Kenyon College Top Questions

Academics here are extremely important. Everyone takes their classes seriously, there hasn't been a single day that I've been on campus and haven't studied or done homework in some way. We just care a whole lot about learning our subject material and learning it well, not necessarily because we want to do well (which we do, obviously), but because we love it. It is considered cool to be a nerd here, so pretty much everyone is cool. We do have some really awesome extracurriculars, sports, and parties, but if you aren't going to college for the education, then Kenyon probably isn't the place for you.

Great! If they have your major you're set.

Small class sizes mean that your professors all know your name from day one. Some professors know them before you even come to class from the face directory and the community choir prof is known for naming all 100+ students in his class from memory at the beginning of each semester before having met his future students. Professors are one of the best parts of Kenyon, they love you if you show a desire to learn. Office hours allow students to get help out of class and hold intellectual conversations out of class. Students frequently debate topical issues out of class and continue discussions late into the evening. The Kenyon education is definitely geared towards learning for its own sake rather than towards getting a job but the excellent alumni network takes care of that for you in a lot of cases. Students are a lot more collaborative than competitive at Kenyon and often spend time they should be studying helping out friends or classmates that need help with something. All in all, you couldn't ask for a more enriching academic experience than that offered by Kenyon

Professors know my name, but keep their distance. My least favorite class has been into to philosophy, but that's a personal opinion (and the teacher was TERRIBLE). class participation is less common than i expected. kenyon students rarely have intellectual conversations outside of class, this has been my experience anyway. the level of intellectualism outside of class has been extremely disappointing for me. not to say that kids aren't smart--they just have other interests that consume their free time when not studying.

Kenyon's academics are great. Most of my classes have been challenging and provocative, though there have been a few that have bored me to tears. (Don't take Early African History, for the love of all things sacred.) The professors for the most part are fabulous, I've even become homies with some of them. They're extremely friendly, always remember your name, and I find myself often stopping to chat with some of them when I'm bopping around campus. Kenyon students do have intellectual conversations outside of class that can be interesting. However, because Kenyon is now a new ivy, some students fancy themselves Rhodes scholars and shit can get a little pretentious. ESPECIALLY WITH ENGLISH MAJORS, many of whom feel that they are future Chaucers or Faulkners. Some conversations you overhear, or may be apart of will induce a lot of eye-rolling, but for the most part, people present their arguments in ways that aren't so irritating. Students aren't really competitive.

I already wrote about this above, but I can elaborate on some things. Yes, all professors know your name, and class participation is very common, and encouraged. Professors office hours are always open and I often see students milling around just chatting and asking questions. Professors and students are friends as much as they are in professional relationships, and I love this so much, because that is what makes it so efficient! When you participate in class and also get to know your professor as a person through conversations out of class, or taking part in an organisation they are involved in, it makes classes so much more fun, and makes it easier for them to grade you I think. Imagine it, they can construct their own syllabus, teach it as they wish, assign the assignments that they think are the most interesting, and give the grades they think people deserve and have worked for. That is freedom that high school teachers generally don't have, which is why I think liberal arts-ness is so perfect for someone like me. There is such a huge list of classes, and mostly all of them are open to anyone (except high level ones with prerequisites). People are SO SO encouraged to take a wide variety of classes (but I think that too many students don't make any huge leaps for fear of not doing well), and it is such a fantastic idea! Really, I took classical mythology, and before I think I knew who Zeus was from the disney movie, but now I read Ovid in my free time. The academics at Kenyon are my favourite part about it. I am raving now, but only because I really want people to know this.

At kenyon, it is inconceivable that your teacher may not know your name. The school is small, the classes are small, and the professors give a shit. I have spent time at professor's houses and of course talking to them outside of class about work or not. Since we are in the middle of nowhere, the professors live not more than 10 minutes away so you see quite a lot of them and their families, it's really nice. Of course academics extend beyond the classroom--really what's the point of spending four years at school if you stop caring about your work the second you leave the classroom. But probably you could find some people at Kenyon who disagree with that, it's a very diverse campus and people find a myriad of ways in which to live.

All classes are taught by brilliant professors who know their stuff and want you instill their knowledge in you. They are so nice and always willing to work with students.

Professors do get to know your name. One of the things that I like about Kenyon is that I run into my Professors as I am walking down Middle Path, or going to the KAC, or grabbing a bite at Middle Ground. They are definitely part of the community. We always stop and chat for a few minutes when we run into each other. If you take a seminar class (7-15 tudents) there is a good chance that you will go to their house for dinner. I have found that my most intellectual conversations happen at the oddest times: close to MIdnight surrounded by a group of friends.

The academics are top notch, personal, and challenging. Every professor I've had knows my name, has been available for office hours, and showed a lot of respect for my work. My favorite classes were those in my major--political science-- because they involved great discussion and research of my own choosing. For example my Junior Honors Seminar was discussion based on a number of political theory texts and then an independent research paper of about 30 pages; I chose Hezbollah. For most of my classes there were only 3 grades, midterm, final and a paper--I like it simple. My least favorite class was the intro bio class I took, but it was probably just a bad choice of topic for me personally. It was really easy for me to schedule my classes between 9am - 1pm so I had most of my days free, but like most students did spend a good deal of time studying outside of class (but never on Friday nights or Saturdays). If you want to have intellectual discussions outside of class there is plenty of opportunity to do so. The overall atmosphere of learning is not a competitive one, but a collaborative one, and I never had someone ask what my GPA was. The polisci deptarment is fantastic. The professors are somewhat conservative, especially compared to the students, but it doesn't come across in their teaching. There are a number of activities, like the chili contest, end of the year picnic, and such that really give you a chance to get to know your professors and other students. Its one of the larger majors with about 40 or so in my senior class. There is a very liberal arts feel to the education at Kenyon, with requirements in all the different subjects, but I didn't find it restricting. There is also a strong focus on writing and fundamental philosophies of each area. The education is more for learning's sake than career oriented, but the Career Development Center is getting better at finding jobs and internships for students.

