I am not from Ohio, but have a lot of interest in these three colleges. Denison is a school I pegged for my rising-junior son when we got the Fiske Guide three years ago. Thanks for everyone’s insights about Denison, it’s been very useful.
D was accepted to both Oberlin and Kenyon, and was set to attend Kenyon until she got off the WL for another school. Regarding Kenyon’s acceptance rate this year, I personally don’t think it’s any cause for concern. Next year it will probably get lower. It doesn’t suddenly mean that Kenyon is accepting a lower caliber of student. Acceptance rates can fluctuate a lot in a short period of time, esepcially in the age of the common app. IMO, Kenyon and Oberlin are pretty equal in terms of rigor and quality of teaching, but I give the edge to Kenyon. Why? Princeton Review publishes a list of top 300 professors every year, as determined by their colleagues. Last year, Kenyon had eight top professors. Harvard had four. I can’t remember how many Oberlin had, but not eight, for sure. Kenyon has a reputation for excellent professors who create an intellectually stimulating learning environment.
Those colleges all have high retention rates. I would have been thrilled if my D had gone to Kenyon and no doubt she would have been happy there. It seems that Denison is the place to aim for if looking for merit aid, but if your son is a top student, Kenyon and Oberlin both give a few whopping scholarships. Interestingly, my D was offered no money at Kenyon, but Oberlin offered a nice little scholarship. And there is a poster here on CC whose daughter has been awarded $25k a year and will attend Oberlin in the fall. So if money is needed, I think Kenyon should be reconsidered if the student isn’t outstanding.