The Scarlet 31 Black. April 13. Him—page 8

 

Packaging the “Experience”

by Runny Nell
and
Ken Kl'inlstein

Three concerts. two lectures,
tour movies. a disco dance. and
steak night Would you buy a used
college from this mail? Last
“cokend \iltnessed tlle second
llnnual onslaught ()l prospectives
lol' the “Spring Reception lor
Admitted Students") This fete,
a ilngcd by the Admissions ()1:
fiat. brought about. 74 high school
seniors \i ho have been admitted to
the college. many of whom have
not yet signed on the dotted line.

From 'l‘eaneck, N.J.. Normal,
1“,. and Fremont, Cal., they came,
with parents in tow. Said Frcd
Hoffman. a New Jersey
prospective, “I feel like Laura
lngalls going west to the ‘little
college on the prairie' "

AND THEY ARE getting smart~
er, The SAT averages of applicants
to Grinnell. 580 verbal, 590 math.
are Significantly higher than the
national averages craze verbal and
470 math, and have shown a slight
increase over last year's ﬁgures.
But raw scores don't give the iull
picture or what this year’s
prospectives are really like.

Monday's reception was a
rigorous day ottours. speeches and
discussions designed to show
prospectives and their parenb
concrete examples of the nebulous
“Grinnell Experience."

TllE FLOCK 0F prospectives
gathered in South Lounge at 9:00
a.m, Everyone was tagged. Then a
smiling admissions person handed
over a glossy iolder bulging with
everything they always wanted to
know about Grinnell but were
afraid to ask—on the phone.

 

People barely had time to finish
their first cup of coffee before the
barrage began, Parents and
prospectives alike were home
barded \Vlth facts and figures
about academics at Grinilcl] And
the bombardiers were lor-
nltdablc~Dean Walker, Ad-
missions Director John llopkins,
and representatives from Career
Services They spoke of tuition,
iinancial aid. renovation, graduate
school, faculty tenure, the linen
service and ii host of other issues.

PARENTS FURlOUSLV scrir
bbled the information on
embossed napkins as their
Children, the prospectives them-
selves. sat staring out the Windows
of South Lounge. They watched
groggy students dash past and
didn't seem to be as interested in
mean scores as they were in get
ting a feeling for Grinnell by obs
serving the “wildlife.”

Finally at ll .00 am. the students
were grouped into their tavorite
division: science, «humanities, or
perhaps social studies. Thus
distributed. they were herded to
classrooms which obviously
Weren’t waiting for them.

UNASSUMING EIGIITEEN
year-olds were subjected to such
topics as discussions of the phallic
potentialities of a bridge in Joyce’s
Portrait 0' the Artist as a Young
Man. So much for academics.

The parene were left in the
Forum to pursue questions such as
the stock portfolio of the college
and “Would you like some more
coffee’l"

AT THE 11:50 am bell, Mon-
day‘s 35 prospectives tiled back to
the Forum to Join the entourage
and trek to Quad for “Luncheon at

 

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’l/M lOWENSE G

GRINNELL COLLEGE
cordially invites
you and your parents
to attend a
spring reception
on the Grinnell campus
beginning at ten o’clock
in the morning
on either

Friday, April 6‘, 197.9,
or

Monday, April's, 1979,
or

Friday, April 20, 1.979.

 

 

 

 

 

Perplexed prospective is interrogated by 36B

. . to,
(Photo by Todd oberman.)
staﬂers.

 

 

the Quadrangle."

Cackles and boots greeted them
at the door. Upon entrance, almost
on cue, bits of food began to fly and
the pounding of lists on tables
reverberated throughout Quad.
One could almost see the middle-
aged parents crossing Grinnell oft
their mental lists, saying, “Surely
they don’t do thisat Dartmouth.”

AFTER (‘HOKING down
lunch, the prospectives and
“family groups” moved on massc
back to the Forum for another
series of informative talks, this
time on the topic: “Student Ser-
vices."