Kenyon's academic culture revolves around a sort of culture of common pursuit. You aren't sequestered by discipline here--I've had math and music majors in my political theory courses--and if you're looking for a lot of competition in your studying, you're not going to find it. I've found that--with a few exceptions--Kenyon students shy away from talking about how much work they have and tend to frown upon comparing scores. Of course we have our freakout weekends and our all-nighters, but we go through those trying times together, as friends and fellow students. I love my professors. I haven't been as bold about building relationships with them, which has been one of my biggest regrets as a student, because I find that the student-professor relationship is one of the best things about Kenyon. I've gone to professors' houses for dinner and eaten brunch with them at Middle Ground; I see my advisor at the church on campus. Classes are small--I think the biggest course on campus in terms of enrollment is a intro Bio course, and even then I'm pretty sure they split people up into smaller lab groups. As a humanities/social sciences kid, I think my biggest class has been about 40 people. I don't think it's hard at all to complete the diversification requirements. The whole academic culture at Kenyon, which encourages exploration and branching out, lends itself well to completing diversification. Students will take Economics just for fun and find out later that it completed their quantitative reasoning requirement--surprise, you took a math class!

I have yet to be in a class in which the professor doesn't know my name after a week of classes, which says something, because I'm in Intro Psych, which is one of the largest classes on campus. My teachers care just as much about my education as I do, which lends itself to a wonderful academic environment. It is very common to see people walking or eating with professors. I've certainly done it. The program here is good as well. I'm a Drama major, and will likely pick up Philosophy as well. The drama department is one of the most professional I've seen, and my philosophy teacher is the best teacher I've ever had.

Academics are tough, but up to par with some of the best high schools in the nation. College is so different from high school; there is much more unstructured time in which you decide whether or not to use for academics. But class sizes are small and teachers definitely know if you are not keeping up with the reading or the assignments. And they are not afraid to fail you.

This really depends on the department. As a molecular biology major, pursuing honors research, I'm on a first name basis with every biology and chemistry professor, even if I've never had them for a class. The department is small but manages to do a lot. If research is your thing, Kenyon is the place to be. While our lab facilities don't live up to a Research I university, there are tons of opportunities for students to get involved in research with professors, including a summer fellowship. Most departments are big enough that if you just want to float by semi-anonymously, you can but small enough that if you make any kind of effort you can be really involved.

Kenyon students are not competitive in general. However, that does not mean that we don't strive for the highest grade. It's just that we work with one another, together. Kenyon classes are challenging, even with non-science classes. I got to spend time with many professor outside of class. I would meet them for questions in class or just seeing them outside of class and talk. Kenyon's education does not prepare you for a job, just for the sake of learning many different things. That's the best part.

Amazing...wonderful...some classes are way eaiser than expected, but given that other are insanely challenging in the best ohmygosh-i-would-have-never-thought-of-that-but-thats-so-true-and-brillient way, its a nice balence.

I know professors by name. Although since I am still used to calling my elders by their last names, that has still stuck with me. But once a professor is comfortable, as I know it will happen, then they will speak to you as friend. But don't get the idea that all the professor will speak down to you, not here at Kenyon.

Every professor knows my name, even some whose classes I have never taken. Kenyon students sometimes have intellectual conversations outside of class; it does exist, but gossip is more prevalent than political discussions. Learning at Kenyon is very liberal arts in nature, almost to an extreme. The president especially has expressed contempt for career-oriented education, and for this perceived elitism she has received much criticism from alumni.

Professors are very friendly and hardly stand-offish at all here. Every student has a faculty adviser--I have nothing but praise for mine. In terms of classes, they're generally very good, given that you're actually interested in the topic. I've made a couple of mistakes by taking some classes that it turns out, I have no interest in. Class discussions are generally very laid-back, and not heated at all, as can be conversations outside of class. We're very much a "learning for learning's sake" campus--although if that turns you away from the school, know that most companies are looking for trainable graduates, not necessarily people who already have a degree pertinent to their field.

I love the academics here at Kenyon... and the fact that students actually care about their classes! In high school my friends would give me a hard time for putting so much work into my homework assignments, but here that's expected of you. That being said, classes are challenging, but definitely not overbearing. They're doable. Class sizes are very small. Even as a freshman, my largest class size is an Intro Psych class with about 25 students. Classes are interactive and engaging. In high school I had problems paying attention to teachers lecture, but at Kenyon I have no problem with that. All of my professors know me by name, even in the classes that I don't participate in as often. Kenyon's requirements are very easy to work with. There are a few general requirements, but they're very flexible! For instance, I'll probably never take an English class here (even though Kenyon is known for it's English department!), because Spanish fulfills my humanities requirement.