Kenyon Vs. Oberlin - Student Life

Midwestmomofboys
Tue, 23 Oct 2018 19:13:19 +0000

While both schools attract similar types of students, Oberlin has more students at about 3000, including the Conservatory students, no greek life, has the dining co-op option where students cook together, and is located in a larger town/village. Oberlin is a physically larger campus, with (quiet) town streets running through campus. The town/village green is Oberlin’s “front yard.”

Kenyon is smaller, around 1700 students, and the village of Gambier is tiny (really tiny, like 2 streets). Many people see campus and think it is the perfect expression of a college campus (it was both of my kids’ first favorite) It is of course known for the Kenyon Review, its creative writing, and its theater program. It has about 25% greek life participation, with greek life students housed in clusters together in the dorms. It has a high percentage of wealthy students, the NYTimes article shows it is in the top 10 of least economically diverse colleges or universities in the country.

I have tried to find a way to express my perception of these two schools before, because I’ve been to both schools 6-8 times for campus visits, kids’ overnights, and athletic competitions, and know some recent graduates from both. Your mileage may vary, and I’m not suggesting this is the only way to see these schools. but I see Oberlin as more earnest and quirky and Kenyon as more sporty and sophisticated. Of course, there are lots of earnest and quirky kids at Kenyon and sporty and sophisticated kids at Oberlin, and they are both wonderful schools and the same kids will flourish and make life long friendships at both.