Chance for Kenyon 2014 and other questions for foreign student...plz help!

Colleges & Universities A-Z Kenyon College
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<p>Hi guys, I am jeremy, a high school senior currently studying in Bangkok. I will graduate this year and expect to go to US for undergraduate studies in Fall 2010.</p>

<p>Anyway my focus is on LACs because from various sources as well as my personal judgement, I feel that I am much more suited for liberal arts colleges than big Universities. And of course another factor is that my family won't be able to support me financially very much so I need substantial financial assistance. It seems more realistic to ask for financial aid from colleges rather than Uni especially in view of the financial crisis.</p>

<p>So because of that I have eliminated many choices, big name unis like California-Berkeley, U of Michigan, UVa have all been eliminated from my list of colleges, although I think my grades can make it, simply because such state universities have very limited financial resources for foreign students.</p>

<p>Anyway I came across Kenyon College. And seriously I have done TONS of research on the school. I have read what you guys have posted here, as well as on other forums. So I do have a clear picture of Kenyon and the pros and cons of going there.</p>

<p>So I have applied Kenyon ED. Please chance me, thanks for your response.
TOEFL iBT: 115 (writing: 30) (P.S. Full Mark for TOEFL= 120)
SAT1: 2000 (CR 690 MA 770 WR 740)
SAT2: 1510
others: chairman of cultural society
Recommendation: supposedly good. 1 from couselor, 2 from teachers,and another 2 from external personnel.</p>

<p>So do I have a chance of being accepted to Kenyon? I know Kenyon meets 100% of a student's financial needs if he is admitted.</p>

<p>Some other questions:
1) Is Kenyon considered a very premier and prestigious institution in the US? (it seems so, just want to double check)</p>

<p>2) I aim to go to Law school after Kenyon, does a Kenyon degree give me much advantage, or does it seem inferior compared to big name universities?
I heard that it is EXTREMELY tough to apply to top Law schools in the US, like Yale, NYU,Berkeley ,Columbia and Harvard. Is that true? But I don't think going to a mediocre state Uni law school, eg Ohio State U (sorry no offence) helps much... Is GPA the most important requirement for a Law school applicant?
In general, How well do Kenyon graduates do in terms of applying to TOP graduate and especially Law schools?</p>

<p>3) Is it possible to graduate from Kenyon in 3 years? Admissions officer told me very few students graduate in 3.5 years while most graduate in 4 years. But according to my understanding for the US system as long as you work really hard and get enough credits you can graduate early. Isn't that so? My senior graduates double major from Yale in 3 years.... </p>

<pre><code> I currently do not have any APs. So since AP credits can be transferred, would it help if I take AP next year and transfer my credits to Kenyon so that it can shorten my length of study and graduate early? Is that worthwhile though?
</code></pre>

<p>4) I was initially daunted by Kenyon's sheer geographical isolation, but it seems that the sense of community is really strong there and people really reach out to each other. That's terrific.. But Is that a fair portrayal?</p>

<p>5) Does anyone know how 's the international students scene at Kenyon? It is a really small college and international students form less than 5% of the total population. So does it mean that Kenyon lacks of internationalism and diversity?</p>

<p>6) Study-abroad is a must. I know Kenyon has many programs. Can you go abroad to study more than once, or can you go abroad as early as a sophomore? (Most cater to juniors only I guess?)</p>

<p>7) How's the LGBT scene in Kenyon? Given it is a really small and isolated college, there may not be an active LGBT community? Also, given the fact that it is really isolated, are students politically engaged, or are they apathetic about current affairs?</p>

<p>That's all.Thank you guys for enlightening me...</p>

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<p>I am a current Kenyon freshman so I hope this helps!</p>

<p>1) the US has many prestigious liberal arts schools and Kenyon is right up there among them. However, Kenyon is also a very unique place–I see more of an experience with amazing academics</p>

<p>2). Kenyon matriculates into the top medical schools and law schools in the country. It’s nice because it’s such a small school that your professors actually get to know you and truly help you to achieve your goals.</p>

<p>3). No, not really. I haven’t heard of anyone graduating in 3 years, but what’s the rush? I did get a few credits for my APs. Remember this is college: it is an experience. Get a social life, date, have a bit of fun. Kenyon students study hard and party hard.</p>

<p>4). This school is VERY SMALL and in the middle of nowhere Ohio. You are surrounded by fields. The sense of community is extremely strong. You cannot be a loner here. You have to get involved and not lock yourself in your room studying all the time. This is a place where it is really easy to make friends:)</p>

