Am I overlooking Kenyon?

Lindagaf
Sat, 18 Jun 2016 13:41:51 +0000

@wallflower43 , my D will be going to Kenyon this August and had the same concerns. She realized a few things: at most LACs, if not all, you will spend 95% of your time on campus, even if you initially think you will be lunching and shopping in the city. Kids just don’t end up doing as much of that as they imagine; there are many organized activities and clubs and kids are really involved; Columbus is one hour away, so an hour from now, what will you be doing? It’s no time at all; geography might have to be sacrificed to get the academic environment you are looking for.

Once my D was able to get over the “I need to be near a city” factor, her list became much easier to compile. She got accepted to a bunch of different LACs and chose Kenyon. She was and is very concerned about partying, but it happens at literally every school. After talking to current and recently graduated Kenyon students, reading lots of blogs and websites, and overnighting at Kenyon, she feels reassured that she can avoid partying if she wants to. I am not worried about the partying there. There are other LACs that are often compared to Kenyon and they all have their drugs of choice it seems. So is it better or worse if Kenyon kids seem to like their beer while kids at similar colleges seem to like their pot or pills, or whatever it might be? Teens experiment with drinking and drugs and this will happen at every college. For my daughter, it made her feel more comfortable to be assured that there is no pressure to partake, and that there will be other kids not partaking. You have to decide what you are comfortable with, but I do think overnighting at any LAC you seriously consdier is a good idea.

FWIW, my D also applied to Tufts and was denied. She is glad now.