Paying full tuition at Kenyon

A school like Kenyon surely has a large network of such opportunities in Ohio and beyond. I actually am not worried about that aspect. My bigger concern is will the extra outlay over the merit award school be worth it.

@ohiojr, there is no need for health care related research to get into medical school. What is more valuable is experience in a medical setting ā€“ volunteering or paid position in a healthcare/hospital environment. Plenty of students get that in the summer. My nephew took a gap year after undergrad to work as an EMT and work on his med school applications. If she is interested in bio research in general, there are opportunities at Kenyon (we visited a bio lab where a bunch of students were working during a science tour there).

I think each of us have a financial threshold that we have and may not be willing to cross to give our child the best experience. In our case, med school + full pay LAC will break the bank. But either one alone is doableā€¦

It totally depends on you and your finances. And maybe how good your state schools are. Thereā€™s tons of people who would love to pay full boat at a place like Kenyon if their child could get in, though!

Thereā€™s only 10-12 colleges Iā€™d pay full boat for, though, and almost all of them offer no non-need based financial aid. Otherwise, our state schools are too good of a value to pass up.

Thanks all. I think I will continue to research and weigh up everything. And, she may not even like itā€¦but I think she will.

intparent is right on. Calling it redistribution of income is so unnecessarily combative. If you canā€™t stand the thought that other kids/families are going to get financial aid while your child doesnā€™t, it probably doesnā€™t make sense to be looking at schools like Kenyon in the first place. As to Lindagafā€™s question, I can offer this perspective: I know quite a few people who went to Kenyon. Every one of them regards it as a life-changing, inspiring experience. They go back every five years for reunion and would kill for their school. My daughter is seriously considering Kenyon right now, and if she ends up there I will be a very happy (if a quarter of a million dollars poorer) dad.

13 And the full pay students benefit immensely from being surrounded by students who aren't all full-pay, so the trade off is worth it in my opinion. Who would want to attend a college where all students have parents who can afford 65K - who are all, thus, selected on their ability to pay rather than on other, more important characteristics?

Faced with a similar choice, we decided that we werenā€™t going to pay full boat at Kenyon and my Daughter is most likely going to accept a sizeable merit aid offer at Grinnell. We never were going to pay $250K for undergrad and Kenyon offered no merit aid. It all depends on your situation and what alternatives you have to choose from.
Kenyon was very high on my Daughterā€™s list too and was the only school who accepted her without merit aid. Beautiful campus, hard not to love if you visit.

Exactly, @MYOS1634 . I consider it a plus if my kid goes to a school with a lot of kids getting aid. Wider playing field, more interesting experience, lots and lots to learn.

We loved Kenyon when we visited it, but we didnā€™t love it to the tune of $250,000 with no merit aid. DD was accepted and we will pass.

Actually, Kenyon is one of the nationsā€™s least socioeconomically diverse institutions, according to US Dept of Education data (low percentage of Pell Grant recipient students), although the new president has stated the college is trying to increase the numbers. The collegeā€™s endowment amount and endowment per student ratio is small and lags its peers. A major factor in its financial health is studentsā€™ and familiesā€™ ability (and willingness) to pay.

The college is currently in - what is referred to as - the ā€œquiet phaseā€ of a capital campaign (as is F&M College). You can read about it here:

http://kenyoncollegian.com/2014/09/25/will-the-capital-campaign-break-240-million/

All part of the due diligence students and parents should conduct to learn more about the institutions of interest and see what lies underneath the surface.

Interesting article, thanks for the link. Lots to consider and research.