Kenyon College Top Questions

I absolutely love it! The community is close-knit, your professors will all know you by name, and the athletic facility is gorgeous. There are so many things to do here, even though the community is secluded: I love to go hiking at the Brown Family Environmental Center, go swimming in the Kokosing or in the athletic center's awesome pool, and go to plays. Academics here are of the utmost importance, classes will stretch your mind and challenge you, and your peers will be brilliant. Overall I believe Kenyon provides an atmosphere that encourages you to be your best self, and is well worth the cost.

It's nice to not be at a huge school but I definitely could do without seeing every single person I know when I go to breakfast in sweats and no make up on on Sunday morning. If people have heard of it, they're impressed. Otherwise they think you're in Africa. The worst things are the isolation, drinking culture, and weird social vibes. Best are the professors.

I love this place. But then again, what I looked for in a college is different from what many other people want. The size is intimate, the town of Gambier is charming, but limited to a few restaurants and a single market. The smallness of both bothers some people. It doesn't bother me at all but it comes down to personal preference. The campus often wins or does very well in "Most Beautiful Campus" rankings, and rightly so. There are a lot of trees, nearby farms, bike trails and dusty country roads through all of it. And the stars are AMAZING. Being in a rural area (albeit a quick free shuttle ride away from the much larger town of Mount Vernon, complete with Wal-Mart and fast food) annoys people. It's certainly a change from living in an urban or even suburban neighborhood. But it's also a great way to focus on four years of study and sort of hide away from the rest of the world until an entire lifetime of manically running around cities. Again, goes back to personal preference. In my opinion, this campus has a terrific atmosphere that needs to be experienced in person in a visit before anyone can make an educated decision about its merits. A key part of this is EVERYONE IS SO POLITE AND FRIENDLY. It's really difficult going back home and getting used to not being able to smile and say hello to every stranger I walk past in the street. It bothers me not being able to relate to many people back home--people who haven't heard of Kenyon or think the liberal arts isn't worth it...again, personal preference is important concerning this.

Kenyon is a small school which makes making friends really easy but also can get old if you don't decide to make the most of the opportunities available to you e.g. get involved with a bunch of student groups, study abroad etc. There are always great people you have yet to meet, even after living in such a small town for four years. Time on campus is spent studying at the library, working out at our amazing athletic center, partying in old kenyon or getting involved in some activity or others. There are a ton of relatively unknown beauty spots where you can swim in a nearby lake or the Kokosing river or go sledding. Being bored at Kenyon doesn't really exist as there's always something you should or could be doing. People complain about the food just because its something to complain about but alumni cannot wait to come back and visit somewhere where you can eat as much as you want for every meal without having to worry about wristbands, meal tickets etc. Kenyon kids have a ton of school pride and for good reason, for the most part they have the best 4 years of their lives there.

The best thing about Kenyon is getting to know people so well, so quickly. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. I'd change its location and size. The size, to me, is stifling. I think that it is too small, but coming from a large city, this has been quite an adjustment for me. People tend to react positively--if they know what Kenyon is--once I tell them where I attend. I spend most of my time either in my dorm, at the dinning hall, or at the library. There's no college town. The campus is the college town.

Kenyon's REEEEEEEALLY small. But in spite of that, I often see a bunch of people I have never seen before, which is always nice but very confusing. Theres more Kenyonites than Gambier-ites, so I don't think it's really a college town. It's more like a college nook. It's quaint.

About Kenyon. Something that I absolutely adore about Kenyon is that it is so well organised. I mean academically speaking in particular. I came from an IB school, a United World College in fact, and one thing I hated with a passion was the IB's absolute inflexibility with anything. EVER. At Kenyon, it is so obvious that a professor teaches a subject exactly as they want to. There doesn't seem to be any interference from above, and the freedom for them to give students what they are passionate about, makes it so easy to maintain an engaged class environment. I have never, in both my completed years at Kenyon, had one class that I didn't adore. The Anthropology department is my baby now, and I found it just by going to an academic fair in orientation, and later on remembering one of the professors who seemed like fun. Now I am a junior and just got back from Kenyon's Honduras field program for Anthropology, and it has changed my life. In addition to academics being just wonderful (in my opinion), I love all the other staff members too. The dean of admissions is my best friend and we gossip and go out together, all of the directors and high positions seem to be women (yes!), the dining hall staff are so friendly and really appreciate talking to students and making friends (if only more students would take that initiative), the staff of all the offices I have ever entered (oh the accounting ladies are lovely), the health Centre is well run and I have always found that they have provided for me in every way I needed, the same goes for the Counseling Centre, where there is a lot of support. No matter the problem, whether it be alcoholism, drugs, sexual abuse, any kind of abuse, depression, over-stress, or what have you, there is something set up to help. It is all very personal too. It is so easy to get to know all of the staff who make the place run as smoothly as it does, and when you do, they are always so happy to do you little favours (like going easy on you for getting caught with something naughty in your room for example) and be as helpful as possible. There is so much to get involved in if you just give it a chance. I do a lot of work with the environmentalist and sustainability organisations, and the local food movement in Knox County is HUGE. Kenyon has a large portion of local food in its dining hall (ALL meat and chicken), and with the PEAS organisation parading itself all over, this is becoming something people are more aware of. Walking down middle path, people greet each other. Kenyon is small enough that you can be a well-known face if you so choose, but it is small enough that you can disappear off the radar for a while too if needs be (trust me, I know). I am sure it is not the place for everybody, and it took me a while to settle in, but I adore it now. I babysit for my advisor's loud and gorgeous little boy, I can talk on the phone to Jennifer Delahunty about anything, I exchange gifts with the Gund Gal's (dining hall ladies), I gossip with the ladies from downstairs in admissions where I work, and generally I just enjoy softly observing people going about their business in peace.

