vassar vs. kenyon

i’m deciding between these 2 for ED1. I’m very into Vassar’s social justice/activist culture, and I was wondering if anything like that exists at Kenyon and whether or not kenyon is too homogeneous for me, someone very interested in diversity/inclusion work and into the PC thing. i want students who are politically active but i’m ok with a school not being too overwhelmingly liberal because i think political diversity is important. Kenyon’s lack of socioeconomic/racial diversity bothers me, but I love the feel of the campus and community and i fell in love w it when i visited. I also want a school w friendly and welcoming students, and I’m wondering if the “wannabe new yorker” population at Vassar gives Kenyon an edge in this department. I would also like to hear about the social scene and student vibes of both colleges in general, and whether or not greek life actually controls the social scene at kenyon, because i’m not into that. any advice on why i should choose either one or just the differences between them would be greatly appreciated!

I’m a parent so take this for what you will. Visited both schools with my daughter and full disclosure am a Vassar grad. My daughter and I found the opposite of what you’re expecting about the students. Vassar students were more down to earth, seemed happy and I would not describe as New York wanna bes. We both found more of a pretentious vibe at Kenyon and not one person looked up or smiled. The folks in admissions, including the student interviewer my daughter met with, were down right rude with a snobby air. Also Kenyon is very isolated so that’s a consideration as well. Poughkeepsie leaves a lot to be desired but the area around campus is nice and NYC is an option although it’s not so close that you’d be heading there every weekend. We saw confederate flags all over the area near Kenyon - a huge turn off for us at least. I know others will have other opinions - maybe we just hit Kenyon on a bad day. Best of luck.

@2019kid: Wow are you mixed up ! Kenyon is the exact opposite of what you write that you are seeking.

As a family, we visited Kenyon about a decade ago. Had the same experience as did the above poster @Dancer41.

If you like Vassar College, then you might find Wesleyan University interesting.

If you like Kenyon College, then consider Colorado College.

I visited Kenyon with my son this summer. I really liked the campus but it was tough to judge vibe with few students around. It it does have a more homogenous and moderate reputation. As OH schools go, it sounds to me like you’d like Oberlin more. Very progressive and diverse.

Visited both with my LAC kid – visited Kenyon 5 times between college search with my 2 kids, but Vassar only once. Never got a NY “wanna be” vibe at Vassar, felt very down to earth, not pretentious, and I appreciated the formerly-women’s college vibe of a school with no football team and no greek life. Kenyon feels – your mileage may vary – like a place where city, private school kids go. Of course, that is not the only demographic at Kenyon, but it definitely feels more wealthy, more homogenous (and is) than some peer schools. Greek life is about 25% at Kenyon, and though students don’t live in the greek life houses, the housing office designates certain blocks of dorm rooms for members of specific chapters, so that greek life members live together.

So yes, I agree with other posters that I perceive the schools the flip of how you did. But I’m a middle aged mom, so take it with a grain of salt.

I agree with other posters although we never got to visit Kenyon. D was accepted and we liked a lot we learned about it. However, I was concerned about the lack of economic diversity. You might find this article helpful. About 20% of Kenyon students come from the top 1% of income.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/18/upshot/some-colleges-have-more-students-from-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60.html

Wow, you read my mind! Wesleyan was my top choice for a long time but my college counselor and parents encouraged me to look at Vassar because from my high school, Vassar is much less of a reach. In visiting I found them to be very similar. I visited Colorado College and got a weird vibe from it, but I’m going to apply early action anyway, because I didn’t like it enough to apply ED. Maybe the weird CC vibe is a sign I should choose Vassar over Kenyon?

That’s a good point. The only problem is that I found Oberlin to be too much of a bubble. I’m one of the most liberal students at my high school and in charge of a lot of the student diversity work, but Oberlin almost felt homogeneous for me and felt like a white hyperliberal bubble where students only adopt liberal views because it’s the norm. I hope Vassar is different than that, but I’m assuming they have a lot of overlap.

As the one person here who has a child who attends Kenyon, I encourage you to carefully consider my opinion and my daughter’s experience.

A little background. My daughter is not a city, private school kid. She was educated in a public school system in rural New England. At Kenyon she has many friends from all sorts of places and backgrounds. While diversity might be an issue, the school has made a serious effort to attract a diverse student body. These efforts have resulted in the most diverse first-year class in the school’s history.

Confederate flags. I have driven to Kenyon five times. Not once have I seen a Confederate flag. Do the residents of the surrounding area lean right? Yes. Has that adversely affected my daughter? No. Area residents are friendly, down-to-earth and kind. We have had numerous interactions in local businesses and not once felt out-of-place or unwelcome. The faculty and student body lean left, and there is an active, vibrant social justice element on campus. How do I know this? Because my daughter is part of it. She has participated in numerous peaceful protests, made a trip to North Dakota during her first year to support the NoDAPL movement, and currently lives in program housing with Eco-Kenyon, which is the school’s environmental club.

As for a snobby, self-absorbed student body, this simply is not the case. Her experience, and mine when visiting, could not be further removed from this notion. We found happy, friendly students, a helpful, genuine admissions staff, and an overall pleasant atmosphere throughout campus when we initially visited. This first impression has continued to be her experience.

Greek life at Kenyon? Yes, it exists, but for those who (like my daughter) don’t choose to join, there are plenty of alternative social options.

