<p>Hey, I'm interested in majoring in english with a creative writing concentration or possibly just creative writing. Between Kenyon, CC, and Oberlin, which not only has the best program, but the best town atmosphere, social life, general reputation, diversity, etc etc etc. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.</p>
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<p>Kenyon probably has the best academic reputation in the field you are interested in. Best town atmosphere, not so muchā¦ Have you visited all three of these schools?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to visit them as I live around 10-14 hours from each of them. Hopefully at some point, Iāll be able to knock out Oberlin and Kenyon at the same time. From what Iāve heard Oberlin has a better atmosphere. Do you think thatās true (if you know at all)?
Also, the main thing Iāve heard about CC that really interests me is the block schedule. Do you possibly know anything about how people experienced/thought of that?</p>
<p>Colorado Springs is a very conservative, military and evangelical dominated city. That said, CC is a pretty cool enclave within the city, and the outdoor opportunities are unparalleled.</p>
<p>So Iāve heard. The bit about CS is a bit discouraging, but from what I can tell the school itself looks really awesome. And there is something very appealing about having so much opportunity for outdoor activities.</p>
<p>I have a D at Oberlin. What constitutes a ābetter atmosphereā depends on the individual and his or her needs or desire. One personās nirvana is another personās hell. What kind of atmosphere are you looking for or desire? Kenyon has outstanding creative writing opportunities, while Oberlin tends to produce significantly more graduates that pursue PhDs. I donāt know anything about Colorado College except what PelicanDad said about the surrounding community. And you have to ask yourself, if CC is academically rigorous (I donāt know this for a fact) how much time are you going to have to spend outdoors? The evangelical, militaristic community would be too much of a downer for me.</p>
<p>Kenyon has a world-class creative writing program, and a great student body. Kenyon is also a strong science school and has the most beautiful campus of the three. Oberlin is more out there (think Reed college) but has a well known music program. Colorado College has more of a skiing focused student body and is less rigorous and academic than Kenyon or Oberlin in my view.</p>
<p>I do not know much about Oberlin but we sent one child to Colorado College and another to Kenyon. Both had very different experiences and both thoroughly enjoyed their college years. Each are great schools and we felt our kids received top notch educations. Our Cc child is now an attorney and our Kenyon child is in grad school in the medical field.
A few differences:
CC has a āquieterā weekend lifeā¦the Block Plan is rather academically intense in terms of cramming and jamming so much info into 3.5 weeks, that the kids use their block breaks to take off to the Mtns and surrounding areas to get away and unwind. There are a lot of off-campus distractions.<br>
Kenyon - since the campus is not very close to a city nor does it have many off-campus distractions, the campus life is very vibrant 7 days a week. The Middle Path also creates and environment for daily on-going interaction with other students.</p>
<p>It all depends what you are looking for. Our Kenyon student would not have enjoyed the Block Plan and therefore chose not to apply. Our CC child chose CC for the Block Plan. He was a procrastinator and the block plan āforcedā him to keep up on his studies, and as an athlete, packing one text book on road trips made it a nice fit.</p>
<p>Good luck with your choice. You have 3 great schools to choose from :)</p>
<p>I have friends who are happy at each of those schools. Academically I would say that these three schools are essentially a push. CC is a tad less prestigious, but youāre not going to any of these schools so you can drop an ivy-league name at parties. </p>
<p>As you probably know, Kenyon doesnāt have a creative writing major but offers it as an āemphasis.ā Oberlin also has an exceptional creative writing program. Just know that even though you think thatās what you may want to do now, once upon a time I wanted to be an english major with a creative writing emphasis, too. A semester and a half into Kenyon I pulled a pretty big 180. I can say with certainty that at Kenyon regardless of what you want to do after college, you will be well taken care of.</p>