Daughter deciding btw Kenyon and Vassar. Similar financial aid packages so that is not at play in final decision. She has visited both campuses and loves the two schools for different reasons. Interested in majoring in film/screenwriting (Vassar has the advantage here) but also loves the literary vibe at Kenyon as she is interested in writing. Would love to get some feedback from current or past students about the social life at either school. Her concerns re. Kenyon are less exciting social life/parties, especially given the isolation. Her concerns re. Vassar are that she didnât feel quite as at home there (Kenyon struck her as a very warm welcoming place). Also if anyone has any experience with the film department at Kenyon, would be interested to hear about it. I know she will find friends and grow academically at either school but the decision is proving incredibly difficult. Many thanks!
I can put your daughter in touch with mine, who is a sophomore at Kenyon. Sheâs been more involved with the theater program than film but can still share her overall experience with the school. She absolutely loves it and finds its social life very active and vibrant (sheâs not into parties, but thereâs still a lot to do).
I am a big fan of helping kids learn to trust themselves. There is no ârightâ or âwrongâ or even âbetterâ or âbestâ choice here. Both places will give her everything she needs to make her way in the world- the difference will be what opportunities she chooses to pursue, what she does with them and of course a bit of serendipity. In other words, it will become the ârightâ one because she makes it so.
It is a big decision- one of the biggest she will have made- and there is a lot of invisible pressure to get it ârightâ. Tell her that you trust her instincts on this.
My D was a recent English major at Vassar. I wouldnât necessarily describe it as âwarmâ, and my D struggled socially at first. However, she continued getting involved in various activities and participated in some theater performances. She found her tribe of people and is definitely happy she chose Vassar (Kenyon, Davidson and Richmond were also in the mix once decisions were in). She liked the diversity of students and their acceptance of one another. However, Iâm sure she would have had a much better experience had it not been for Covid. 
agree 100%
Reading this post made me think of something Denisonâs president wrote several years ago: âWhat matters most is the fit. Itâs hard to get a great education if the fit is not right.â
This has definitely been the case with my Kenyon first year. Because she found the people (fellow students, professors, staff) to be so welcoming and accepting, she had the confidence to take advantage of a wide range of what the school has to offer â special courses, extracurriculars, and a fun and varied social life. So much of what is in this blog post applies to her and I do think itâs because the fit is right.
Dear mwalker68,
I wish I could advise you. I can only say that my own daughter is strong on Vassar and the only other college sheâs seriously still considering is Kenyon (despite her parentsâ opinions on other colleges). Also, she has strong interest in film and English. I do think that both colleges can be great and collegemom3717âs reply was powerful. I wish your daughter and you well. If they end up at the same school, maybe we can get them to text each other in those difficult first weeks.
Iâd definitely go with Vassar. Seems like a no-brainer to me.