills your needs and the College’s requirements for graduation.

Transfer Application Requirements

Grinnell welcomes transfer applications from students from a wide variety of backgrounds. Every year, we admit and enroll transfer students from four-year institutions (public and private), community colleges, and/or those who are ready to resume their education after a gap in schooling.  Similar to first-year admission, Grinnell takes a holistic approach in our review process, carefully considering all parts of a student’s application. We will take into consideration each student’s schooling history, reason for transferring, and demonstrated ability to be successful in the Grinnell classroom and campus community.  

If you have any questions about the transfer application process, please contact Christian Morris or Emma O’Polka Armah, Grinnell College’s transfer admission liaisons.

Here’s what we need from you to complete your transfer application, by the transfer deadline below:

• The Common Application: All forms, including the Registrar’s Report are available through the Common Application.
  • If you have not already done so, we encourage you to submit the Common Application for Transfers before sending in other materials. Submitting the Common Application triggers our system to create your Grinnell College Application Portal, which will allow you to see the status of all missing and received documents. You will also use this portal to view your admission decision.
• Official final secondary/high school transcript or GED completion certificate
• Official transcripts from each college or university attended
• Two written academic evaluations from current or former professors (If you’ve been out of high school for less than one year, you may submit one academic evaluation from a high school teacher.)

If you applied to Grinnell in the past as a first-year or transfer student, you may be eligible to reuse some of the documents listed above. This will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

While domestic transfer applicants are not currently eligible for merit-aid, they may apply for need-based financial aid. If you are an international transfer applicant, please know that it is incredibly rare for Grinnell to be able to offer need-based financial aid or scholarships. Please contact the Financial Aid Team for questions about Grinnell’s financial aid process (U.S. citizens and permanent residents: finaid@grinnell.edu; international students: intladmission@grinnell.edu).

Deadlines

Financial Aid

While domestic transfer applicants (i.e. U.S. citizens and permanent residents) are not eligible for merit aid, they may apply for need-based financial aid. Grinnell is committed to meeting 100% of the demonstrated financial need for all admitted domestic transfers — without the use of loans. Learn more about applying for need-based aid and contact our financial aid office at finaid@grinnell.edu with questions.

If you are an international transfer applicant, it is incredibly rare for Grinnell to be able to offer need-based financial aid or scholarships. You may contact our international admission team at intladmission@grinnell.edu with questions.

DMACC Transfer Students

If you are a Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) student considering transfer, see the Frequently Asked Questions for DMACC transfer students. Grinnell College and DMACC have an agreement to encourage qualified DMACC students to consider transferring to Grinnell.