Blake
Professors you have had in class, and even some you haven't, know your name. In small classes, it is fairly simple to remember everyone, but in larger classes you have to make an effort to connect. Fortunately, the largest class is about 100 people, and most are much less (about a fifth the size). So far, the classes have all been educational, which is essential since I am here to learn. :) They have not always been fun (especially the beginning classes that you need to advance in the field, but are not what you are interested in), but I have learned a lot. Professors usually find a way to make classes relevant and encourage student participation, especially taking advantage of office hours.
Kenyon students know how to have fun outside class, but I have also had many academic discussions about class topics, politics, current events, or an article from the New York Times. Although most students are excited to show off their knowledge and be successful, there is not much competition between students. Students are more supporting with each other, though they may be competitive with themselves.
I am majoring in psychology. I love my adviser and I am excited to take more upper-level courses next year. I like requirements that you need to take classes in all disciplines (Art, Natural Science, Social Science, Humanities), but I am not fond of the depth requirements. Instead of trying a lot of everything, Kenyon prefers that you take one unit in one department in each of the four disciplines before graduating. This is difficult for me, since I am taking a lot of natural science courses and do not have much time left to complete my major, take the courses I am interested in, and finish art credits.
Overall, I think classes are aimed at learning for its own sake, but at the same time this prepares you for fields you are interested in.
Reese
Our academics deserve their stellar reputation. I have never felt like I was competing with another student academically. It seems like everyone wants to do well and doesn't worry about beating someone else. I always feel challenged, but I still have adequate time for play. I loved History of Jazz and Cross-Cultural Psychology, and I rarely have a lackluster professor. Requirements are more than reasonable and I love being a Psych major. I get to take the most interesting classes with the most empathetic students and professors around me. I feel well-prepared for a career in Counseling Psych because my profs got me an internship that will open doors and they will write me specific, positive recommendations since they actually know me.
Emily
Professors here are great. You'll never have a class taught by a "teaching assistant." Not only are professors around for office hours, but they're always willing to meet with you another time if you can't make those hours. With most of my professors, I feel like I can go in just to chat; I don't necessarily have to go to talk about a paper.
I enjoy seminars more than lectures because they're smaller and discussion-based. I get to know people better in seminars, and that always includes getting to know the professor well, too. It's expected, and common, to participate in class dicussions. Frankly, when I meet a quiet and shy student I sometimes wonder how he or she ended up at Kenyon.
Freshman year, I took a seminar in the Integrated Program in Humane Studies (which combines classics, history, and philsophy). We had great discussions, and at the end of the semester the professor invited us to his house for a croquet party. That was one of my favorite classes, followed by a 400-level English seminar on James Joyce. Students definitely get into intellectual conversations outside class, whether it's over dinner or in allstu (all-student, entire student body) emails.
I got to know my English professor, Kim, really well when I went abroad. She was the resident director for the Kenyon-Exeter program for English majors, and the group of twelve students spent the entire year studying at the University of Exeter in England. Kim was a teacher, a stand-in mother, and a travel guide all in one. She saved us from dorm rat infestations, got us to 17 different plays, and put up with us without complaint. Study abroad in general is really popular here-- about 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the junior class goes abroad.
Students are generally non-competitive. While people may commiserate over how much work they have to do, they don't compare grades. I don't know what GPAs my friends have.
The academic requirements are great in that there is no single class you HAVE to take. If you wanted to go through college without taking an English class, you could do that here. We have distribution requirements, meaning that you just have to have a unit (two semester-long classes or one full-year class) of credit in each of four areas: social sciences, natural sciences, fine arts, and humanities. There's a Quantitative Reasoning (QR) requirement which requires you to take one semester-long course in something math/science related. Students who aren't into math and science can take courses like statistics, economics, Solar Energy, Science Fiction, or Surprises at Infinity.
I'm not a fan of the language requirement (one full year of a language course). You can pass the requirement by scoring a 3 or higher on the subject's AP exam or passing a placement test at the beginning of the school year. I took four years of French in high school but apparently didn't learn enough, because I couldn't even pass out of intro French when I took the placement test here. So I took a year of Latin, which I was dreading. It ended up being okay-- it was a lot of memorization, but it was somewhat interesting.
I was pretty much forced to take statistics this year to fulfill my QR requirement, and I've never studied that much for any other class. I was so relieved to pass the class, especially since sophomore year I had to drop economics 2/3 of the way through the semester. In econ, I understood the concepts but would get a test and not know what to do. The professor made it more complicated than it needed to be, and often half the class would go to his office hours for help.
You don't have to get to Kenyon knowing what you'll major in. In fact, being undecided is encouraged because you can take a variety of classes and figure out what your passions are. You don't have to declare a major until fall of junior year.
As an English major, I'm part of the largest major. There are about 75 English majors this year (compared to, say, four music majors). There are usually some really interesting topics (I'm loving my James Joyce seminar), but the unfortunate thing about having so many English majors is the competition to get into particular classes. The registration system isn't the best. This year, a few English majors actually spent the night in a tent outside the English cottage so they could have the first spots in line for class registration the next morning. It's discouraging to get shut out of a class in that way.
Kenyon makes you think critically, and no matter what major you're in you'll get great training on being a good writer. I think these are skills that will be useful no matter what field I go into. The unfortunate thing about a liberal arts education is that the degree may not be as specific as some jobs will require you to have. For example, I want to be a high school English teacher. Kenyon doesn't have an education major, so after college I will have to go to grad school for a master's degree and get certified.