From the course of this
discussion it would seem that
mental health care is the only
student service needed at Grinnell.
Janet Carl expounded on the skills
of the S.A.’S. the professional ab
ility of the R.A.s, and the five free
visits at the County mental health
center, going so far as to list the
numbers of psychologists and
psychiatrists on the Staff. It seems
that four years of Grinnell are not
without their special hazards.

NEVERTIIELESS. AS the wan
spring sunshine warmed South
Lounge, heads began to nod and
yawns were stiiled, The man from
Normal. 11].. gave up completely
and fell asleep with his head
hanging over the baclr oi the chair
as though contemplating the
stability of the ceiling.

The otficialese terminated
precisely at2:45 p,m, tas indicated
in the itinerary) and informal
discussions began, Students were
tree to talk to faculty members
about their own particular iris
teresLs.

i\T P.M., personable tour
guides appeared, and the
pruspectives were back on the
track. Small packs of parents,
students, and their sagacious
guides experienced the wonders oi
the science building, the P.E,C.,
the Zirkle monument, and, last but
not least, the dorms.

This really interested them By
visiting dorm rooms, many guides
tried to impress upon the parents
and prospectives the importance of
emotional growth in the college
atmosphere. Ultimately, this in-
terest boils down to queries about
the bathroom policy if the
students Seemed receptive to .the
idea, their parents and guardians
seemed inordinately interested in

 

the tact that boys and girls go to
the bathroom in the Same} room. I

STUDENTS CONVEYED great
interest in other aspects of dorm
life, unlike their parents, Guide
Danny Kadden said. “ The parents
seem overly concerned about
academiesiless about the social
growth that's possible.”

But the day is still not over. After
an exhausting jaunt through
campus, what could be more

(I
I’m

FROM THE VIEWPOINT of the
Admissions Office itwould seem to
be worth while, The statistics
support their recruiting methods,
Vos points to last fall’s housing
Shortage perhaps as a result of a
lower attrition rate for returning
students. This spells success for
the Admissions Office.

Students are better informed and
better served by the admissions
process. The students aren't forced

not sure how much

of what I heard is PR

and how much is B .”

relaxing than a Presidential
Reception at Grinnell House? Long
trays of pants fours wedges of
cheese, crackers, and lrothy punch
awaited them in the elegant
Simplicity of Grinnell House, with
Dean Walker smiling all the while,
And so ends the second of three
such gala events. The campus
community can look forward to
another one April 20.

AS you CAN imagine, this pitch
is not without its price, The whole
process of enrolling a freshman
class requires much time, effort,
and money. These prospective
receptions are just the tip of the
iceberg Which ultimately costs the
college, as Dick Vos quoted
Dean Walker, 3 total of $990.00
dollars for each student who en-
rolls at Grinnell, Although this fig-
ure seems rather high, Vos main-
tains that it is notinordinate, that it
is indeed necessary for small
Schools like Grinnell which desire a
national instead of regional student
body.

But how well spent is the money?
As one prospective from Iowa City
said, “I found it informative, but
I’m not sure how much of what I
heard isPR and how much is BS.”

 

to leave because they made the
wrong choice. -

But how well is a liberal arts eds
ucation being served by these
advanced marketing techniques?
In these days of inflation and
student apprehension, it seems
that a truly liberal education would

'not be the most markemble of ed-

ucational schemes. Many of the
prospectives are primarily con-
cerned with the marketability of
their college degree, and see
Grinnell as a reputable college
which will get them into the
security of professional school.
With such goals in mind, it was no
surprise that few prospectives
were attracted by the curricular
freedom at Grinnell, one of its truly
distinctive qualities, in today’s
trend toward more structured
education,

Nevertheless, the admissions
procedures, such as the
Prospective Receptions in the_
spring, serve a valid informational
purpose for parents who are
concerned about the high cost of
education, as well as for high
school seniors who are intimidated
by the impending rigors of college
life. .

 

