They are both wonderful schools, though there are differences, some of which you have identified. First, I would not worry about being well qualified to succeed at Kenyon – trust the admissions team, they have been doing this a long time and know what they are looking for. At the same time, don’t assume that Denison is an “easier” place to excel. Acceptance rates are just about the same, 33% last year at Kenyon and 34% this year at Denison, and Kenyon’s middle 50% test scores were 29-33 and Denison’s were 28-32.
Obvious differences – size and location. Kenyon has about 1650 students as compared to Denison’s about 2250, so a difference of about 600 students. Gambier and Granville are each delightful, though Gambier is much smaller while Granville is within commuting distance of Columbus so “bustles” more. Students at each school live within the 'bubble" – to escape the “bubble,” Kenyon students can go to Mt Vernon and Denison students can go to Easton/Columbus.
Greek life is pretty similar at both schools. Kenyon reports about 25% involvement in fraternities, same as Denison, and both report higher participation in sororities. Both are non-residential greek life, though we were told at Kenyon that parts of dorms are set aside for greek life students to live together with their brothers/sisters, while there is no similar practice at Denison. Both schools continue to use the old greek life houses for greek life chapter meetings. I know Denison students cannot use the houses for parties, I don’t know if that is true at Kenyon.
Kenyon is known for its theater and its English department. Denison has the Lugar program in Political Science which brings in speakers every year (named for Senator Lugar, an alum, and designed to support the sort of bipartisanship Senator Lugar was known for), and offers a focus for students on either US or International, with placements in internships.
Kenyon kids are great, talented young people who work hard and are challenged by their professors. Same is true at Denison. Denison uses merit money to “seal the deal” with very, very talented kids. I’ve said elsewhere on CC that, at an admitted students event, my kid met some of the full tuition award kids at Denison, and one was choosing between Stanford and Denison and another choosing between Columbia and Denison. The Columbia kid chose Denison, Stanford kid chose Stanford.
Some distinctive elements about Denison: emphasis on diversity and active citizenship. Denison is just under 20% first gen and also just under 20% Pell grant eligible (low income) as well as 35% multi racial. Denison is more economically diverse than Kenyon as, according to the NY Times study, Denison has just under 10% of its students from the top 1% economically, and just about 20% from the bottom 60% (families earning less than $65,000). Kenyon is just about the opposite, with just under 20% in the top 1% and about 12$ from the bottom 60%. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/18/upshot/some-colleges-have-more-students-from-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60.html
There is no “wrong” decision here. At the end of the day, my musician/artist/athlete kid chose Denison, and that was the right decision for him. The right decision for you sounds like it could be Kenyon. If Kenyon feels “right” and the money works, then go with your gut. Congratulations on having a wonderful choice to make!
haha