<p>Can anyone tell me anything about Kenyon academically/socially? Are there any people of CC that attend here? How well do they prepare you for graduate school? What is Ohio like? Please someone help me out! Application deadlines are coming up!</p>
<p>Well Kenyon is in rural Ohio past some of the country's most beautiful farmland. It is a very picturesque campus, but small (no stoplights!) Socially active, there's always something to do.</p>
<p>It didn't appeal to me personally, but many, many people love it. I suggest you do a campus visit if at all possible, it's one of those "the school chooses you" things.</p>
<p>thanks wolfstarlasher, what personally turned you to not like Kenyon as much as other schools?- any one else have insight on kenyon</p>
<p>Do a search in the archives of the old forum. There was quite a bit of discussion about Kenyon. There are also some reviews at studentsreview.com. I understand the academics are excellent, particularly in creative writing and the sciences, but the town is quite small (visiting Walmart and going to the movies is an outing). There is a fraternity scence, and there were some concerns expressed about drinking. They have many students who are not from the Midwest. The professors receive very good ratings. I believe there are some people in this forum who have children at Kenyon. They might chime in.</p>
<p>Hm, that's a good question actually...I didn't like it because it was very small and didn't seem to have a lot to offer me personally. Also, I live in Ohio and I'm sorta sick of it.</p>
<p>Ohio is like Pennsylvania, only flatter. Kenyon is pretty isolated, but it is an excellent school, particularly for humanities and social sciences, and there is plenty to do on campus. English, Theatre and all social sciences are the top departments. Very good preparation for graduate school in most disciplines, though that is the case at most selective liberal arts schools.</p>
<p>I agree about the "school chooses you" aspect of Kenyon. For the right student, it's perfect -- especially with the new athletic facilities. While you can't say this about many college campuses, Kenyon does have a certain "magic" that is captivating. It's a special place for that special student.</p>
<p>My D is a Freshman there so we don't have a lot of experience to go on yet, but she is having a great time. She was looking for a school with (roughly in order) a good English dept., a good Psych dept., an opportunity to study Italian and possibly go abroad to Italy, and a Music dept. that would give her a chance to continue to follow her interest in that area. She was also looking for a school in a region with four seasons. We live is Arizona where we have two seasons: Hot and Less-Hot. She recently sent us pictures of the campus with the leaves at the height of the fall colors and it is beautiful.</p>
<p>She chose Kenyon largely because of the reputation of the English department and the friendliness of the students and faculty she met. I think she has decided to major in English. She is enjoying her Ethics Professor and likes Intro to Psych, has the top grade in her Italian class and is in the Community Choir as well as taking up a new instrument, harp, with a teacher in the Music dept.</p>
<p>It is in a small town and in a rural area, but she is not at all bored from what we have heard. However, the location is clearly not for everyone. As someone said, check the old thread for more on the school. There are Greeks but I don't believe they dominate the social scene. We heard some people express concern about drinking on campus but my D, non-drinker so far, hasn't found it an issue. Very friendly faculty and the stuff about the faculty getting to know the students on a personal level seems to be real. I think it has a pretty good reputation for preparing students for grad/professional school if that is your interest.</p>
<p>Applications to Kenyon have almost doubled in the last 4 years- <a href="http://www.kenyon.edu/x20640.xml%5B/url%5D">http://www.kenyon.edu/x20640.xml</a></p>
<p>Some other info you might find useful:</p>
<p>Students by state or nation- <a href="http://registrar.kenyon.edu/state.htm%5B/url%5D">http://registrar.kenyon.edu/state.htm</a></p>
<p>Class sizes- <a href="http://registrar.kenyon.edu/classsiz.htm%5B/url%5D">http://registrar.kenyon.edu/classsiz.htm</a></p>
<p>Numbers of graduates by major- <a href="http://registrar.kenyon.edu/maj_grad.htm%5B/url%5D">http://registrar.kenyon.edu/maj_grad.htm</a></p>
<p>Majors and minors- <a href="http://registrar.kenyon.edu/majors.htm%5B/url%5D">http://registrar.kenyon.edu/majors.htm</a></p>
<p>Schedule of courses- <a href="http://registrar.kenyon.edu/schedgrid.htm%5B/url%5D">http://registrar.kenyon.edu/schedgrid.htm</a></p>
<p>Calendar of events- <a href="http://www.kenyon.edu/x1641.xml%5B/url%5D">http://www.kenyon.edu/x1641.xml</a></p>
<p>Knox County- <a href="http://www.visitknoxohio.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.visitknoxohio.org/</a></p>
<p>You may have guessed that we feel Kenyon is a great place for our D.</p>
<p>Some Kenyon students waited ten hours to vote last night.