<p>5). My roommate is from Palestine and really likes it here. There isn’t a ton of diversity, but the international students hold a lot of events and run many clubs. The thing is that Kenyon is incredibly diverse in other ways: sexuality, religion, there really isn’t any distinction. That’s why people fit in: we’re all weird in our own ways. </p>

<p>6). students go abroad usually for a semester during junior year and there are so many programs! As an international studies major I plan to go abroad my entire junior year.</p>

<p>7). The LGBT community is INCREDIBLY ACTIVE. I love it. There is no hiding your sexuality here. Be who you are and no one cares. In fact, Kenyon embraces people of all sexualities. Also, Kenyon students are very globally engaged and know what’s going on in the world. It was in the news last year because some students stood in line for hours just to vote in the last presidential election. </p>

<p>Financial aid wise: I received a distinguished academic scholar award for being a top applicant and kenyon gave me the most financial aid of any school I applied to. </p>

<p>Final thought (because I have to get to class): from the tone of your note you need to understand that Kenyon is an experience. Although it is an exceptionally good academic school you MUST get involved in the community. The friends you make here are extraordinary. Let me know if you have any more questions!</p>

3

<p>Sorry there was a typo
my SAT1 score should be 2200 instead of 2000~</p>

<p>Anyone plz chance me?</p>

4

<p>collegefreshie thank you so much for your response.
It seems that I have already felt the warmth of Kenyon community.</p>

<p>I am just unsure if I can fit in the life at Gambier becos I have always been living in big cities.
And thanks for assuring me that Kenyon is a prestigious institution. It is practical that most foreign students are more ‘brand-conscious’ as liberal arts colleges are rarely known worldwide, as compared to their University counterparts such as UCBerkeley and U Michigan.</p>

<p>Personally speaking although I could not say that I can definitely make it to Kenyon, my scores look decent and I could have applied to somewhere else. But I have chosen Kenyon, partly because of my financial hardship which has prevented me from applying to more well-known schools (a friend of mine got into U of Michigan with a SAT score of just 1900+ and TOEFL 100… ), so I really want to be assured that I have made the right decision and my investment will get good return.</p>

<p>I hope you understand how I feel as a foreigner.</p>

<p>Anyway I do love Kenyon and I have done extensive research about the school. I do not want to go there first and then transfer out later. So I want to make the right decision now.</p>

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<p>can someone plz help chance me and give me some advices?
Thanks a lot</p>

6

<p>I would expect you to be accepted. As for the strength of a Kenyon degree, it would certainly by on par if not above a degree from UC Berkeley or Michigan. A kenyon degree will not pack the same punch as a degree from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Standord, MIT, etc., but it does garner respect in law school admissions offices. Check the forbes and US news and world report rankings if you’re looking for more confirmation. </p>

<p>[America’s</a> Best Colleges - Forbes.com](<a href=“Forbes List Directory”>Forbes List Directory)</p>

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<p>Hi thank you so much for your feedback. Yes I have checked out the Forbes ranking, which has placed Kenyon as high as #22, way above its US News and World Report counterpart has done.</p>

<p>I have found a top50 feeder schools for top graduate school ranking on Wall Street Journal. Sadly speaking Kenyon is not among the top 50.</p>

<p>And from Kenyon’s viewbook, it has not indicated anyone going to prestigious law schools such as Columbia, Harvard and Yale. However I think a Kenyon degree will not in any way put me in a disadvantageous position, like you have pointed out.</p>

<p>Thanks again and I wish I d be admitted.</p>

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<p>To be honest, I’m not sure Kenyon puts together a list on what graduates end up doing upon graduation, and even if they did it wouldn’t include those stuents who take a year or more off before going to professional or graduate school (which especially for Med school students is a very significant number). It’s common for the college to pick out a few students going into high paying jobs at the end of their senior year and do little profiles for each in an attempt to disavow the notion that a liberal arts college education only leads to graduate school or starving artist/trust fund survival status. As for Kenyon students going to the programs you mentioned, I certainly don’t keep track, but I can think of one Kenyon student a while back who went to Harvard law after Kenyon and went on to become President of the United States. I suppose it’s also worth pointing out that most law schools have entering classes of just a few hundred, and the top programs (U Chicago, Yale, Harvard, NYU, Columbia, Stanford) are only accepting students with 170+ LSATs and 3.8+ GPAs. I’ll add that most law schools consider the college you graduated from as a third factor after GPA and LSAT score because to date US News and World Report dominates law school rankings and does not have an index for the strength of colleges attended by entering freshman, and basically the US News ranking is how law school admissions offices determine their success or failure. In conclusion, there’s actually a reasonably strong case to be made that for the purpose of law school admissions an individual might be better off racking up the As at some well known, and middling educational quality, state school like a USC or Ohio State than really challenging themselves at a lesser known LAC or Ivy League school. Of course, graduate from Harvard (or for that matter Kenyon) with a 4.0, put up a 180 on the LSAT, convince law school admission offices that you’re social capable, and demonstrate diversity and you can go anywhere you like.</p>