It's a little small, definitely too small for some people, also too isolated for some people. the campus can get boring if you are unable to create your own fun. however, because it is so isolated there is a really strong community and a lot to do on campus. the food is not great, i'll admit that, though I'm certainly picky. The administration is small and approachable, the professors are great and extremely connected to the student body. I spend a lot of time working (I am a studio art major) but I also have plenty of time to spend with friends and thus develop myself on more than one level.

Kenyon is amazing. It gives you so many opportunities to take classes that you normally wouldn't. For instance I came there thinking I wanted to be pre-med but now I'm in the honors economics program. Also you can be friends with everyone, including the faculty who are so nice. They want to teach you but more importantly for you to find the desire to learn within yourself. The campus is beautiful and everyone seems to be happy all the time (excluding maybe 2 weeks in february(ohio winters).

I love the campus feel here. It is so beautiful. Everyone knows each other. It is a cute little college town. We are sortof out in the middle of nowhere. Polaris mall is a little less than an hour away. We have a movie theatre, bowling alley, walmart, and good restraunts like LA FIesta in nearby Mount Vernon. If you need the city life, Kenyon is not the place for you. Kenyon is having a big problem with communication right now. There is a disconnect between students and adminstration, professors and administration, and in some cases involved students and uninvolved students. We are working very hard on ways to get information out to people in a better way. We are holding more community forums, where students can come and ask questions of staff members, and we are working on sustaining the student government memory by having those in office mentor their successors.

Kenyon has a gorgeous campus, its easy to walk everywhere (except the wal-mart). There are no swipe cards for meals, and until this year there were no locks on any doors--its a very open community and very safe. For many people Kenyon is too small, but you would be surprised how many people you don't know, and there is always a chance to get off campus with a semester abroad. Most people will either have no clue where or what Kenyon is, think its in Africa. However, those that do know Kenyon always mention what a good school it is academically. The academics are excellent: small classes, great professors, plenty of out of class discussions, and a wide variety of classes. Most of my memories are from the dining hall, the library, or the dorms. There is no student center, so most kids just hang around those places, or if its nice outside in any of the picturesque spaces on campus. The town is engulfed by the college, its only one block long, but it has 2 fun bars and a fantastic grocery for students. The administration has gone through major changes lately, and although somewhat well intentioned don't always see eye to eye with the students on a number of policies. The installation of proxy cards for dorms this upcoming year was quite the stir, but hopefully it won't be to big of a problem. Everyone has lots of Kenyon gear--but there isn't too much school spirit for sporting events. People are more into the Kenyon belts and nalgenes. There are some wonderful traditions at Kenyon, like the Freshman and Senior sings on the steps of Rosse Hall. You sing the same songs the day you begin school and the day of graduation, creating very nice book ends. I have so many fun experiences, but some of the best were the costume parties--there are a TON. Almost every all campus party has a theme, and a good number of people always have fantastic outfits. Also--kind of random, party nights are Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The biggest complaints generally are about the administration and the food.

The Big Picture? Strong academics, intimate academics relative to bigger schools, motivated students; Small setting, isolated setting, semi-incestuous, but every student is endeared to those potential shortcomings, creative individuals make up for lack of established nightlife selection...

