<p>Carolyn,
I tried to PM you but your mailbox is full.</p>
<p>My daughter just completed freshman year. Getting to the point, Peirce Hall IS the grand hall at Hogwarts <a href="http://www1.kenyon.edu/tour/peirce.phtml%5B/url%5D">http://www1.kenyon.edu/tour/peirce.phtml</a></p>
<p>As with doddsdad, my daughter and I did grand tour, two summers ago. Visited Kenyon, OSU and Miami in OH. Visted Pepperdine, Pomona and UCSB in CA. Because D was uncertain as to type of school prior to tour, included small, med. and large schools in each area. I visited Oberlin years ago with my son, my oldest daughter attended Cleveland Institute of Art, and my wife attended Ohio Northern and Case Western Reserve.</p>
<p>We currently live in NJ. I know, visiting CA schools was a risk. D did not want to even look at schools in the east, although we did spend a day looking at Lafayette/Lehigh. CA tour was first - all three schools were amazing, but expecially Pomona. In my next life...</p>
<p>A couple of weeks later, the OH schools. As soon as she set foot on Kenyon campus, the deal was sealed. Helps that D is a swimmer. When we entered Peirce Hall, she exclaimed "This is the great hall at Hogwarts". Exposed beams, stained glass, four long rows of tables - we expected to see ghosts floating in the air.</p>
<p>Well, she's had a great year and can't wait to go back. She's taking Int'l Studies w/ Japanese and Legal Studies emphasis.</p>
<p>ExOH, First, welcome to the boards! Second, thanks for the post about KEnyon and how happy your D. has been there. I am secretly harboring Kenyon in the dark reaches of my mind for my son, currently going into sophomore year. For a variety of reasons, Kenyon is not a fit for my daughter (going into senior year), but I suspect it will be for my son.</p>
<p>ExOH,
I'll join Carolyn in welcoming you to the Parents boards! Your D was right about Peirce Hall and neither my S nor I recognized it! How blind could we be? I suspect it affected him at a subliminal level since he's a Harry Potter fan and he really liked Kenyon. Just in case you missed it, this is the link for our visit to Hogwarts.
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=55867%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=55867</a></p>
<p>Thank you for sharing your daughter's experience at Kenyon. My S will be applying this fall and I think it is still at the top of his list. He received a "Kenyon is NOT in Uganda" t-shirt for his 17th birthday last month (along with a Centre and ND) so I'm hoping we don't jinx him. He hasn't made it into any schools yet....But, we wanted to keep him interested in the colleges. He wears the shirts to school, so we're taking that as a good sign. </p>
<p>Carolyn, you might be interested in knowing that we should have skipped the ND shirt. He's now moved Earlham into third place. Apparently on reflection, he decided he really enjoyed his visit there and he's forgiven them for "forgetting" about him in the afternoon.</p>
<p>Doddsdad,
My daughter is doing Earlham's explore-a-college program - leaving next week in fact. She's very excited and I will let you know what she thinks when she gets back. Earlham has lost some of its glow for her recently as our visit moves farther into the past. Also, as her friends start talking about which schools they're applying to, I think she is starting to realize that Earlham doesn't have the same teen-currency as a UC or a Notre Dame (ND is very popular at her school). Earlham is still at the top of her list but she's also been talking a lot more about Beloit lately. So, it will be interesting to see how Earlham looks after a two week second visit!</p>
<p>The day we visited Kenyon two summers ago was the first day of classes and the day after a huge thunderstorm. The storm had knocked out the electricity and the kids had to manage with just flashlights and candles that night. There were several huge, ancient trees on campus that were lost in the storm. The kids my daughter spoke with all seemed to have had a great time and the storm event was a major bonding experience for that year's freshman class. Again, very Harry Potteresque.</p>
<p>I am going to Kenwarts this fall....( I prefer this name Doddsdad) and sincerely hope there are no welcome storms sent for us this time.Atleast no Harry Potteresque affairs on the first day.</p>
<p>And as the month of August nears, I am really really getting excited about the whole thing...( also waiting for the housing assigments scheduled to come on July)</p>
<p>Kenwarts>></p>
<p>Love it Blip.</p>
<p>And, don't forget to come back and tell us all about it. Or at least PM me - I know you are going to have a great four years.</p>
<p>Blip,
Don't forget your cyber-dad too! I also want to hear about your experiences at Kenwarts! Sniff...They grow up so fast....it seems like only a couple of months since Blip joined our family...</p>
<p>Carolyn,
Yes, Please let me know what she thinks after her two weeks at Earlham. I'll be surprised if she doesn't return loving it even more. DS has run into similar reactions at school with the t-shirts. "Kenyon? What's that?" The same for Centre. But so far, he actually seems to enjoy telling them about the colleges and that few people know about them.</p>
<p>My daughter was admitted to Kenyon early decision, so her friends have been hearing about it for awhile. Almost every person who signed her yearbook wrote something along the lines of "Have fun in Africa next year!" or something like that :)</p>
<p>My son really liked Kenyon, though, for various reasons he ended up elsewhere. His standard response when asked Where's that? was "Are you gamby? Well, we're gambier!" Nonsense, I know, I know, but it seems to fit the Kenyon sense of humor.</p>
<p>The Kenyon Inn was my favorite on campus lodging, anywhere. I'd like to think of an excuse to go back.</p>
<p>Momrath,
I agree about the Kenyon Inn. I think you gave us the heads up about it during our initial planning. Thank you. </p>
<p>Momoftwo,
I'm looking forward to hearing about your daughter's experiences at Kenyon. It might be that this time next year, you and your daughter will be able to give my son advice on what he needs to know as he enters Kenyon. :) It will be interesting to see how all this works out.</p>
<p>Doddsdad and Carolyn:</p>
<pre><code> I will certainly keep both of you updated about my experience at kenyon.:)
</code></pre>
<p>Thanks for such great posts about the colleges -- but mostly about Kenyon. I graduate quite some time ago, but have a huge soft-spot for Kenyon. It was a fantastic place to attend and well worth every penny (and yes, I did have to pay back a lot of student loans, but Kenyon set me up so well for my future that they, and my MBA, were all fully paid by the time I was 35). Dodds, I really hope your son picks Kenyon. I am living internationally now as well (UK, Saudi, Singapore, etc.) and think that what I learned at Kenyon carries me well through this globalised world!</p>
<p>Hi, Mike!</p>
<p>I believe the son in question was accepted at a number of schools (including Kenyon) but chose Hanover. That's what it says on the final decisions thread.</p>
<p>great choice, hanover rocks!</p>