<p>If your considering applying to Kenyon post your thoughts, comments, suggestions, questions, etc. here. I have visited and I loved it! I'm planning on applying ED1.</p>
<p>I am applying and will visit if I get accepted. I need to schedule my alum interview...</p>
<p>I also loved Kenyon... right now, I'm in between Carleton, Kenyon, and Wesleyan. I'm going back to Wes on the 14th to interview and look around again (might be a little bizarre for my taste). </p>
<p>At this point, Carleton is a little higher in my mind, but Kenyon is right up there, too. Anyone care to describe their Kenyon feelings/who they are/why they are applying (without repeating your "Why Kenyon?" thing... well, hell, if you want to, go for it, I guess!)?</p>
<p>I loved the feel, the cornfields, the beautiful campus, the people, friendliness, the English department (yeah, I'm probably one of <em>them</em>), the newspaper (just read the Collegian online) and a whole chunk more. Also, it didn't seem as stressful as the feeling I got from Carleton. (Sorry this has become a compare/contrast... that's where I am right now.)</p>
<p>The turnoffs as of now, are (and feel more than free to stage rebuttals to these, please!):
--not quite as intellectual or political as Carleton (though my perception could be wrong)
--I liked Carleton's town (Northfield) more than I liked Gambier (namely, the coffeeshop was cooler. This is a lame reason, but... so be it).
--A little preppier... not a sin, but I'm sort of a sloppy person. I love my sweatpants more than my nonexistant collared shirts. And I loathe popped collars.
--I'm no sorority girl, and Kenyon has Greek life. However, everyone always raves about how nice the Greek lifers are, so, this isn't as big a turnoff as I had once imagined it to be.</p>
<p>Care to share, anyone? (Oh, and... three cheers for seniors '07!)</p>
<p>Plethora,</p>
<p>Hey! I am a freshman and I just wanted to share my humble opinion. As far as the sorority girl thing. Kenyon does have a great greek life. But it so far from the stereotype. Everyone is soooooo approachable and its kinda hilarious how bad the upperclassmen greeks want you as a freshman to party! There is so many perspective of fashion at Kenyon... actually I just did a photo spread for the Collegian on fashion and showed all the styles. Preppy is just a facet.</p>
<p>Not sure where you are from...but Northfield is a frozen hell in the winter. This means that going outside for a few months is going to cause immediate pain. Sure it gets cold and snows at Kenyon...but not anything like MN.</p>
<p>Ha, I'm from New Jersey, so the cold would be... well, cold. ;)</p>
<p>I think I can offer you a slightly different perspective because I graduated from Kenyon in the 90s. Since then, I have been in the work force, went to grad school, and have taken classes at some other colleges. Sometimes, its hard to compare colleges when you are still there.</p>
<p>Overall, I would say that Kenyon is a "good" college but that Wesleyan and Carleton are probably regarded as being better academically. Sure, Kenyon has a few excellent departments like English, Theater, Poli Sci. I think that Kenyon is fine if you want to go to grad school but if you want a decent job when you graduate, well???- I think Wesleyan would be the best. Unfortunately at most liberal arts colleges, you can't even take a business class should you decide that that is the avenue you want to pursue.</p>
<p>When I was there, I found Kenyon to be a bit too preppy and snobby for my taste but everybody has different experiences. From everything I've read and people I've talked to, some things haven't changed. Kenyon is out in the middle of nowhere. The first two years I thought it was quaint, junior year-I went abroad-my senior year, I was bored out of my mind. I just felt that there weren't enough EXCITING things to do. I like to go out to eat and Kenyon had few restaurants either. </p>
<p>I didn't care for the fraternity system at Kenyon. Kenyon is a small college and it was even more cliquish than my high school -the frats can sometimes create this atmosphere where people judge you by what group you belong to.</p>
<p>Plus, outside of Gambier, I really did not like Mt. Vernon and surrounding towns. In terms of location and people, I prefer some of the liberal arts colleges and their towns out East-being in upstate New York, MA and the New England area is nice. Whatever liberal arts college you go to, don't waste some of your summers like I did-get as many internships as you can.</p>
<p>Sorry my advice was so long. Good luck all!</p>
