HI I thought I would see if we could start a list of students accepted for next fall. Anyone with experience with Kent State, I would love to hear any input. Here is my daughter’s info:
Status:Accepted to school, applying to Honors College
State: Kentucky
Possible major: American sign language interpretation
She may or may not attend, but it is definitely on the short list!
HI, my daughter was accepted to Kent as well… She’s in-state & is an Undecided- Biological Sciences Major. We also learned of merit aid offerings to her today. For what it’s worth, several kids in our local district go there & absolutely love it. She’s visted the campus x2 and states she feels like she fits right in. She hasn’t committed to it yet, but I believe it is high on the list. Good luck!
Congrats to your daughter @rscgrad ! My DD has heard about merit $$ now as well, and that is so helpful to know early about the costs if she attends! It is helpful to me to know that some students you know love it there! It seems like a pretty friendly atmosphere. We wonder if there would there some fun things to do on the weekend… Will your daughter be living on campus or at home? We are planning to travel back for a Golden Flash Day in February. She is very interested in Kent.
Hi @2kidsinky- My daughter will be living on campus at least for 1st two years (oh, she’s committed to Kent!). I think it’s required (recent studies apparently show a high correlation w/ living on campus 1st two years & graduating within 4 years!!). It is super friendly and seems very welcoming. I love the area the campus is located in too. It’s a beautiful section of Ohio. We visited in August and again in the Fall. The Fall is brilliantly gorgeous on campus. They have a population of these adorable Black Squirrels running among the green and trees. There seems to be a ton of activities for the students. The Kent downtown is quite charming and has a hotel and several shops and eateries. The school has an arrangement of sorts with the Porthouse Theater which I hear puts on some amazing productions (haven’t seen one yet myself). Canton and Akron are none too far…Cleveland is about an hour away ( &there is TON to do there). You do realize Feb will be quite cold. If you come then, I hope your daughter won’t form a final opinion of it then… 
Being I am from the West Coast, this is important to call out!! lol Best of luck in the process. We plan to attend Flash Day too!
Thanks @rscgrad I am happy that we visited Kent State back in the summer, so we will have some varied weather experience, haha! I am sure you are right, Kent would get more snow and colder temperatures than KY though!
Do you know if it is recommended to pay the enrollment deposit as soon as possible, and does that affect student’s choice of housing? I mean, is there a good reason to enroll early, even though housing application is in February? I noticed that the fees are refundable if you choose another school, and that could still happen. She might want to live in a living learning community. My other daughter attends U of Alabama, and the housing deposit was due really early (February) to have a choice in your housing and roommate, etc. Any info you have is very helpful!!
@2kidsinky- Im actually not sure about enrollment deposit & relation to housing choice. I was going to actually call in the next week or so because we are not able to open the student checklist on the Flashline site. I thought that was where the accepted students were directed to pay those fees… Anywho- let me know if you find out. Hope to have this all solidified in the next couple of weeks. What major is your daughter interested in?
Okay thanks. I noticed my daughter’s “checklist” is working today, but wasn’t yesterday. Maybe you will have the same luck? My daughter is interested in American Sign Language Interpretation major, or possibly teaching. My older daughter is a Biology major at UA and planning on med school right now (sophomore).
We too will be doing flashdays maybe in feb. I would like to get the visit done asap. I want to know more about the Architecture program for my daughter. We are also interested in the housing situation. I see 80% are considered commuters, but I am thinking once you live off campus even adjacent to campus you are a commuter. Is there a large amount of apartment housing within walking distance to the campus? If any of you have visited and know. This is a real concern to me. She received a very nice scholarship for Kent so its in the running. Have to wait on a few other schools and then sort things out.