My daughter loves her school, so much in fact that after considering the prospect of junior year abroad, she chose to remain at Kenyon. She has had fantastic, inspiring, kind and supportive professors. Her classroom experience has been enhanced by engaging and intellectual peers.

So, OP, my advice to you would be to thoughtfully consider what you felt when visiting these schools. As it went with my daughter, Vassar and Wesleyan were both on her list. We visited each more than once, as they were of great interest to her. She also loved Hamilton, even more than these two schools. Ultimately, though, after a deferral ED1 at Hamilton, we visited Kenyon and it rose to the top as an ED2 choice. She couldn’t be happier with her decision.

@apple23: I think that everyone reads & respects all of the posts in this thread. It is wonderful that your daughter found a match school. But other posters’ experiences matter as well. In short, Kenyon–a very small rural Ohio LAC with a heavy drinking culture and lack of diversity–is not for everyone.

It is noteworthy that, according to your prior posts, that your daughter wanted to major in English which is Kenyon’s strength.

If I had to sum up my impression of Kenyon College, I see it as very similar to many New England prep boarding schools. Very similar.

P.S. The only reason that I responded to your post is my reaction to your first paragraph which suggests that only you have a true insight with respect to Kenyon College. I have been aware of & familiar with Kenyon for over 4 decades now & two of my best friends in life are graduates of Kenyon (both teach at prep schools). Some people are more perceptive than others & some people are clear on their preferences, likes & dislikes. In sort, everyone’s opinion should be respected & valued in this thread.

@Publisher I swear that almost every school has some “drinking culture”. I have yet to meet a college student who says there isn’t a lot of drinking on their campus - whether it is a big school, small school, rural, urban, etc. I have a friend whose daughter is a freshman at ND and her roommate is drinking four nights a week. The dorm is a party. My niece is a freshman at a big ten school. All kinds of drinking. I’m guessing that, at most schools, students can choose to drink or not drink and it’s their own choice. Both my friend’s daughter and our niece have chosen to find like-minded kids in their classes and in club activities and they do not drink. But, yes, Kenyon is rural. Probably about as rural as they get. Lots of kids like that about rural LACs. I’m guessing it’s figured out early on in most kids’ searches if they like that kind of campus or not.

We know two kids at Kenyon (both athletes). They don’t drink, have tons of friends, and think the professors are out of this world.

Great point. Unfortunately Kenyon College had a few highly publicized incidents involving drinking. There were two deaths, I believe. Passed out drunk & froze to death in a nearby cornfield.

I think that while almost all colleges have a large segment of students who drink, some schools have a binge drinking culture often attributed to rural location, small size & isolation. I think that the Kenyon administration has addressed the issue in a forceful manner over the past few years.

Kenyon College is actively addressing the heavy drinking culture so things may have gotten better over the past few years. Actually some poster or posters complained a year or two ago, that the crackdown by the administration was too harsh.

@homerdog: No need to remain uninformed. Just google “Report of the Alcohol Task Force Kenyon College March 2017”.

@Publisher I googled Kenyon drinking and there are quite a few interesting pages including essays written by Kenyon kids who do not drink and a professor who did research on the Kenyon party culture. Again, I really don’t think this is different than any other school.

@homerdog: What you choose to believe is up to you. But why not read the report published by Kenyon College by the Kenyon College Alcohol Task Force March, 2017 ?

The report contains shocking observations including:

“Alcohol is prevalent at Kenyon, with binge drinking a significant concern. The impact of excessive alcohol consumption includes sexual misconduct, vandalism, medical traumas, and long term health effects.” = these are Kenyon’s own words.

Also : “there is clearly pressure to drink excessively.”

@homerdog: Kenyon College students have died from the results of excessive drinking as well as have suffered “medical traumas”.

I think that your posts do a great disservice to CC readers when such a clear authoritative source acknowledging & addressing the drinking problem at Kenyon College is available for all–including you–to read.

Why do you think that Kenyon College formed an Alcohol Task Force ?

Well, @Publisher I will report back. S19 is going for an overnight next month and he will be on the lookout for how evenings go at Kenyon. And he can ask his host as well.

Doesn’t really matter to me what your son does or does not experience while on a short visit to Kenyon College.

I encourage you as a parent to read:

“Report of the Alcohol Task Force Kenyon College March, 2017”.

The Alcohol Task Force members include: (10 members)

Two Kenyon College Trustees

Three then current Kenyon College students

Kenyon College Vice-President for Student Affairs

Co-Director of College Counseling

A Kenyon College Professor of Biology

A Kenyon College Professor of Anthropology

A Kenyon College Professor of Sociology

I will rely on my own visits & on the report of this committee which concludes that Kenyon College needs to continue closely monitoring binge drinking & excessive drinking on campus.

P.S. The Kenyon College Alcohol Task Force was founded in September, 2016. This is a bit disturbing considering the tragic occurrences over the past decade or so at Kenyon College. What took so long ?

I’m in the Kenyon camp. My D visited both, and deposited at Kenyon. (Ultimately ended up at another school due to WL.) She did not consider applying to Vassar. Personally, while Vassar was lovely, I did think it felt extremely monied. Make no mistake, there are rich kids at both colleges.

My thought is that Kenyon is relaxed and creative. The professors are HIGHLY regarded and consistently hold several spots in Princeton Review’s Best Prof list. Students really enjoy classes. I felt that Vassar is a little overly-earnest and artificial. But they are both excellent colleges and it’s probably not a coincidence that many students like them both.