@porcupine98 Thanks. 
I’ll have to look up the demographics. I would be interested to see who is drawn to this type of campus. Wonder what would be colleges with similar feeling. Would Carleton be a little like Kenyon? I know kids who LOVE Carleton!
@homerdog About Kenyon, after our tour, my daughter said, “if somebody asked you on a date, where would you go?” The town consists mostly of a post office, a small hotel (with restaurant), a deli, the college bookstore, and a coffee shop. My kid loves cute college towns, but even for her, this was too small. However, I think if you are a student that is truly seeking an experience that revolves around campus life and building community in exquisite surroundings, it could work. Mount Vernon, about 5 miles away, has big box stores, a substantial town center, an amazing ice cream stand, and other amenities.
As for Carleton, Northfield’s population is about 20,000 and it has a cute downtown, a CUB foods, a Target, and some light industry (a Malt-o-meal plant). There is also St. Olaf’s just outside of town. So with classes in session, the town population jumps by 5K.
Carleton has much more of a town than Kenyon does. In terms of tiny towns, Colby and Grinnell come to mind.
College kids go on dates? 
Thanks, @mamaedefamilia and @doschicos . Very clear now! Comparing to Grinnell puts it in perspective for sure.
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Grinnell actually has several more businesses than Gambier.
@homerdog All of the above answers are exactly why my kids said “no way.” The campus is beautiful, but sits atop a huge hill surrounded by farmland, essentially at the edge of Ohio Amish country. With no town to speak of, my kids could not see themselves there for 4 years…and they would not have a car. My D15 goes to a school that many consider to be in the boonies, but even this was way beyond what she would’ve been willing to do.
And that’s exactly why I wanted to drive through…a picture is worth all of the thousands of words I’ve read about the school.
Grinnell is almost 4x the size of Gambier. Still tiny (and showing up on an off day you might look for tumbleweeds to roll through town), but enough of a difference to tip the balance for some kids - Gambier really did feel like a movie set to us, whereas Grinnell was merely small - but felt “real.” Twelve whole restaurants as opposed to, I think, two? Three if you count the coffee shop? Just different vibes. Kenyon is super pretty though. One could be very happy there if not fussy about the town.
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I cannot wait to see what our S19 thinks of small vs. big, city vs. rural, etc. At this point, I feel like he could go either way! I’m guilty of having a preference for small. Or at least small-ish for him. Not thinking he would have the best experience at large university with 200+ kids in class, TAs for discussions, etc. Not sure what kind of student would do better in that environment. Hopefully, he will at least be swayed to stay in the medium/small category.
Speaking of Kenyon, I always had imagined it to be the perfect college/fit for my D. I made the mistake of watching the movie, “Liberal Arts” filmed at the school with her, and now she doesn’t even want to visit the school. She thought it looked so dead. Eventually, we’ll make an Ohio trip since there are so many great schools in that state and I’m going to insist she check it out in person. Has anyone seen that movie and seen the campus? Is the movie accurate in your opinion?
@WISdad23 you are aware that there’s a free bus service among the campuses for the 5-college consortium? The 5-col consortium actually does work and it does work well.
@WWWard re: universities with expansion plans: Columbia is building a completely new campus extension in Manhattan of all places. (you’d think that there wouldn’t be room!). There is a CU-run bus service that connects all of the different parts of campus, the Morningside Heights area, the Manhattanville area (the new campus), the medical school uptown, etc. http://manhattanville.columbia.edu/
Cornell is building a new campus on Roosevelt Island in NYC. A huge new grad-school campus.
http://construction.tech.cornell.edu/
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@homerdog Kenyon was the first college each of my kids visited. Each of them loved it – there is a picture perfect quad area, with Admissions in a building which looks like a former chapel, a dining hall straight out of Hogwarts, and the new athletic facility down the hill is a gorgeous blend of exposed steel and blond wood. With fall leaves crunching on the ground, it seems like the idyllic college experience.
On repeat visits, each kid took it off the list for various reasons, but a big factor was how tiny the surrounding community is. There are basically two streets that run for about 2 blocks. The essentials are there – seriously hip coffee shop, bank, post office, a couple of restaurants. But that is about it. Gambier makes Grinnell, Iowa look like a bustling metropolis. Mt Vernon, about 10 minutes away by car, has Chipotle, CVS, etc. My older one decided he really wanted large, and Kenyon was wayyyy too small. Younger one took school off the list when he realized ceramics was not part of the Studio Art curriculum, and he was interested in a Studio Art minor to continue with ceramics.
It is a lovely school, but not for everyone.
@Dustyfeathers Interesting. I was personally very pro-Columbia Univ, but once we visited there in-person, I could no longer get either of my Ds to be excited about it. They each liked the idea of NYC in theory, but their enthusiasm faded quickly after we spent a few days there.
The same was true of Yale / New Haven. They both loved Princeton & Brown… but Penn, Yale and Columbia faded from their lists after visits. Duke declined, but remained an option.
Meanwhile, they both hated the notion of the distance from FL to CA until they actually got out west. And in reality… 4 to 5 hours of sitting on a plane is not that bad. Now they are as pro-California as any teens can be. Spend a few days out there… actually breathing the air and being able to enjoy the outside… and it is hard to return to FL’s ugh weather, our humidity, etc. The whole SE is now a turn-off to them from the perspective of weather alone.
As this thread suggests, you never really know until you endeavor to explore in-person. If possible, my D2 still wants to visit Rice and Vanderbilt.