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<p>Hi thank you for your comments.
Fair enough. It could not have been possible for Kenyon to track all of her graduates and display such data in her viewbook (where i obtained the information from). As for the law school admission you have certainly enlightened me. Anyway i think it really depends on the applicant’s capability, regardless of which school he or she goes to.
All I want to double check is to make sure that Kenyon is indeed a prestigious higher learning institution in the US, which, from the responses and information i v gathered so far, it certainly was, is and will always be.
Yeah Kenyon had produced the 15th President of the US, though centuries ago.That was remarkable.</p>

<p>Are u a faculty member of current student in Kenyon? Thank you so much for your invaluable information.</p>

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<p>19th actually, and yes a long time ago.
I’m a current student.</p>

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<p>Hi Foolsgold thanks a lot for your response.
Just one more question.</p>

<p>I am really into Study abroad programs as I intend to be an international studies major in Kenyon. Although Kenyon has a wide range of study abroad options which enables you to literally visit any place in the world, they are mostly open to only Juniors.
Do Sophomores or even freshmen have any chances of going abroad to study?I asked the admissions officer but the answer was ambiguous.</p>

<p>Also, Trinity College has some really amazing study abroad events (though both Kenyon and Trinity claim 50% of students go abroad at least once), they offer many wonderful programs in SUMMER to study in Asia, Paris and so on.
Sarah Lawrence College has a direct exchange program with Oxford University, which is really a huge privilege.</p>

<p>As compared to the above mentioned colleges, Kenyon’s emphasis on internationalism does not seem as strong.
Since I am really into study abroad I d like to know more of this aspect in Kenyon.
Does Kenyon offer/allow any study abroad events in SUMMER?</p>

<p>Thanks for your response. I v submitted my ED agreement to Kenyon and i really DO NOT want to regret it. Study abroad is crucial to me.</p>

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<p>From what I’ve learned, freshmen don’t go abroad, sophomore’s rarely go, it’s usually juniors, and rarely seniors. I heard that somewhere around 40% of Kenyon students study abroad. Also, when I visited, they said that if you do not like any of their specific study abroad options, you can write a proposal to do a different one. I’m not exactly sure about summer options, however.</p>

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<p>hi thanks a lot for your information.
According to the info in the Kenyon’s viewbook, it says about 50% of students study abroad at least once. And I v been checking out Kenyon’s website very frequently lately, the school is having an international education week of some sort? I v checked out their photo gallery too. Are you there too?</p>

<p>anyway thanks for your information. I am really into study abroad programs and I would be really disappointed if there is absolutely NO summer programs at all…</p>

<p>Do you know if I can participate in summer study abroad programs offered by other schools? Like I know NYU has many such summer study options in Paris, Rome etc.</p>

<p>Do you think Kenyon’s idea of ‘global ideas radiating on an Ohio hilltop’ holds true? I am kinda daunted by its isolation. But I really like the idea of close interpersonal relationship there. Is that true also?</p>

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<p>I am an international student at Kenyon from South-East Asia and I think I can answer some of your questions.</p>

<p>1) Kenyon is not exactly well-known in the US because of its size and its lack of research output by the faculty. So the average Joes in America would not have heard of Kenyon. But graduate schools (and highly-educated people) do know of Kenyon and seem to think highly of it. If you do well at Kenyon, you will have no problems getting admitted into top graduate schools, law schools included.</p>

<p>2) Having said that, Kenyon is as hard and challenging as any big name schools. It really depends on you – you can double major, undertake departmental honors and so on. If you want to challenge yourself, the opportunity is there for you. But one thing about Kenyon is that professors here are truly amazing. I can’t really say a lot of bad things about the professors here. They truly care and are there for you.</p>

<p>2) It is hard to graduate in 3 years from Kenyon because one has to complete a senior exercise (two if you are double-majoring) before students are allowed to graduate. From my knowledge, only a few schools like Pomona, Carleton and Kenyon has such a requirement. And the senior exercise tends to be time-consuming and demanding. Also, why not take the full four years? College comes only once in your lifetime. Enjoy it.</p>