Kenyon is like another world. Its place on the Hill gives it a sort of oasis-y feel, and Gambier's main drag is tiny and intimate enough to appear almost fabricated, like a theme park's Main Street. When I visited Kenyon as a prospective student, I was honestly kind of put off by how strange the campus felt, how secluded and Pleasantville-like it was. Of course Kenyon has its imperfections--there are at least three power outages a year, the housing can be dicey, Middle Path gets mercilessly icy in the winter--but its beauty and cohesiveness as a campus makes it unlike any other school (in my highly biased opinion). Kenyon students have a fierce sense of loyalty and affection towards their alma mater, and it's showing itself most strongly in the controversies regarding the changes that Kenyon is going through as it becomes a bigger, "better" college. We worry that the integrity of the college will be compromised as the administration seeks to solidify its "New Ivy" position--most of us (myself included) curse the day Kenyon was called that, because having the most AP credits and the highest ACT isn't at ALL what Kenyon is about. Kenyon is about community, plain and simple--at Kenyon you will find yourself in the midst of a student body with diverse viewpoints, upbringings, and origins, but I think there's a common thread that makes us who we are. I can't put my finger on what it is, but I'll say that it takes a very unique person to think that spending four years in the depths of rural Ohio with 1600 other kids is a good idea.

The thing that amazes me about Kenyon, and, admittedly I'm a part of it as well, is the students' ability to talk the place up for hours at a time. I love it here. Within 5 days of being here it felt like home. It's a very small school, so it's not right for everyone, but it's not so small that I can never meet new people. Every week I make new friends. It's also amazing to see how many people know someone who went to Kenyon. It's a school of around 1,600 and yet every time I turn around someone is or knows a Kenyon alum.

Kenyon is a bit small. You'll begin to recognize everyone, if not know everyone, by the end of your freshman year. But that is what makes it so interesting. We're in the middle of corn fields. There is a serious lack of things to do. However, instead of sitting around, the lack of things to do propels people to both focus opn their studies and get to know people in an extremely honest and deep way.

I fell in love with Kenyon for its small community feel and because Kenyon students seemed really engaged and involved. They weren't there for the grades, they were there because they really loved what they were studying. While this is still true, I feel like the make-up of the student body has changed over the last few years due to the "New Ivy" stuff. Kenyon now seems to attract students who wanted to go to an Ivy but fell a little short. I students in general have become less diverse and less interesting. Another big change in the works is the installation of key card locks on all the residential buildings. While this is the norm at most schools, I have always liked that I lived somewhere where the dorms never locked and I didn't even have to bother locking my room most of the time. To me, that made Kenyon unique. Oh, well.

Keyon is a wonderful College. It is a great place to spend four years of college. The seasonal changes give the school completely different feel. The spring was so beautiful so as the fall and winter. If one get the chance of staying for the summer, it is also very different. People don't know of Kenyon. I told many of my friends about Kenyon but I have to explain to them where Kenyon is. I love it that way. I spend most of my time with friends all over the campus: in the library, in the chemistry lab, on Middle Path, etc. That's one of the major past time here and that's also when most of the interesting discussion spark up.

I was walking back from the KAC one day....I was walking down Middle Path one day....I was walking ( actually, stumbleing) home from a party one night....I was holed up in my rom against the frigid temperature one dreary evening...and in all these cases, my heart litterly swelled with happiness that I am here. Kenyon is an amazing place, for a whole bevy of reasons, and every once in a while ( in in my case, quite often) it will hit you ...I am So glad I go here! It's cliche but true: its the people. By virtue of the fact that we all decided to come to this little known school out in rural Ohio, we immediatly have soemthingin commonv-- not everyone is wiling to do that, and we all get here, adn decdied that we're all in this together...not that its like some sort of hardship or whatnot, but its like we're all embarking on this weird little Kenyon adventure.

Kenyon is a great school. The professors are there to assist you in any way possible. The faculty and staff are very warming as well. If they see you around, outside the school environment, they do not let you pass by unnoticed. If you thought seeing your high school teacher at the store was weird, then college will change your mind about that. The students too are very approachable. They all understand that your are there for learning and for knowing and meeting new people, and in this small school, you do not know everyone directly, but their face, I will assure you, you have once or twice before.

When I decided to go to Kenyon, few people recognized the school. Today, it is more recognized, but with increasing selectivity the unique character of the school has been diminished. There are still cool experiences, like the Sustainable Agriculture class that allows students to work on a local farm for five hours a week, but the student body does not seem different than one you might find elsewhere. The biggest recent controversy has been over proxy cards, which the Board of Trustees approved to be installed over the summer in every dormitory. Kenyon students like to leave doors to apartments and dorm rooms unlocked, and the dorm buildings themselves are never locked. Now they will require a proxy card to enter, and many students are upset at this seemingly un-Kenyon, unfriendly decision.