<p>So, I'm a junior in high school right now. As I'm starting the college process I've come across Kenyon. It is my dream school. I haven't visited campus yet, but I will this summer. I also haven't taken any standardized tests yet, but I will! I know this is too early to be asking but I'm just so excited about Kenyon! How heavily do extracurriculars play into the admissions decisions? Volunteer hours? Leadership? I have amazing extracurriculars (yearbook editor, 2 years, class sec. vp. and president in different years, student council, 2 varsity sports, community service club, big sister program at school) and over 600 hours of community service, and i have a lot of leadership with my student council positions. More importantly, I currently have a 4.0 UW GPA...who knows if that will remain. I only take one AP but will take 4 next year. I am HORRRRRIBLE at standardized tests...so I'm really worried that it will prohibit me from getting into Kenyon and other competitive schools. Thoughts?</p>
<p>Your extracurriculars look really impressive. But I do have some advice. Find one or two things that you really like. Don’t spread yourself out that thin. I didn’t have that big ec’s. Lit Mag Editor, Swim team and involved with International club. In my acceptance letter, they mentioned how my passion for the Lit Mag, and the International Club influenced their decision. So yeah. </p>
<p>Buy a practice SAT book. I helped me. My scores weren’t the greatest either. </p>
<p>Good luck with kenyon. 
I can tell you that you’ll love it when you visit.</p>
<p>your ecs look pretty good. i’m not a great test taker myself but i was just admitted. my sats aren’t so good (1300/1600, 2030/2400), but i am fairly happy with my act (32). i suggest you take both the sat and the act because usually people are somewhat better at one of them than the other. the act is based more on stuff you’ve learned in school and the only difficult part of it is that there is a science section, but there aren’t any vocab fill ins and the test is only 5 sections if you take writing.</p>
<p>Good advice given so far, def take ACT and SAT. Try to craft a unique image when presenting yourself to the adcom…you don’t want to look like every other applicant.</p>
<p>I agree that you will love Keynon…something that is important for Kenyon is number of contacts/interest showed, especially if you somehow end up as a borderline admit.</p>
<p>I would ask for an alumni meeting/info gathering session in your area to start with, followed up by the campus visit.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for the advice! I’m registered for both the ACT SAT and SAT IIs within the next 2 months. I’m going to try to find out about alumni meetings and everything and make sure they know I’m interested!</p>
<p>i agree w/ mol about the number of contacts. i joined the mailing list a while back, visited the kenyon table at a college fair and filled out a card, visited the campus and had an interview, attended some college info session when my rep came to my school, and then visited again for the trustee scholarship program when i was invited.</p>
<p>Update :</p>
<p>I am on the Kenyon mailing list and have talked to my college counselor about emailing the admissions person for my area and will do so in the coming weeks. My ACT: 32… is that good enough for Kenyon?</p>
<p>Kenadie - My son JUST made his final decision yesterday: he will be attending Kenyon next year!!! (I’m happy - can you tell?) </p>
<p>His stats are very, very similar to yours. I think you should be fine there. I also agree about the contact issue. After he applied we went to one of the Winter Receptions in our area. Met a few different admissions people including his “application reader.” After the reception my son sent e-mails to the various people he had met thanking them for taking the time to speak with him, blah, blah, blah. Then, after he was admitted, we attended one of the Admitted Student Days. I was extremely impressed when my son walked up to the registration table, and one of the admissions people he had previously met put out his hand to shake and addressed my son by name before he even spoke!! My point is that Kenyon is a small school - it seems that “personal” is a good word to describe them.</p>
<p>So my advice is visit, definitely interview while you’re there, and be sure to follow-up with some sort of “thank you” afterward. Attend any prospective student events in your area that are possible. Again, follow-up afterwards. Show them that you really want Kenyon, and I think they’ll really want you!!!</p>
<p>And by the way: You will undoubtedly love the school once you visit. It’s magnificent.</p>
<p>(And the only reason my son had a bit of a hard time making his final decision is because Kenyon is a little farther from home than he really wanted to go - an 8 hour drive. That was literally the only “con” ever on his list. Ultimately, he “went with his gut” and we’re all thrilled that he’ll be joining the Class of 2013. Good luck!!!</p>
<p>China–congrats to your son, and tell him to start learning the songs right away! And kenadie, what we’re all telling you is true–if you think you love Kenyon on paper, just wait 'til you see it!</p>