Kenyon vs Amherst

<p>What do u guys say? Which one's better? At least discuss in which aspects is one superior than the other.</p>

<p>Kenyon is better and far superior in all aspects. Actually idk, maybe just check the guide books for a few quick differences...</p>

<p>As a Kenyon alum (from many years ago) who has also lived in the Amherst area, I'd say they are VERY similar. Academics totally on a par, professors similarly involved. Campuses are different--Kenyon more self-contained, Amherst a little more integrated with the town. And Amherst actually has a town--Gambier is teeny tiny (but fabulous!). (They used to say that at Kenyon you could never get away from an old boyfriend!) Kenyon has the requirement that profs live within a 10 mile radius, which is fabulous--you really get to know them as friends. Amherst has a higher recognition profile. Students similar--"bohemian prep", with Amherst a little stronger on the "prep", maybe. Very friendly campuses. So there you go!</p>

<p>They deep sixed the "Ten Mile Rule" a decade ago.</p>

<p>They offer loan guarantees with the local banks to tenure track faculty who live within 10 miles. I expect that that is a pretty strong motivator. </p>

<p>Faculty handbook: 6.2.2 College Guaranteed Mortgage Loans
(amended April 1997)</p>

<p>WHEREAS, Kenyon College is interested in assisting qualified members of the Kenyon College faculty and administration in the acquisition or construction of a personal residence within a ten-mile radius of the Gambier, Ohio, Post Office; and................etc etc</p>

<p>I know at least three or four profs who live in Columbus...</p>

<p>They always have (had some who lived farther away), but the pull is still for most of them to be right there. And I should say, there are certainly LOTS of Amherst profs right in Amherst, too--but it's a little more populated area, so there isn't the same "in your backyard" feel to absolutely everything. Not, of course, saying that Western Mass is by any means metropolitan! ;-)</p>

<p>This might sound like a repetitive idea but honestly, visit both colleges.</p>

<p>I visited both Kenyon and Amherst out of a generous travel grant from both schools respectively. Amherst was my second out-of-state college visit and Kenyon, my third. I liked Amherst but it wasn't for me. I really tried to force myself to like it but after I visited Kenyon, I knew it wasn't for me and Kenyon was instead. I felt like the people at Amherst were a little more self-centered than they were at Kenyon. I felt out of place for several reasons and by the end of my visit, I felt uncomfortable about it. Kenyon, on the other hand, was a lot more warm and inviting and easy going from the start. I had a horrible list of things that went wrong (ie. my host didn't pick me up) that could have messed up my visit but eventually, were redeemed in the end (like being picked up by another host and her prospie and then having three senior girls take me in and talk to me until 3 in the morning). I liked it, a lot and eventually applied EDII and got in.</p>

<p>But then again -- Amherst has its perks. It has a larger endowment meaning it'll probably be cheaper for you to attend and it does have a slightly more distinct name-recognition than Kenyon does. Both schools are respectively "in-the-middle-of-nowhere" and have their own ways of dealing with it. Then again, Amherst is still a lot harder to get in and it's competitive from what I've read and been told. Kenyon, on the other hand, is known for having students who don't ask one another about grades and not knowing one another's GPA because it's simply "un-Kenyon" to ask about those things. And you definitely don't want to be un-Kenyon. We're all about tradition here as I've discovered over the past few weeks, haha.</p>

<p>So, unless you're considering applying ED1 to one school or another -- which is what I was doing -- then I'd apply to both RD, give them all I got, and test my luck. Choose the school that's best fit for you if you're deciding between both.</p>

<p>kenyon.....!</p>