Why apply to an Oberlin/Kenyon/Grinnell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We participated at the All Roads Lead to Oberlin event last week. Really liked the campus and our student guides. Loved the easy access to the Conservatory. What I don't understand is the ranking Oberlin, which is #51 among National LAC per US News. That seems low. How is the academic rigor of Oberlin compared to the same tier National Universities, such as Case Western for biology/premed track? How about comparing Oberlin to big public such as UIUC?

PP— to answer the question you asked— STEM (esp sciences) is very strong. I would be surprised if its med school placement rate wasn’t on par with Case- or better. But, not my kids field. You can’t compare it to UICU. They have nothing in common.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Denison and Grinnell both are 80k schools that offer 25-30K off in merit - in this way they're similar.

For my kid, coming from a NYC private, I made him pick a couple financial fits and he preferred Denison's location and vibe. It's a bit more straight ahead, whereas Grinnell can be a bit kookier. I wouldnt be shocked if others from the NE preferred it.

This is spot on. I went to Grinnell. Daughter goes to Denison. Both very good. Both give $25k. Grinnell kids nerdier. Denison kids more middle of road.

[Anonymous]

The Midwest is friendlier.

[Anonymous]

DS picked Kenyon over Grinnell. Something just clicked for him. Excellent dorms, food and athletic facilities. The students were friendly and nice. He has been in the ultra competitive east coast world and wants to try something else. I can’t say I blame him. Grinnell was wonderful but in the end too remote.

[Anonymous]

Kenyon’s English department is no joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS picked Kenyon over Grinnell. Something just clicked for him. Excellent dorms, food and athletic facilities. The students were friendly and nice. He has been in the ultra competitive east coast world and wants to try something else. I can’t say I blame him. Grinnell was wonderful but in the end too remote.

Amazing statement as Kenyon's location is very remote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS picked Kenyon over Grinnell. Something just clicked for him. Excellent dorms, food and athletic facilities. The students were friendly and nice. He has been in the ultra competitive east coast world and wants to try something else. I can’t say I blame him. Grinnell was wonderful but in the end too remote.

Amazing statement as Kenyon's location is very remote.

But at least you can drive to Kenyon from DC area. You really can't drive to Grinnell easily from DC area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS picked Kenyon over Grinnell. Something just clicked for him. Excellent dorms, food and athletic facilities. The students were friendly and nice. He has been in the ultra competitive east coast world and wants to try something else. I can’t say I blame him. Grinnell was wonderful but in the end too remote.

Amazing statement as Kenyon's location is very remote.

But at least you can drive to Kenyon from DC area. You really can't drive to Grinnell easily from DC area.

From which part can you drive easily to Grinnell? Its a student detention centre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon’s English department is no joke.

The joke will be on you if you graduate with a BA in English from Kenyon, lmao.

Why? Offers excellent background for a T14 law school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS picked Kenyon over Grinnell. Something just clicked for him. Excellent dorms, food and athletic facilities. The students were friendly and nice. He has been in the ultra competitive east coast world and wants to try something else. I can’t say I blame him. Grinnell was wonderful but in the end too remote.

Amazing statement as Kenyon's location is very remote.

But at least you can drive to Kenyon from DC area. You really can't drive to Grinnell easily from DC area.

From which part can you drive easily to Grinnell? Its a student detention centre.

And yet this detention centre has low acceptance rate.

Can someone please help me with AR of Kenyon?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon’s English department is no joke.

The joke will be on you if you graduate with a BA in English from Kenyon, lmao.

My cousin did 15 years ago, she's now director of marketing at fortune 500 responsible for a large product strategy group. Owns a house, has kids. Nothing glam, but upwardly mobile. Doing better than a state school CS major. These schools provide pedigree even if they aren't on everyone's radar. Yes, this is anecdata, but it's the route the current generation of my extended family has taken, it's been working well, IYKYK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:when there are similar schools on the East Coast? Not trying to be snarky; genuinely wondering what these schools have that a Bates/Bowdoin/Colby/Hamilton does not.

They are all safer than Bates. What's unsafe about Bates? Genuinely curious, don't know.

They are all easier admits than Bowdoin.

They all offer merit scholarships that are not offered at Hamilton.

Better weather. [OK... Ohio and Iowa winters are not Maine winters, but they still suck.]

Lewiston (Bates) has some Somalian refugees settled there. Poster is racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:when there are similar schools on the East Coast? Not trying to be snarky; genuinely wondering what these schools have that a Bates/Bowdoin/Colby/Hamilton does not.

They are all safer than Bates. What's unsafe about Bates? Genuinely curious, don't know.

They are all easier admits than Bowdoin.

They all offer merit scholarships that are not offered at Hamilton.

Better weather. [OK... Ohio and Iowa winters are not Maine winters, but they still suck.]

Lewiston (Bates) has some Somalian refugees settled there. Poster is racist.

Lewiston experienced a horrible mass shooting in 2023 that had nothing to due with its immigrant population. An event such this, rather than racism, may influence perceptions of the town. The earlier poster also may have considered general crime statistics for Lewiston in comparison to those for the locations of some of Bates' peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another post has a link to the college acceptances over the last three years at Harvard-Westlake. A whopping 59 of 62 applicants got into Kenyon, way more than any other better known LAC. This confirms what I’ve said all along: it’s a rich kid school and it’s a second choice for everyone.

Harvard-Westlake produces high-achieving students and has high average SAT and ACT scores that would make the average H-W student attractive to Kenyon. If Harvard-Westlake is funneling kids into Kenyon, it's probably because the school counselors are getting positive feedback from their Kenyon matriculants, and a school like that probably has pretty good school counselors.

Nope. At Amherst it was 6 of 33. At UVA 12 of 62. At Notre Dame 2 of 19. Even at Michigan it’s 87 of 210. The list goes on. The “average” H-W student isn’t getting into these schools. Also, it isn’t just the “average” H-W student getting into Kenyon. It’s virtually all of them!

To be clear, those numbers are unhooked applicants.
I would also point out that Oberlin admitted 18/21 applicants from HW over a three-year period.
The Amherst numbers are skewed by the fact that a. top HW students rarely apply there and b. those who matriculate tend to be athletes.
In any case, it is quite clear that Kenyon takes everyone from HW, and those that matriculate to Kenyon will be from the bottom half (at least) of a typical HW class.

[Anonymous]

Oberlin won the most Fulbrights in the country this year, and is usually in the top 3 schools for Fulbrights every year.