<p>Hey Guys! I am deciding between Colby and Kenyon, and I am leading towards Colby. Can anyone give me input on both schools to aid my decision. Thanks!!</p>
<p>In my unbiased opinion, go for Colby! In any case, please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions. Also, be sure to check out Colby’s Class of 2015 Facebook group where you can speak to current students, admission staff, and prospective students!</p>
<p>I went to Kenyon umpteen years ago, and my D is at Colby now! Both beautiful, fantastic schools. Kenyon is really insanely pretty, but Colby is ridiculously lovely, and they both have great academics and nice people. Kenyon may be a little more on the funky side, but just barely–they also have frats, which is not everyone’s cup of tea. I have to say, my D is VERY happy at Colby! gowhitemules is giving you good advice–and follow it up with a look at the respective course offerings. Also, think about whether you prefer being near the Atlantic coast and Boston, or near (no offense, fellow Kenyon alums!) cornfields and Cleveland.</p>
<p>Hi, first of all, congratulations! Two great schools to choose from. I went to Kenyon and I had the fun of visiting Colby a few years ago when my daughter was looking at schools and ended up going to Kenyon and loving it. I also had a nephew who went to Colby and was very happy. So that said, you’re on pretty equal ground with academics. My question when I went to visit Colby was – Where’s the town? Someone pointed down the road toward the highway. At Kenyon, one of the greatest things is that the village, although very small, is in the middle of the college and that’s different from almost any other school. You have a feeling when you are there that you are part of this little town. Students are on the volunteer fire squad and you see the faculty and their kids in the market and at the post office. People hang out on the benches that line Middle Path which goes through the middle of Gambier. It emphasizes the quality of community at Kenyon which I think is a huge part of the college experience there. The other issues are probably somewhat climate oriented and campus arch. style. Not having gone to Colby, it’s not exactly fair to say, but I’d venture to guess that winter and mud season are a big chunk of time in Maine, Kenyon has rough weather too but not that bad and an amazing amount of spring. My sense going to visit Colby was – you better really like red brick and cream trim because that’s it. Kenyon is more Gothic, ivy covered stone, but it felt to me that there was more variation and more trees around. (Forbe’s ranked it as the most beautiful campus) The other thing to keep in mind, as someone else said, is just where you want to be – East Coast? --closer to the ocean and the mountains --true. But, it depends on where you are starting–most people don’t realize that from the Mid-Atlantic to central Ohio is only 6.5 hours driving whereas it’s closer to 10 to drive to Maine. The big thing is also distance to an airport. Kenyon to Columbus airport is about 55 minutes-pretty major airport, but Colby is probably about the same to Portland. Last thing is this: you will probably be happy wherever you go. You will make great friends and learn amazing things. One of the things I appreciated and I think my daughter did as well, was that it was a different part of the country. Most of the kids are from all over the country and that may be true with Colby as well. But, it’s good to go someplace different for four years. If you grew up on the East Coast then don’t stay on the East Coast. Kenyon is particularly known for writing, The Kenyon Review, great English department, but they also have big reputation for theatre and great pre-med. The writing thing is something you will use all your life --law, medicine, whatever. I’d suggest you go visit both again if you can. I hope you choose Kenyon!</p>
<p>Since pchase gave you the rundown on Kenyon, here’s some Colby info (my nephew recently graduated). The town is actually not down the highway, its down the hill through a residential area. They run a shuttle service and have Zipcars and bike rentals available if you don’t have or know someone with a car (very unlikely). The College and the town work together quite well and every fall there is an event called Hill 'n the Ville which brings folks from the town and the College together for music and festivities. You also get faculty and students at many of the local establishments. There even a community market where many Colby students work as volunteers. And they are very strong on volunteer work in the community. The Colby Cares About Kids program was adopted by the state as a model program and a bunch of other colleges are now adopting it on their campuses. Colby sends about two-thirds of its student abroad during their four years, so you are exposed to international perspectives not just during your time abroad, but everyone else brings those experiences back to campus and classrooms. You can also poke around the insidecolby.com website. All the stuff there is done by Colby students. And I just noticed that they added added Tweets from a bunch of students. You can see what the rhythm of a day is like. Good luck with your decision, where ever you choose.</p>