@sull29, @2kidsinky @rscgrad I thought I’d jump on this thread as my daughter graduated this past May and I can perhaps answer some of these questions. First, we highly recommend your students pursue Honors College as it opens up better options for housing, registration, and special honors sections of classes. Further, it positions your student socially with higher-achieving peers, which is a good thing. As for its status as a commuter school, that is very much the case as most students are OH residents and a huge number leave on the weekend. Wife and I have visited for weekends and found the campus virtually empty on Friday noon. Moral - get involved right away so your social life isn’t dependent on your dorm floor’s comings and goings. As for off-campus housing, it is required to live on campus for two years. Off-campus (which is basically adjacent to campus) housing consists of a limited number of typical dumpy old houses and an increasing number of newer, nicer buildings built specifically for the student population. As a senior D lived in a 4 BR, 4 bath apartment that was quite nice and honestly less expensive than on-campus housing.
Anyway, let me know if you have additional questions. Our decision for D to attend KSU was not taken lightly and we have no regrets. We are big KSU boosters. Best of luck to all those matriculating! It’s a big step.
Hi @beastman thanks for your input and willingness to help! My family and I just actually did a drive through of Kent State an hour ago, as we are traveling to Pennsylvania today! Looks good although pretty empty of course. I read what you said about the weekends being a time for many to go home. Anyway, would you estimate that about half of freshman and sophomores are actual local commuters living at home with parents throughout the week as well? If so, that doesn’t really concern me because there are lots of students who will be on campus as well. Is it difficult to stay in on campus housing after 2 years, if a atudent wants to, due to space? I understand that at other colleges it is common for students to want more space and a kitchen, plus more independence after spending some time in dorms. My daughter is accepted to the honors college and I liked the Honors dorm when we toured it months ago, but she is also interested in the art living learning community. If you know anything about that please share. It looked like that dorm might be older? Anyway she is vegetarian and I had read about the food being good!
@2kidsinky Sorry for the delay in replying. Your questions were specific enough that I passed them on to my daughter. Here goes:
Q: Anyway, would you estimate that about half of freshman and sophomores are actual local commuters living at home with parents throughout the week as well?
A: I can’t say whether it’s half or not, but a decent portion of students do go home on weekends. However, communities like the Honors College and the Verder Art Community attract more out of state students than the regular dorms, so you’ll find those students stick around more. Also, having some friends that live in the area can be nice if your daughter wants to get off campus for a weekend.
Q:If so, that doesn’t really concern me because there are lots of students who will be on campus as well. Is it difficult to stay in on campus housing after 2 years, if a student wants to, due to space?
A:Kent is having space issues with dorms, but I’m not sure how that would directly affect your daughter. I’d reach out to their housing department if you’re looking for more specific figures. The honors college is fairly isolated from that though, as it represents a definite minority of students.
Q: I understand that at other colleges it is common for students to want more space and a kitchen, plus more independence after spending some time in dorms. My daughter is accepted to the honors college and I liked the Honors dorm when we toured it months ago, but she is also interested in the art living learning community. If you know anything about that please share.
A: The honors dorms are definitely way nicer dorms than Verder, where the art community is. I lived in the honors dorms and had friends with Verder studio access, so I would walk the 5 minute walk and hang out in studio with them. If your daughter is studying art, having the constant studio access is really convenient.
Beastman adds: Stopher/Johnson has a community kitchen adjacent to their fabulous study lounges and D and friends cooked some dinners there.
Q: It looked like that dorm might be older?
Verder is much older and the rooms are significantly smaller than Stopher/Johnson. It’s a trade off between really nice, big rooms, and the convenience of having studio space.
Q: Anyway she is vegetarian and I had read about the food being good!
A: Kent does have some pretty good vegetarian options. Great salad bars, especially. Vegan options are more scarce, but it’s not impossible. Within the last few years they’ve opened up a lot of vegetarian-friendly meal plan options. Of course, living off campus and cooking for yourself makes vegetarian/vegan eating way easier.
@beastman I really appreciate your time and effort to get this information for my daughter’s sake! It was very kind of your daughter to help with important info. Nothing like info from a current student!