Kenyon College Top Questions

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.