<p>My daughter got merit scholarships from both Kenyon and Grinnell ( the package was much better form Grinnell, however). She is interested in writing and literature, but wants to explore, also. Which school? She is coming fromCalifornia where she got into all the top UC's including Cal and UCLA, but wants a small school. Help!</p>
<p>Has she visited both schools? I believe the atmosphere's are slightly different at the two schools.</p>
<p>we are going this week to Grinnell and next week to Kenyon. She would be able to play club water polo at Grinnell and I think the full roster of activites appeals to her.</p>
<p>But the English curriculum is very interessting at Kenyon. She is not a weirdo, but she is an individulaist. Like her Mom.</p>
<p>She is also waitlisted at Claremont McKenna, but no money!</p>
<p>Visited both with son #1 who is at Grinnell and very happy. Some differences- Grinnell is a bigger town, which is next to but not as much in the school as is Gambier. Gambier is on a hill, Grinnell is definitely flat...I am not sure these matter but...</p>
<p>Grinnell impressed us as a place of challenge. The kids we met looked forward to tackling the "no core except your major" options with gusto. This as opposed to Kenyon where there were fluffy science classes to meet requirements for distribution. Both schools have fabulous English/writing programs. She can't go wrong there.My son is a likely ENglish major and raves about his professors...</p>
<p>I would describe the student population at Grinnell as eclectic. There is also a very high % of international kids, which was important to my son. Kenyon has more of a northeast US LAC feel to it than Grinnell does, as well.</p>
<p>I think your daughter will "feel" one more than the other...she is fortunate to be able to visit both.</p>
<p>My daughter will attend Kenyon this year - she applied ED1 and received a merit scholarship. She did not visit or apply to Grinell because she didnt consider colleges which were that far from home (Kenyon is 500 miles from our home near Philadelphia, but she wanted a school that it would be possible to drive to, although flying is also an option.) But we did visit a number of other East Coast LACs and she had different reactions to each one,as far as whether she would like to possibly attend or not. So after your daughter visits Grinnell and Kenyon, she will probably develop a preference for one or the other. (As long as the scholarship amount difference isn't the limiting factor for your family, in which case it will be a major reason swaying her to choose Grinnell over Kenyon)</p>
<p>Thank you for your help. I ma hopeful that her instincts will gudie her. Even with her acceptances at Cal and UCLA, she is miffed that she didn't get inot Middlebury, Brown or Amherst. She is bummed because when she tells people about Grinnell they say"Iowa?????!!!"</p>
<p>Imagine being in Indonesia and saying your son Is going to Iowa!</p>
<p>We'll find a way to pay, but obviously the money doesn't hurt.</p>
<p>I can't! California is so CA and East Coast-centric. Like nothing exists in between.</p>
<p>Mizsic, make sure your D asks just how easy it is to get into that fabulous writing program at Kenyon. If I remember correctly, you have to audition/apply to take some of the creative writing classes. My D visited with several students who had planned on an english major and were not able to continue in the field at Kenyon due to the competition. That said, it sounds like a great program if you can get in. We visited Grinnell also, and it was a favorite of mine, but a little quirky for my D.</p>
<p>My D will be visiting both with you! She has more money at Grinnell though, so that may sway her choice. She has alreday visited both but wants to see what the freshman are like. On her first visits whe found Grinnell frindlier and more intellectually stimulating but realizes it may have been the result of specific classes. She too would be able to play at sport at Grinnell, soccer, but not at Kenyon. Kenyon though appears to have an extensive intramural program. Kenyon stuck us as almost a fairy tale village up on it's hill but you are really isolated. Gambier disappears into the college. Grinnell is a small but vibrant town with very good town and gown relations. They just reopened their movie theatre as a triple-plex with financial support from the college. </p>
<p>One key difference is that Kenyon has frats/soror while Grinnell does not. My sense is that Kenyon is more preppy.</p>
<p>It will be interesting to see what they think after their visits.</p>
<p>My daughter will be visiting Grinnell too! We visited Kenyon for their scholarship weekend. Your daughter has two great choices. If she is a writer, the Kenyon program is special. I agree that Grinnell seems more intellectually challenging. Kenyon struck me as a little unbalanced in the rigor department. Some courses are plenty rigorous; others less so. I talked to students who were doing neat work and then others who seemed to be happy to slack off. I am looking forward to my daughter's feedback on Grinnell. It sounds perfect, but she wants to see if she can deal with the small town in Iowa.</p>
<p>Outwestmom stole the words right out of my mouth. Somewhere recently - unfortunately I am having a senior moment and can not remember where (thought it was Livejournal, but it's not) - I read comments from some Kenyon students online about the difficulty of getting into the writing classes. This is just barely secondhand information (obviously if I can't remember where I saw it!) but I would check that out very carefully if she is leaning towards Kenyon SOLELY for the writing program.</p>
<p>I don't like to spread false information (especially if it's not a source I can point you to directly!) so I checked the Kenyon catalog online for you. Didn't see any Red Flags that would confirm what I said above however I did notice that </p>
<p>"Creative writing courses are not open to first-year students but they are open to nonmajors. "</p>
<p>Your daughter may already know that she has to wait a year to get into those creative writing classes but thought I'd pass it along any way.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if as many students take a semester abroad at Kenyon as do at Grinnell? Our S, a soph at Grinnell, is planning/hoping to go to Italy next spring, waiting on admission decision. Grinnell makes it verrrry simple. As one student said they practically put the stamp on the envelope for you. When you combine the number who study abroad with the larege international population I think something like 80% of Grinnell graduates have lived abroad by the time they graduate.</p>
<p>SRMom3: That is so cool.</p>
<p>I believe something like 40% at Kenyon study abroad for a semester or a year.</p>
<p>Dear SR3 Mom:
It would be fun to get together with each other over the weekends and compare notes. If I can wear jeans to a reception at Grinnell, I will wear a bright green sequined shimmery jacket from Chico's with them. We will be coming form California. My first name is Harriet. I am tall, thin with curly brown hair. Where will you be coming from?
Paula Smith, one of the English profs at Grinnell told me that indeed you do have to apply/ audition for the upper division classes in creative writing at Kenyon and not for Grinnell. I have the sense that the quirkiness of Grinnell is just up Josie's alley. She will also be able to play club water polo. And she is not a sorortiy type of person.</p>