<p>My daughter and I spent several days at Kenyon last spring on our liberal art colleges of the Midwest tour. Her final list of colleges she applied to were Carleton, Grinnell, Oberlin, William and Mary, Truman State, Beloit and Denison - the last three were her safeties. Our thoughts on Kenyon: The campus had some nice buildings but the campus is stretched out in a line - long walks to anywhere. One restaurant and a bar does not constitute a town - Gambier was tiny. Hummus and pizza gets old pretty fast. I can imagine going stir-crazy there in the winter. No shops, nothing that you can reach without a car. Practically every woman we passed on campus was smoking a cigarette and wearing very preppy clothes, including skirts and heels. The biggest building on campus was the very hulking and ugly gym which was very much out of scale with any of the other college buildings. We watched an aerobics class where two of the women were clearly anorexic, not skinny, but skeletons. The class in poli sci my daughter attended was terrific but could not overcome the detriments in location. Our tour guide could not hide his hatred of the college food. </p>
<p>Carleton is located in a real town with a library, hospital, another college, a nice downtown with plenty of shops and restaurants. The campus, while not as lovely as Grinnell's, is pretty and inviting. The students dressed like students not wannabe Wall Street bankers. Everyone smiled at us and was helpful. The food wasn't bad. The classes were very good. We also felt that Carleton was much more accepting of diverse political views and people than Kenyon would be. Minneapolis is only about an hour away. Carleton does not hide the fact that it is in Minnesota but take it from upstate New Yorkers - you can always find warm clothes and there are plenty of activities to enjoy in the winter.</p>
<p>The daughter applied ED to Carleton and got in. She would have been very happy to attend Grinnell and Oberlin as well.</p>
<p>The athletic center you call ugly is amazing, I miss it more than words can describe(did you go inside?). Also, did you ever think that people dress like brokers because they are going to be one in a few years? I think you will find this at many schools. I agree that too many sudents smoke and it is a bit rural. However, Columbus is only an hr away as well. The other schools you prefer are more liberal, kind of scary, as it is good to have some balance. Gambier is a village, and I am glad you visited and decided it was not to your d's likings before she ended up there. MN is a fine state, and I'm sure she will have a blast.</p>
<p>When my daughter and I visited the campus it was cloudy, grey, and a little windy. The architecture was not homogenous but kind of stylistically similar--it was pretty much all made of stone, the windows were glass. I walked past probably 120 people the whole time I was there and found them to be similar in that they all saw me as someone who was visiting their campus. I felt they judged me unfairly, seeing me as a one dimensional, opinionated person. . . . </p>
<p>But then the sun came out and the wind died down. My impression of the people on campus began to change somewhat. Now they were all smiling at us and blowing kisses through the air. Several of the students approached us with flowers and offered us friendly words of encouragement. We shared a nice chat over a cup of coffee and "hanged" with them in their residence hall for a while. They obviously sensed my comfort and reflected back my soft and ready approbation of their existences. As my daughter and I got in to our car and drove away, I felt I had made new friends and I just hoped to high heaven that my daughter would see things my way, because the worst thing I could imagine would be for us to have a different opinion. Either way, I guess I can always change, but I'm not that young anymore . . .</p>
<p>Yes, we went into the gym. That's where we watched the aerobics class with the anorexic students. I stand by my comments at how ugly and out of place the gym is. The facilities are very nice but the building is not. The appearance of the college campus was important to our daughter. Our daughter decided very early in the process that she wanted a small college in a small town and that is why we looked at Kenyon. On paper, it looked like a terrific match. Gambier is not small but non-existent. My daughter said that she thought about what she would do if she wanted Chinese food some evening for dinner and the answer is that without a car(she is not bringing a car to college), there was no place to go. No place to walk to or window shop. A completely enclosed environment. You'd really better like the school because there is no place else to be.</p>
<p>janine you're pathetically wrong about everything. kenyon is an amazing school and if your daughter wants some damn chinese food she can get one of her many friends (if she has any social skills) to go there with her. You realize our "gym" was built by one of the most famous architects in the country. You seriously are ignorant.</p>
<p>"Hi. I'm 19 year old college student...what should I do today? Window shop! What should I eat today? Chinese food!"
