<p>Whitman College
Colorado College
Kenyon College</p>
<p>I have the stats to get into to all three. Im looking for a more laid back school, not real preppy, and not a big greek system. Looking to major in english/communications/rhetoric, something of that nature. Looking for a good education, but at the same time, somewhere that will have a great quality of life. Facilities is a big factor (dorms, buildings, etc). Any suggestions? Any other schools that are similar in stats that I should look at? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I don't know about Whitman or CC but am familiar with Kenyon. Outstanding English program (home of one of the more noted literary journals in the US from the 20th century). The campus is in the middle of Ohio corn fields and is very welcoming. The buildings are generally pretty old, done in an English college style as is the campus layout.</p>
<p>We visited each of those schools recently and liked them all very much. Academically, the block system at Colorado is the most obvious difference between the three. As you probably know, both Colorado and Whitman are in actual cities. Colorado Springs is somewhat military/conservative/grungy but also surrounded by gorgeous mountains and conveniently close to Denver. Walla Walla is a really nice, friendly little town that is getting more sophisticated as the wine industry grows, but it’s harder to get to. Kenyon’s campus is gorgeous, one of the prettiest schools I’ve ever seen, but the town is more of a tiny village and it’s about an hour from Columbus. I think the facilities were probably best at Whitman where everything was in great condition and there are numerous new buildings. Colorado seemed a little slapdash but very comfortable. It did look like they could use a new library. Kenyon has a fancy new gym and we really liked the layout of the campus with the “Middle Path” running through it. Everything looked shipshape but the school has a strangely low endowment and I don’t know if that’s a concern. I think the weather is probably best in Colorado as it prides itself on something like 300 days of sunshine a year. Both Colorado and Whitman seem to have very strong outdoorsy cultures with a very large percentage of kids who ski, hike, kayak, rock climb, etc. We got the impression that during the long breaks between blocks at Colorado lots of students leave town to do those things. Kenyon seemed the most preppy, and the Greek thing seemed biggest at Whitman but these are definitely just impressions from one visit so they may not be true. Kenyon and Colorado were both super friendly and the kids we encountered seemed to have a good sense of humor. Whitman was more serious somehow but, again, that’s probably just a reflection of the few people we happened to meet. </p>
<p>I hope you will get a chance to visit. After our trips, our D liked all three but would probably choose Kenyon, I liked Colorado best and her father loved Whitman. There is no wrong choice here.</p>
<p>One last thing: we had great Mexican food in both Colorado Springs and Walla Walla, just in case that’s a factor for you!</p>
<p>puzzled...what school did she choose in the end? and what other schools did she look at, because if we both like those schools, we may have similar expectations/interests.</p>
<p>Lower endowment = higher tuition and less financial aid I suppose... It's one of the school's biggest concern and in the next capital campaign (which the college hopes to raise $230 million), financial aid has the highest priority man.</p>
<p>Im looking for a more laid back school (checked), not real preppy (Kenyon has a diverse student population... from the preppy to the not so preppy. In fact, the preppy kids are a minority on campus), and not a big greek system (NOPE, Kenyon doesn't have a big greek system. But the best part is that the frat parties are open to EVERYONE! Frat isn't an exclusive thing at Kenyon though). Looking to major in english/communications/rhetoric (Kenyon has a solid English program), something of that nature. Looking for a good education (checked, checked), but at the same time, somewhere that will have a great quality of life (checked, checked). Facilities is a big factor (dorms, buildings, etc) (The Athletic Center is AMAZING -- checked. Plans to upgrade the dorms are in the pipeline. The academic buildings are amazing. Checked)</p>
<p>Whitman is a very self selecting group - you may need to visit the campus to figure things out.</p>
<p>Kenyon is also very self selective b/c of its rural location. The average scores of these two schools are higher... that isn't always conclusive but is a good indicator of the academic achievement of its applicants and students.</p>
<p>Sultan.
She applied to all three of those schools and so far she's in at Colorado. She also applied to a bunch of UCs and USC. Her big dilemma is whether to go to a small LAC or a larger university - essentially choosing between the familiar/comfortable and a whole new experience. Last night she said she is 95% sure she'll go to USC but wants to wait for the other results to make a final decision. </p>
<p>From the beginning, she really didn't want to go east for college, which ruled out many of the obvious LAC choices, and forced us to concentrate our search in the mid-west and west. Depending on how you feel about LA, the other schools that she considered, and that you might want to look at, are Occidental and the Claremont Colleges. </p>
<p>One things I would add if you don't mind gratuitous advice: if you are serious about Colorado, think about Early Action. My daughter found that it forced her to finish the Common Application (particularly the essay) and get her recommendations lined up early which made the whole application experience slightly less awful. It was also an amazing relief to know she was in somewhere just weeks later. She got her acceptance the day after Christmas and it was definitely her best gift.</p>
<p>I'd say puzzled88 got it just about right from my perspective, except for the idea of Walla Walla being a city. It's larger than what Kenyon has, but it's not even close to the size of Colorado Springs. I think Walla Walla is in the 30,000 population range.</p>
<p>One thing that hasn't come up is that Whitman is remote. I mean, REMOTE. The closest city, I think, is Spokane, and that's still a pretty small place. Eastern Washington is arid and pretty barren in most places. I kind of like that look, but it can sure feel like you're living in a small oasis in the midst of a vast wilderness.</p>
<p>Tarhunt is absolutely right. Colorado Springs is a city, Walla Walla is a town, and Gambier is a village (albeit a village which is 5 miles from a town and an hour from a city). The only complaint I've heard from Whitman students is that it's a complete pain to get there. When we visited we flew to Walla Walla via Seattle which worked out fine, but the flights are few and far between and fairly expensive. It's a very long drive from just about anywhere. We were told that the school arranges for a bus service (for a fee) to both Seattle and Portland at popular student travel times. I would stress that despite the inconvenience, the kids I know there absolutely love it and can't imagine themselves anywhere else.</p>
<p>I am from the midwest and was looking for a good LAC out west (have no opinion of Kenyon). I spent alot of time at both Whitman and Colorado College. My interests are in environmental science and was very interested in what both schools had to offer from the perspective of outdoor progrmas. WHen I first started my search Colorado was the only school I wanted to go to. When I researched Whitman, I was very impressed with their facilities, academic programs etc..so I wnet for a prosepctive student weekend last fall. Head of the Outdoor Program at WHitman climbed Everest last year and they have an amazing program with a small environmental campus about 12 miles away. The school was pristine..to the point it looked staged! In the end, I could not see myself stuck in Walla Walla for four years. After three days in town and running into the same people on campus and in town all weekend, I already felt the smallness..so consider that if it would have an affect on you at all. In the end, I applied only to Colorado for ED, got in and can't wait to get started. I am in love with the idea of the block plan and the accessibility to mountains, desert, etc...all thrill me. Good luck with your decision. Trust me, depending on what you are looking for in an environment outside the campus, I can see people being very happy at CC or WHitman.</p>