javascript:getMedia('ATC',%20'03-Nov-2004',%20'18',%20'WM,RM');
If that link doesn't work, try:
<a href="http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgDate=03-Nov-2004&prgId=2%5B/url%5D">http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgDate=03-Nov-2004&prgId=2</a>
and scroll to the bottom of the page for the link.</p>
<p>Email from Kenyon's President:</p>
<p>The enthusiastic and dedicated response of Kenyon students to yesterdays presidential election has captured the attention of the national news media. Like many voting locations in the key swing state of Ohio, Gambier was overwhelmed by the huge student turnout, which led to a wait of up to nine hours to vote at the Gambier Community Center. In indomitable Kenyon fashion, students and other hopeful voters remained in line, community members brought chairs and refreshments, faculty members advised students on voting rights, and, as of 3:55 a.m., every ballot was cast. Nationally, this has been a story about election involvement and participation, and Kenyon has been portrayed as a campus of informed and committed students. </p>
<p>I am extremely proud of the entire Kenyon community and of our students, who comported themselves with intelligence and conviction as they showed how much it meant to them to vote. Last night, Kenyon served as a national model of participation in the electoral process by young people, and it is my hope that this voting experience will lead our students to become lifelong committed voters. Throughout this election season, Kenyon has spoken with a strong voice for the importance of exercising the right to vote. Today, that voice has been heard literally around the world. </p>
<p>Stories about the Ohio election process mentioning Kenyon have appeared in media outlets across the country. Excerpts from many of these stories will be available online at <a href="http://www.kenyon.edu%5B/url%5D">www.kenyon.edu</a> <a href="http://www.kenyon.edu">http://www.kenyon.edu</a> . We also anticipate continuing coverage on tonight's "All Things Considered" on National Public Radio and expect to add to our website a streaming video excerpt from NBC's Today show by early tomorrow.</p>
<p>I saw the Kenyon student on the Morning Show this morning. I was very impressed with the way the students waited in the face of such obvious suppression of the democratic process.</p>
<p>???????</p>
<p>Two weeks after school started campaign workers, probably working for Kerry, went through the dorms registering students to vote. I thought students were supposed to vote in their home state of residence, but I guess the rules have changed since I was a student. The polling place was set up to handle the expected number of voters from the community based on past experience and, I assume, election workers were unprepared for the number who showed up. How is that suppression of democracy? Students who might not have bothered to vote in their home state were given a chance to vote within walking distance of their dorms. </p>
<p>I think only 19% of Kenyon students are from Ohio so that meant the other 81% were given a chance to vote not only for the President but also on local candidates, tax issues and referenda about which they may know very little and have no responsibility paying for while living in tax-exempt housing and without having to even register their cars in the state. My D had an absentee ballot from home. The ease with which she could have registered in Ohio suggested that it is quite possible to vote twice in that situation. One man/woman, two votes. That sounds like a pretty liberal extension of the franchise to me.</p>
<p>By the way, I heard that 90% of the votes were cast for Kerry. Surprise, surprise.</p>
<p>Apparently it is a federal law that students may register to vote at their college. I read this in an article in the Stanford Daily on Monday.
"By federal law, all college students are eligible to vote as residents of their campus. Voters registered as Stanford residents are voting citizens of Santa Clara County."