<p>3) Kenyon’s location in rural Ohio has both pros and cons. I personally think that Kenyon students are at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a job because employers don’t come to Kenyon (rural Ohio) that much to recruit students, although Kenyon does participate in the Selective Liberal Arts Consortium. On the other hand, I can pretty much concentrate on my studies without having a lot of distractions. Kenyon is a place for you to think and reflect. Winter breaks and summers at Kenyon can be very lonely though, so make sure you go somewhere over the breaks. </p>

<p>4) The international student scene is fine. We don’t just hang out with each other. Most of us hang out with Americans pretty well. And Kenyon has definitely worked hard on diversity and it is showing. The class of 2013 has something like 20% students of color. LGBT scene is just fine as well, probably not as vibrant as NYU or UC-Berkeley because the number of LGBTs at Kenyon are substantially smaller than big liberal places. </p>

<p>5) There’s no summer study abroad programs at Kenyon, although you can pretty much go where ever you want in your Junior year. I know of people who go to varied countries like Nepal and Mongolia in their Junior year. However, there’s a caveat: you need to have taken at least 1 year of Spanish if for instance, you want to go to Spain and 1 year of French if you want to go to France and so on. Kenyon however, has the summer science program and allows you to undertake a research project with a faculty member over the summer (while giving you $3000 and free housing). Kenyon also has the summer legal studies award, which allows you to undertake a legal-studies research project and you also get to go to Oxford for a week or so to present your research.</p>

<p>Also, I don’t think OSU is as mediocre as you think. OSU is pretty well respected for its graduate programs IMO. Many of Kenyon’s math professors come from OSU and they are amazing.</p>

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<p>hi Kenyon_10 thank you so much for your info.</p>

<p>I v read Kenyon’s viewbook very carefully so I am familiar with what you have talked above, like summer legal/science research program.</p>

<p>So sad there seems to be few chance to study abroad in the first 2 years. That seems to be the biggest turn-off of all for me now. I am really into international studies. Some other colleges which are not as premier as Kenyon actually have quite amazing study abroad programs. For eg, Colby-Sawyer has a first year program for freshmen to study in Europe, while Sarah Lawrence has exchange program with Oxford!!!</p>

<p>Your words on graduate school are very helpful. Then I guess if you want to work immediately after graduation from undergraduate school, going to a more well-known big University like U of Michigan would help much more? I d be back to work in East Asia and most Asians, as you probably know, have absolutely no concept of LACs. Like most people around me seem to think that HYP are the only ‘good’ schools in the US.</p>

<p>Anyway thank you and hope you are enjoying your stay in Kenyon.
I will leave my fate to God…he will help me make the right decision. After all i have already submitted my ED application and there is nothing else I can change now.</p>

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<p>Why would you want to go abroad when you are already abroad? Academics abroad generally tend to be less rigorous. And talking about Oxford, I have friends who go abroad in their Junior year to Oxford, LSE as well. You definitely can do that if you want to. I choose not to because I didn’t think I will learn as much at Oxford compared to Kenyon.</p>

<p>You are right, if your main aim is to find a job after college, going to big name schools definitely will help when you go back to Thailand. Kenyon I think prepares you less of that, but still the education you get here is great.</p>

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<p>My brother attended Kenyon and double majored in Pol. Sci. and Econ. He won a Marshall Scholarship, received a degree from Balliol College, Oxford, and finished at Harvard Law School. He now works for an international law firm and resides in NYC. Don’t sell Kenyon short.</p>

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<p>Hey Kenyon_10 thank you so much for your advices and information. I actually wrote something the other day but after some consideration I thought it would be better not to post it here.</p>

<p>Anyway it’s great to hear you talking abt Kenyon and, hopefully we could meet up in Kenyon next year! Wish you all the best there.</p>

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<p>hey Carrjrr, how great it is to hear about your brother. That sounds pretty encouraging and it seems to speak really well of a Kenyon education.</p>

<p>I v been watching Gossip Girl series lately and have been dreaming of living in NYC…Gambier is clearly on the other end of the spectrum but i just hope I would enjoy a rural setting too.</p>

<p>I guess i might somehow follow your brother’s route. Majoring in Pol Sci and Econs/Intl Studies/History most likely.</p>

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<p>I graduated from Kenyon College in the early 90s and have worked in higher education administration ever since, so I am quite familiar with college culture. The theme I see in your posts is that you are most interested in Kenyon due to its possible financial benefits. In my opinion, this is not the most important reason to select a college; often the amount of money you are offered by different schools is comparable. You should base your decision on the best fit. Also, keep in mind that often a significant part of any financial aid package is loans. Good luck!</p>