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@RightCoaster "He also liked the locale of BU better, but NU is only about a mile away. He also thought that he could accomplish a lot of what NU was trying to accomplish at a smaller school, with smaller classes, by pursuing internships and working more closely with professors, and finish in 4 years vs the 5 at NU "
By smaller school, you must not be referring to BU right? We liked BU, but its certainly not smaller, classroom wise and campus wise.
FYI - if your son has AP courses, its ** very** easy to do NEU with 2 or 3 coops in 4 years. Between the APs and the 2 course summer international dialogue or NU Term, its totally doable. The 5 year plan actually appeals to us because 1) my son is on the younger side 2) what’s the rush to get out of college? Its not like they are in class for an extra year, its as if they are ‘out of college’ in the workforce for 6 months getting a taste, then back in.
@suzyQ7 I meant smaller, like Bentley or Babson, less than 5k students. The class sizes at BU and even more so at NU were definitely bigger. The kid at NU said classes most of the times were 30-35 kids and some had 45. The smaller schools seemed to offer classes with the median range around 20 students per class.
I liked Northeastern, and I think the kids might come out of there better prepared for work than coming out of school from the other local biz programs. That being said, my son just liked the vibe of a few other schools better. He did not dislike NU, in fact he said he could picture himself doing well there. He just didn’t know if the "school- then co-op back to school, back to co-op "kind of system felt good to him. I think he’d like to get someplace and just get immersed for the 4 years, without the strain of learning new jobs and meeting new people all the time. He’s not a super extrovert, so I understand this. He’s more reserved and likes some quiet time and downtime. He would probably do better with smaller classes and getting to the know the professors better.
Looking back on it, I probably would’ve enjoyed my time at Northeastern, if it was at the level it is today. The school has a lot going for it. I like to try new jobs, meet new people etc. So that’s the appeal to me. But I’m not going to school, my son is. I’d definitely recommend NU to anyone though, I was certainly impressed.
@citymama9 - it is funny you mention Kenyon feeling dead. Coming from Indiana U - Bloomington I was accustomed to a bustling/lively campus but many LACs don’t have that feel. Some of these liberal arts colleges have such large campuses for the size of the student body that it’s almost impossible to get a lively/bustling feel IMHO.
I can say that while Gambier is very tiny, my son didn’t seem to care as he loved Kenyon.
I think the discussion about USC above puts an exclamation point on earlier suggestions that this thread is helpful and fun, but students need to visit on their own and make their own determination. What’s acceptable to one student / family may not be to another. If you grew up in NYC, then a small town school will feel very, very small. To someone from an average sized town, a small town school may be very comforting. Then you get students who are trying something new and different and it’s a big change they are looking for. With regards are areas, safety, etc, it’s all relative to what you experience when you visit AND what your background is (where did you grow up, who did you know who went to (insert school name), are they a rival to your alma mater). I often giggle when I hear a requirement for a school to be within 3 hours drive… try that from Phoenix and you won’t have many options. It’s all relative.
@moonshot99 that’s an excellent point. i think the goal for some kids is to find that small college with small class sizes, but sill feel that hustle and bustle. maybe the trick is to find a liberal arts college with less acreage? not sure where one would find that though. macalester? bloomington, btw is the perfect college town, imo.
D is high stats, IB, and focused on Art History major. So looking for reasonable cost for college with potential for good scholarships.
Improved:
University of Maryland - College Park - D loved that it’s close to DC and they emphasized internships were possible during the school year, so you didn’t have to compete with everyone for the few summer spots. Top choice currently. Just the normal tour, no honors tour or department tour.
Delaware - went to one of the summer cattle call days. Met with profs from Art History and Conservation. Great programs and has a good chance to be a finalist if she gets good scholarships. Nice campus. Great little college town.
Ole Miss - We all expected not to like it, but went to explore automatic scholarship opportunities. Tour began in the Chapel with a so-so presentation. Not impressive. Walking tour guide did a great job. (Warming up.) Met with head of Art History and were very impressed with potential, even though it was a small program that isn’t highly ranked. Didn’t do honors tour. But it has slid to a solid possible.
Down:
Alabama - tour started in the stadium and for my non-sports D, she was not impressed. At least 30 minutes into the tour after looking at baseball field, co-rec, dorms, etc. they final got to the academic portions. By then they had lost D. Not for her. Didn’t do the department tour or honors. I’d like to go back and talk with the department head but D is solidly out on this one.
Kentucky - my favorite due to my old college room mate still near campus and having spent time there over the years. Tour was fine. Honors presentation ok. Department talk was just ok. Nothing special. Hoping it would peak, but not on her list. Could come back if there is a lack of other scholarships, but doubt it.
Stayed the Same -
Georgia - my grad school and close to my parents, so hoping this would be a fit. Did tour and honors or department tour. It was ok. D wasn’t feeling it (she has her mind set on Maryland by now.) Stayed about the same and would depend on scholarships. Honestly I thought they did a poor job on honors discussion, admissions discussion and tour. There is a lot better selling opportunity for UGA. Was wowed by retention from Freshman to Sophmore - more than 95% (national average in the 60s to 70s according to presentation.)
TBD - South Carolina (home state), Pitt (great programs), and Ohio State (great programs and potential $ for OOS).
Would like to do Williams or Harvard, but the $ don’t look realistic.
We’ll see.
I thought the Kenyon campus was the most beautiful of all the colleges we visited with D15, but Gambier is tiny, way smaller than Grinnell or Oberlin–not really a town at all. It has a bit of an east coast summer camp feel to me. Kids will either love the isolation or hate it.