If these things are seriously that important to you:</p>
<p>At least 1 chinese place delivers and the best chinese restaurant in Mount Vernon is a 5 minute drive away and owned by the wife of Kenyon's Chinese Department chair.</p>
<p>The Amish and other local vendors come to campus most weekends (and weekdays when the weather's nice). This might not be your version of "window shopping" but it is no less valid, and much more unique.</p>
<p>I'm not saying you're wrong and I'm right, I'm just saying that there are two sides to every story.</p>
<p>Nice assumption on two students having eating disorders... Thats a very mature way to judge a college.</p>
<p>My son, wife and I visited Kenyon in August. The new gym is the most beautiful and well designed that i have ever seen. The campus is gorgeous.</p>
<p>Kenyon is an outstanding college with respect to academics,facilities and financial aid. To the writer who visited and did not like Kenyon-great,you got a lot out of your trip. Conclusively knowing that any college is not for you is a blessing. Place Kenyon in a more dynamic location , it would be one of the most difficult admits;but then it wouldn"t be Kenyon. An absolutely gorgeous gym.</p>
<p>Hi! I'm actually a junior so i'm not going to be applying for a while. But i'm giving Kenyon a consideration and contacted a really nice officer on the board. I hope to visit this year so I get a good idea of what life is like at Kenyon. Good luck all of you, who are applying there!</p>
<p>From College *******:
"But the happiest students at Kenyon are the ones that knew they were going to a small school in the cornfields and looked forward to it anyway."</p>
<p>Anyway, Kenyon's surrounding wouldn't change much in the future as well. This is because the cornfields and the rural environment are what shape and define Kenyon. </p>
<p>From Kenyon's development website:
"The Kenyon experience is inextricably linked to the beauty of the College's location. The sense of well-being that pervades this communitythe sense of living in a charmed realmstems not only from the loveliness of the campus itself but also from the surrounding hills, farmland, and forest. Landscape and river offer views that please the eye and nourish the spirit. It is virtually impossible to imagine Kenyon without those views. Students and faculty members, moreover, make use of the rural environment for both fieldwork and recreation.</p>
<p>The College cannot take its setting for granted, however. Growth and development are changing the landscape of the entire Mount Vernon area. It is imperative that Kenyon act, as necessary, to preserve the surroundings it so cherishes. In recent years, the College has added to its contiguous land holdings as opportunities arose and funds became available. Now, more than ever, Kenyon needs the resources to continue this practice, even to expand it."</p>
<p>Indeed, in the foreseeable future, there will still be the rivers, hills, farmland and forest around Kenyon. Like what a Kenyon professor said, "Kenyon is like an ideal pasture... a safe place where you can think big thoughts". I heart such an environment and I think that it is a place that will allow students to grow intellectually.</p>
<p>Anyway, there are still inhabitants around Kenyon other than corns and wheats! Kenyon during term time operates a shuttle bus to Mount Vernon, which is just like 15 minutes away (if I remember correctly). There's a Wal-Mart at Mount Vernon, in addition to many restaurants.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if this thread is dead or not, but I was wondering about the remote locale....
I'm from a very small town myself, lots of restaurants but virtually NO entertainment....Wal-mart is 10 minutes away too and we have no movie theaters, ect, so I'm used to that.
My only concern is that I wanted to broaden my horizons, sort of. I know Columbus is nearby, how often do students visit there? Is it an every weekend thing, or a big event. Also, how much is there to do on campus? And being a bit remote, does that entitle Kenyon to more outdoorsy opportunities, like, oh, I'm not really sure, but something along the lines of big group.....campouts, maybe? I have something in mind I heard of from another remote school, but can't really grasp it. Anyway, what do you think?</p>
<p>Well, when I visited there were a bunch of tents setup, something about Habitat for Humanity I think? Something like that. So uh campouts lol. Mt. Vernon isn't bad. I'm pretty sure they have a movie theater. Columbus is about half an hour away and there's tons to do there.</p>