Kenyon Vs. Oberlin - Student Life

Greetings. My son has the opportunity to go to both schools. Any input regarding student life would be greatly appreciated. Also, is Kenyon or Oberlin a better feeder to top law schools? Thank you in advance to anyone who replies.

Have you visited either? Kenyon/Gambier is a lot smaller than Oberlin/Oberlin. My DS though that Kenyon was just too small. But YMMV.

Thank you for your reply. We are planning a visit to each one.

Kenyon has a really lovely campus, though. As picturesque a campus as I’ve ever seen. Oberlin tends to be a little more “crunchy liberal.” Either would provide strong prep for law school. I suspect he will have a better idea after visiting.

Thanks for your reply. I wonder if “crunchy liberal” will come out during a 2 day visit?

Oh, gosh, yes. I think an overnight/ 24 hours on campus would be very helpful.

While both schools attract similar types of students, Oberlin has more students at about 3000, including the Conservatory students, no greek life, has the dining co-op option where students cook together, and is located in a larger town/village. Oberlin is a physically larger campus, with (quiet) town streets running through campus. The town/village green is Oberlin’s “front yard.”

Kenyon is smaller, around 1700 students, and the village of Gambier is tiny (really tiny, like 2 streets). Many people see campus and think it is the perfect expression of a college campus (it was both of my kids’ first favorite) It is of course known for the Kenyon Review, its creative writing, and its theater program. It has about 25% greek life participation, with greek life students housed in clusters together in the dorms. It has a high percentage of wealthy students, the NYTimes article shows it is in the top 10 of least economically diverse colleges or universities in the country.

I have tried to find a way to express my perception of these two schools before, because I’ve been to both schools 6-8 times for campus visits, kids’ overnights, and athletic competitions, and know some recent graduates from both. Your mileage may vary, and I’m not suggesting this is the only way to see these schools. but I see Oberlin as more earnest and quirky and Kenyon as more sporty and sophisticated. Of course, there are lots of earnest and quirky kids at Kenyon and sporty and sophisticated kids at Oberlin, and they are both wonderful schools and the same kids will flourish and make life long friendships at both.

OP,

Oberlin’s rep is that it is very progressive (this is coming from progressive me). Think Reed, Hampshire, Holyoke, Goucher. Its vibe should probably be apparent during a 2-day visit. Kenyon is a liberal place intellectually, but its rep is more balanced. Kenyon also is in the top ten for having more students from the top 1% (families earning more than 650K per year) than the lower 60% (families earning under 60K per year).

Of course, these are broad generalizations. I admire both schools, though Kenyon would probably be more my style (and, no, I did not come from a wealthy family). Visits should help with these two very good–but also very different–schools.

Holyoke? Maybe you are thinking of Smith…

Thank you to all. Son will attend Oberlin in the fall.

@Funner, please look for the Oberlin Parents group on Facebook and join us.