Transfer: Kenyon v. Oberlin v. Carleton v. Grinnell...

Colleges and Universities A-Z Kenyon College
1

Hello all!

I am transferring for the Fall 2017 semester, and would like some input.

I applied to, and have been accepted at: Brown University, Dartmouth College, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Carleton College, Grinnell College, Rhodes College, Centre College, and Sarah Lawrence College. I’m still waiting to hear back from Davidson College.

My areas of concentration (thus far) have been Classics, History, and Political Science, with some work in Anthropology and Philosophy, and my eventual major/majors will be some amalgam of these fields. What is your estimation of the quality of the programs/departments at the above schools, particularly in comparison to one another? I imagine, as seems to be the case across liberal arts colleges, they are more similar than they are different, but I’m wondering if any of you have experience with these departments.

At the moment, Kenyon College is the front-runner for a few reasons, one being the Integrated Program in Humane Studies, and while I could create a similar course of study at any of the other colleges, I do appreciate the infrastructure already present at Kenyon.

Any other information you think may be relevant to the decision is welcome.

Thank you for your help!

2

Kenyon would seem to be a great fit for you for several reasons:

  1. As you noted, you would have to construct elsewhere that which, in the IPHS sequence, has already been established at Kenyon.
  2. Kenyon's offerings in history and political science are among the country's strongest.
  3. Though not unique to Kenyon, you seem as if you would benefit from the purely undergraduate focused academics typical of LACs.

The above said, you have some great choices listed. Be glad you have them, though, however challenging the final decision may be for you.

3

Have you talked to the folks who run the IPHS program at Kenyon, and is IPHS a program you can transfer into?