English Programs for NYU, Kenyon. (and do I have a shot?)

College Search & Selection
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<p>2 questions here:</p>

<p>I'm going to be a senior soon so need to start making some college decisions. I know that both Kenyon and NYU have excellent English programs, but was wondering which has the better department. I will visit both school, but I want to know as much as I can about their academics before I do. Other recomendations for schools would be appreciated (see my profile below).</p>

<p>First, I want to make sure that I have a shot at these schools. I don't have a great gpa, only the mid-to-low 3's but my classes are pretty good (a couple AP). My SAT scores are very weird. 730 Reading and only 590 Math. I will take them again this week but don't know how much I can improve. My letters of recommendation and my essay I am confident will both be very good. Will my average gpa and low Math score kill my chances?</p>

<p>Thanks for your help!</p>

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<p>Kenyon has low sat ranges (compared to other schools). People tell me that if you nail the essays, you're golden.</p>

<p>Also, what did you get on the writing? Kenyon gives it equal weight.</p>

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<p>thanks for the reply! I only got a 620 writing but I am hoping to bump that up to a 650 this time around. I'm mostly concerned with how my Math score and mediocre GPA are going to effect me.</p>

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<p>Hmm, well since you are planning to do english, you should try to increase the writing score too. And yes, bring math to around 650 would give you a better chance. And your GPA is lower than the average at both of those schools, so that may be a problem as well. However, you won't know unless you apply. So focus on your apps and good luck.</p>

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<p>You should be able to get a 680 on the writing test. follow this formula</p>

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<p>Do an intro, MAKE UP 3 examples, do a conclusion.</p>

<p>Example: Topic= Is freedom always the best for everyone.</p>

<p>Intro- use up space repeating the question, say no</p>

<p>ex 1- My sister at Brown was given too much freedom and she felt stressed out because she didn't know what classes to take because of the open curriculum</p>

<p>ex 2-In the book Jacky Brown, a girl Jacky Brown likes being a servant because she feels being in the real world and having to make her own choices is too much pressure</p>

<p>ex 3- My brother was forced to take science class, which he wouldn't have done on his own (he wanted to do football instead), but he ended up loving it and discovering a cure for a deadly disease that saved many lives.</p>

<p>conclusion- restate your examples.</p>

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<p>I went to a high school with class size 150 and now I wanna go somewhere bigger like Rice, seriously I love metal music and almost noone at my school loves metal.</p>

<p>You should consider somewhere bigger. And Kenyon and NYU are polar opposites.</p>

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<p>^Oh I know they are complete opposites, but thats what I want. I want a school really in the city (NY or Boston) or completely away from it. I will definitely have to visit both campuses (which I will do) before I make any decisions.</p>

<p>Do you think applying early decision to Kenyon would help my chances significantly?</p>

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<p>Are you interested in English or Creative Writing?</p>

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<p>^a bit of both actually. I want to be a writer with a good knowledge of literature.</p>

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<p>To be honest, both schools are great academically for English. However, socially they're really different, and that should be the deciding factor if you apply to both and get into both...</p>

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<p>Please explain what you mean by "socially they are really different", teenage cliche, if you don't mind.</p>

<p>Have you been to both campuses? I have always wondered how people get their info to make these comments. I must not be as intuitive or sensitive because I never come away with observations about the social climate that are very compelling or helpful.</p>

<p>Thanks for your response.</p>

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<p>I'm basing my saying that socially they're different schools off of a few things:
1) things I've heard multiple times on this website
2) growing up in NYC and spending quite a bit of time near NYU
3) having friends at both schools
4) a bit of common sense (the middle of NYC is bound to be very different from a small town in Ohio).</p>

<p>I've heard that at NYU, there is no real school spirit and school-wide social life. Mostly, people go to bars and clubs in the city with small groups of friends. There will be no big, campus-wise events. There is no real sense of campus. You are, as I've heard said many times, not an undergrad on a defined campus, but rather a student living in NYC.</p>

<p>At Kenyon, on the other hand, as with many smaller, more isolated LACs, social life is primarily school-driven. There are events on campus frequently, and dances and parties are usually open to everyone. However, if you want to get away from the campus for a night, it's much more difficult to find something to do because the surrounding area is small and, as I've heard, rather uninteresting.</p>

<p>Also, there's a matter of diversity. Though the students themselves at NYU are similar in socioeconomic backgrounds to many at Kenyon, there is so much more racial and socioeconomic diversity in NYC as a whole to experience.</p>

<p>Also also, internships and, relevant to you, publications, are much easier to get at NYU because there are so many of them in the surrounding area.</p>

<p>Also also also, because I don't want to seem like I'm flaunting NYU (I just happen to have more information about it), I've heard that the smoking and drug use are much more rampant in NYU, if that's an issue with you.</p>

<p>Hope that helped.</p>

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<p>Thank you for your responses (especially teenage_cliche). I will be visiting both schools soon and will see which atmosphere better suits me.</p>