I’m planning on majoring in some combination of economics, pol sci, data analytics, and computer science. I’m considering being a public servant, campaign manager, teacher, leader of a nonprofit. Whatever it is I care much more that I feel good about myself than make a lot of money (although both would be optimal).
I’m waiting on a bunch of scholarships I’ve applied for. They can only be applied to tuition (if I get them) and Kenyon and OSU are the only ones with tuition left. Any of these schools my family can afford (though I’m the one paying in the end).
My big concerns are the kind of community the school has and how well the schools will set me up to accomplish whatever career or academic goals I have post-graduation. I also want flexibility in being able to switch majors if I choose.
Kenyon
great writing program. I’m interested in writing speeches and I think I’m already a pretty good writer so it would allow me to be at my best
strong community
probably best academics
Values academics but is more collaborative than competitive
Beautiful campus, perfect distance away from home
the admitted students group I joined seemed to have some really nice, cool people (although there were a few of the “quirky and I want to show it” students
Cons
about 500-1000 less students than I was hoping for
No computer science degree (something I have a vague interest in, I’ve never tried it but I was hoping to combine it with political science or economics)
isolated community
not much to do near campus (maybe on campus? Idk)
Cost- $18,000 annually
Denison
Pros
has a Data Analytics program that already allows political science or economics to be added easily
good location (near Columbus but not absorbed by city life)
good size (about 2500)
lots of cool extracurricular things to do
from what I’ve heard they keep the students busy
strong alumni network
Cons
When I went on the admitted students group almost everyone felt like a sorority girl or football player which is not my crowd
worried about partying. I don’t care if others do it but I don’t want to feel forced
Cost- $14,000 annually
OSU
Pros
-Great alumni network
many strong programs. I could pursue any interest, major I find
Very big student population would give me the chance to be friends with the exact people I want and be involved in whatever ECs I want
opportunity to live off-campus (other schools are on campus 4 years)
as a state university gives much more resources than the smaller, private schools
Cons
too much of a focus on football? I’ll watch it but don’t want to feel obligated to watch it because I go to OSU
Student population (I’ve heard it can be harder to make friends at larger schools. I’ve also always been part of a small class so it would be an adjustment)
But seriously, I think that Denison is a clear winner. If you were looking for a major related to writing, Kenyon would be better, but you are not.
OSU is a great school, and even better for data science. However, I would consider it about as good as Denison for somebody with your interests, not $36,000 better than Denison.
There is likely more partying at OSU than at the other two…
Since you would be interested in Data Analytics, I think you are better to focus on Denison and OSU where there are established and well regarded programs. I was between OSU and Denison for Data Analytics, and ultimately chose OSU because I felt the program was stronger. Some advice I was given while making my decision was that you can always make a big school smaller, but you can’t make a small school bigger. There’s something for everyone at OSU and there’s also every kind of person, so I wouldn’t worry about making friends. Also, if political science and analytics are of interest, there’s also a Public Policy Analytics program at OSU worth checking out. Denison is equally great, just for different reasons, so it really matters what’s important for you. Denison is also much cheaper for you than OSU, which was not the case for me, so that’s a big pro for Denison. Denison’s alumni network is very active, not as much as OSU, but still remarkable especially for a LAC. My school’s vice principal went there and loved it dearly. In all, you can’t go wrong either way, so I’d recommend visiting both and finding your fit!!
Given your interests, there are a couple of programs at Denison that you might want to take a closer look at, especially the Lugar programs - About | Lugar Program - and the Communications program, in addition to the Data Analytics track. These are all very strong areas at Denison and would seem to make it a good fit. My son is a sophomore at Denison, and it’s been our experience that the students are a very diverse group. There’s also a focus on getting all those diverse groups to work and play together, rather than keeping to a specific bubble. My son is an athlete, not in a fraternity, but he has lots of non-athlete friends, and both of his roommates are in a fraternity. Denison has a lingering reputation as a party school, but I don’t think it’s much different from any other LAC, and there does not seem to be pressure to party - my son is not a partier and he’s been very comfortable with that. The fraternities and sororities are all nonresidential, which also helps keep things toned down. The location of the school is good. Granville is a very nice little town with everything you need for daily life, Newark/Heath is about 15 minutes away if you need to get to a Target, and Columbus is about 30 minutes away, with all of the opportunities of a capital city. It’s also easy to test the waters in different areas before declaring a major at the end of sophomore year, change majors, double major, etc.
After I sent my earlier message, I remembered an article from the Denison magazine that might be of interest. It profiles a number of Data Analytics students and how they are combining Data Analytics with other concentrations. I’ll include the link here, but if it doesn’t work, you can search on Denison magazine, Spring 2020, Paint by Numbers. Paint By Numbers - Spring 2020 | Denison Magazine
I would choose Denison. My daughter is a sophomore at the school. She was undecided in terms of major freshman year and took a lot of GE including global commerce and economics. She is not interested in sororities and is definitely not a big party person and has has no problems “finding her people”. With that said, she is also friends with a wide variety of types of students on campus. Another plus is when opportunities develop to TA or work on research with professors you are not competing with grad students.
Since you seemed to like Kenyon, a quick note that, from what we heard, there’s usually a lot going on campus. My daughter is a freshman, and she only spent the fall semester on campus, but she got to play in a wind ensemble and they had two outdoor concerts. This semester she’s part of a virtual theater festival, and there have been a bunch of virtual events on campus all year. I’m sure it’s a lot more when everything is in person (which is the plan for next year)–we were told this during our visit back in 2019 and it was reconfirmed by the student my daughter was in touch with when she was making her decision. She already got emails about theater productions for next year being planned. In general, between classes, spending time with friends and doing extracurriculars, she’s never bored.
I don’t know anything about their data analytics (or lack thereof), but Kenyon does have a scientific computing concentration (not sure how good it is, as it’s not my daughter’s interest). She absolutely loves Kenyon and the community.