We should be glad that students are voting, regardless of whether it is for the candidate we favor or not. My son (a college junior) was very cynical about the political process until this election, and this time he not only registered and voted, but also took part in a Get Out The Vote effort on election day. I am very proud of him (as well as being very surprised!!!!) By the way, he voted by absentee ballot in his home state, not on his campus.</p>
<p>I detect subtle sarcasm here. Frankly, I am surprised that it wasn't 95% for Kerry, and the remaining 5% non-Bush. Assuming that your apparent sarcasm is stated in disapproval of the Kenyon consensus, I must ask: why do you disapprove? I am genually puzzled.</p>
<p>My wife and I were listening to the election results until 2:30 in the morning. We then got a phone call from our daughter at Kenyon---calling to tell us that she just got back from voting. She spent ten hours in line and said that there were many other students still waiting to vote after she cast her ballot.</p>
<p>We have been taking our girls to the polls since they were babies. The local poll workers always asked them if they were looking forward to voting some day. I can assure you, that after 17 years of this, our daughters were VERY ANXIOUS to vote! I'm glad they had the opportunity to vote *at a polling place. * I am certain that mailing in an absentee ballot would not have been the same experience for them. I've cast a few absentee ballots during my time in the military, and I can assure you that it is not the same as visiting the polls. One is fufilling civic duty; the other is... VOTING!</p>
<p>As parents we told our daughters that they should familiarize themselves with all the various choices in an upcoming election, but if they happend to not be familiar with a candidate or a ballot initiative, they should just leave that portion blank.</p>
<p>When 18 and 19 year olds vote in their first election, I am overjoyed. I am not one tiny bit less happy if they happen to vote differently than I would vote. If they pick up the habit of voting--and continue with it thoughout their lives--- it doesn't matter to me where they vote or who they vote for.</p>
<p>There are two major political parties in this country. Only ONE of those parties seems to feel threatened whenever the other party shows up to vote. This is such a well known fact, it isn't even necessary to identify which party is which! You know who you are! :)</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at Kenyon and LOVES it. He has made many great friends and seems to have plenty to do socially. He is a nondrinker and not a party kind of kid and this has not at all been a problem. He has plenty of kids to hang out with and doesn't see the party scene as problematic.</p>
<p>My son was one of those kids who waited in line till the early am to vote. He was very excited and proud to have done his civic duty and in such a dramatic fashion. He could have registered in our home state (a "blue state") but wanted to vote in Ohio in order to make a difference. He was well within his rights to make this choice and I would bet he was far better informed than the average Ohio voter.</p>
<p>I've been off CC for awhile but now that child #2 is beginning the college process, I will be checking in more and more. I'll be glad to answer any questions about Kenyon that I can.</p>
<p>Hi Dennis,
My daughter applied ED to Kenyon and will be a freshman next year. Her social interests (not into heavy partying) sound similar to your son's, so I was very glad to read that he is so happy there.
Does your son live in the all-male dorm, the coed dorm, or the Wellness dorm? My daughter did not ask for the Wellness dorm, even though it sounds like a good environment for her, because she said she wanted to meet all kinds of people in her first year. I would love to hear more about your son's experiences at Kenyon.</p>
<p>MotherOfTwo, my son lives in a coed dorm (Mather). He decided to take his chances and just go through the regular roommate selection process. He isn't best friends with his roommates but gets along OK. He met a group of friends from within the dorm and I guess his social life blossomed from there. He's anxious to get back to school from winter break.</p>
<p>While it's hard to say for sure, my impression is that Kenyon students are changing a bit as admissions standards get more and more competitive. It might be attracting students that are even more serious about their studies (like my son) than previous.</p>
<p>I am really glad to hear your reports from your son. His thought process in choosing the coed dorm sounds along the same lines as my daughter's. My daughter is hoping to meet people who are serious about their studies and who are interesting to be around at college (as well as enjoying having fun of course). What is your son interested in studying and how did he find the classes and professors during his first semester?</p>
<p>Dennis, </p>
<p>Do you know if the bathrooms in coed dorms are also coed?</p>
<p>My daughter is a Freshman at Kenyon also. It's difficult to know how she really feels about it, as I'm not sure she has sorted it out for herself. The experience of being surrounded by people your own age group with very few other adults takes some adjustment. It's a new experience for her, and she has no basis for comparison. We love that she chose a school so close to our home, in Columbus. I personally was impressed with the academic quality of the professors I spoke to and with the classes I attended at Kenyon, both during family week and in previous visits when my daughter was in the college interviewing/application process.
I am wondering however about Kenyon's role in finding or assisting in finding summer employment possibilities for their students. Does anyone know much about this?</p>