Kenyon College

It's a small school for sure. There is not much to do outside of school activities, but that also means niches like Rugby, Birdwatching Club, and Dance classes are very involved experiences. If you want to study with very few distractions around, there is no better hilltop to do that at.

Unless you want to go to a Covid-19 POW camp, I would avoid this college like the plague. They put kids into 2 week quarantines who don't have Covid. They encourage students to rat each other out. They scare the hell out of everyone letting them think we live in a world where the Covid boogey man is around every corner. The only thing they haven't done yet is issue a covid version of the Scarlet Letter signifying how nuts the place really is.

Incredible. If you are looking for a life-changing educational experience, Kenyon is it. The small classes sizes mean your education is more personalized and tailored to your skills and interests. The professors really get to know you, and you develop meaningful and lasting relationships with them, not just while you're a student in their class. You get invited to professor's houses for dinners and sometimes class, and you get life advice and hilarious anecdotes about their fascinating lives. The students can be competitive academically, because it's a very rigorous curriculum, but most students are dedicated to their own education and supportive of others. There isn't anything Kenyon can't offer, if you just ask.

When I visited, I was extremely impressed. I’m a prospective student and I’ve never felt more at home when I’m away from home. The students were so polite (opening doors for the tour and things) and they seemed very happy. The sports facilities were the best I’ve seen so far and the coach was very humorous. It seemed easy to get around and to find your niche.

As with any college, Kenyon has a wide variety of students with many different personalities and interests. That being said, most Kenyon students are fairly liberal, ranging from (on the extreme end) students who are extremely active in politics and protests, to (on the less extreme end) students who want nothing to do with politics but who are respectful of LGBT+ students, racial minorities, etc. It is a beautiful campus, but sometimes Middle Path (the main path that runs through the campus and connects all of the buildings) can get muddy or icy in bad weather. Most of the students that I interact with are very intelligent, thoughtful, and creative, and we regularly engage in academic conversations outside of class. Many students come from fairly wealthy families, but there are a number of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds as well, and there are many resources in place to support these students. Overall, my only complaint about Kenyon is that it is slightly isolated; Gambier, OH only has one market, one coffee store, one sandwich shop, two restaurants, a post office, a tiny bank, and almost nothing else other than the academic and residential buildings themselves. While there is a shuttle service to the nearby town (which has more normal restaurants, stores, etc), it is a little inconvenient, and I wish Kenyon were located less in the middle of nowhere. (That being said, I love it here.)

I enjoy going to Kenyon a lot! I think they market it a little bit idealistically though, and I wouldn't say that it's quite the artistic indie-kid haven that people make it seem. That being said, there's generally always a friendly face to be found, and I have never felt completely alone here. It's worth noting that a lot of the kids here are fairly affluent, and that sort of devil-may-care attitude sort of pervades the party/drug scene. People can afford to waste time and money so they do. Again, it's not repulsive, and some may find it appealing, but as someone who doesn't partake in the party scene it's sometimes a bit discouraging.

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Kenyon is a SCAM. The "college" is not an institution of learning, it is a radical socialist re-education camp. Dissenters are severely punished, while hateful ideologues are elevated. Kenyon sanctimoniously claims to be "progressive" and "liberal" while being the exact opposite. Instead, it is regressive and authoritarian. Kenyon has a terrible ROI - students leave with no skills that will lead to career success. It was recently ranked 983rd as the best-value college by PayScale, which tracks the average ROI of an education. If you love your child, do not put them in harms way to be a target of bigotry. The post-modern, hateful ideologies that Kenyon indoctrinates their "students" with will only cripple them in the real world. On the other-hand, if you want your child to be a radical social activist that will continue to leech off others and live in your basement, then this is definitely the college for them. Attending Kenyon is the equivalent of burning 300k cash in your fireplace.

Kenyon has been great to me even though it took a freshman year of adjusting. Coming from the Washington D.C. area, Gambier OH was a big culture shock. The downsides of Kenyon are definitely its small size and beyond remote location. It is truly in the middle of nowhere. Conversely, Kenyon's size and location can be a blessings since it pushes you to find a solid group of friends and also pushes you to try things that you might not have elsewhere. Students at Kenyon wear several hats. They have the ability to be athletes, greeks and leaders of student organizations all at once. The academics are great, but the intimate connections made at Kenyon usually open more doors than most schools.

Overall great place to be and learn. I can fully absorb the knowledge I am supposed to learn. Faculty and staff are avid supporters of their students, and do everything in their power to see us succeed, no matter how "difficult" the material. Students here strive for the best, but not without having fun. A very balanced space with very talented individuals at Kenyon. I am proud to call myself a Kenyon Lord.

Admittedly, I was really nervous when I first arrived at Kenyon. I was far from home and I didn't know anyone there, but everyone made me feel extremely welcome during the first week. The upperclassmen were very helpful when giving advice about courses and professors and I connected easily with the other students in my dorm very well. When classes began, I was blown away by the passion of my professors and I felt like I was completely engaged in what I was learning. The coursework is difficult and the teachers expect a lot from you, but I feel like everything is worth it. Concerning extracurriculars and social events, it's pretty quiet during the week, but everything becomes more lively during the weekend and people are always doing something fun. I really like Kenyon and I don't think I would trade the experiences I've had for anything.

I just finished my freshman year at Kenyon and I absolutely love it. Going in, I was nervous about the small size and the location in rural Ohio; however, I've discovered that both of these aspects of Kenyon actually contribute to what makes it such a great place. The students, though small in number, are as a group generally very kind and intelligent. Therefore, the campus is very close knit and there is a great sense of community. This sense of community is also bolstered by Kenyon's location in the middle of nowhere. Gambier is a hamlet with five businesses and no off campus housing for students, but students can find almost anything they need in the market or excellent bookstore and the lack of off-campus housing options gives the students a more common experience. And, if a student yearns for crowds and more shopping opportunities, the bustling metropolis of Mount Vernon, Ohio, is about ten minutes away by car and accessible by campus shuttle.

Kenyon College is a wonderful college academically. Classes are small. I had a class with six people in it my first semester and my third semester had four. Professors are always there. They may not be as helpful as you wish, but they are there. It is small and rural, that comes with its ups and downs.