The Grinnell Rotary Club held its regular weekly meeting on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Following the opening of the meeting, members shared good news and club business. The speaker for this week’s meeting was Scott Baulmer of Grinnell College Admissions Department.
Scott broke his report into five subjects.
- The Admissions Office: What people think we do versus what we actually do.
- How the college admission process has changed.
- The technology behind the curtain.
- The numbers behind the operation.
The punchline was that behind this technology are people and that the fundamental mission hasn’t changed.
The Admissions Office uses data and technology to help its operations for student evaluation and enrollment.
Many colleges, Grinnell included, use what is called the Common Application. Students fill out an application electronically and the office populates these data points into the database system.
The status of international students presents significant unknowns. With recent policy and political changes to visa availability and the value of the dollar, it is difficult to predict how many applications will be accepted and how many of those will be able to attend.
Grinnell College has a high sticker price. Students come from across the globe with second languages and different backgrounds. This is important for maintaining the College’s rich multicultural tradition. Grinnell’s educational model is built around four years, eight semesters.
What about retention rate? It is hovering around ninety percent!
Some schools are starting to use “Direct Admission” programs. Grinnell is a highly selective institution and is not currently participating in direct admission programs.
Grinnell participates with a partner named QuestBridge to access another set of students who are often not fortunate enough to have the resources, the knowledge or the connections as to how the whole process works. Typically, between 20-40 of those Quest Bridge students will be selected. The selected students will receive a full tuition scholarship to come to Grinnell College.
Moving on to technology, Grinnell College typically enrolls 450 students. For fall 2026, more than 14,000 applications were received and processed by the Admission Office. All transcripts are stored electronically. Last year, roughly 9.8 million email messages were sent to prospective students. But students pay less attention to emails now. Collectively, an astonishing total of nearly 60,000 text messages were sent to students last year.
Grinnell College attracts a talented group of students. Those who may transfer from Grinnell are likely to graduate from their new institution.
In closing Scott answered questions from the attendees.
Scott Baulmer’s presentation appears on the Rotary Club of Grinnell website in the section labeled “Stories, September 15, 2026.” Grinnell Rotary Website https://portal.clubrunner.ca/1642
If you are interested in learning more about service to the community, membership, and the power of networking, come visit us at the Rotary Club of Grinnell. The club meets every Tuesday evening at 5:30 at West Side Family Restaurant.
Peter Jackson
