Kenyon College — Local services in College Township

While Kenyon's campus is GORGEOUS, it was also super ISOLATED. I looked at three colleges in Ohio: (I'm originally from NYC) Antioch, Oberlin and Kenyon. Antioch and Oberlin got the applications from me, Kenyon did not. Antioch, while small and somewhat isolated as well, had the kind of alternative academic structure I was really looking for. Yellow Springs was a bit more culturally vibrant than Gambier was, though both seemed like sleepy towns to me (as a city boy) but were EXTREMELY liberal places.

Oberlin was more difficult to get into, much more so then Antioch (but Oberlin was close to Cleveland), and then Kenyon was in the middle of the other two in terms of selectivity. I ultimately stayed back east (in Western Massachusetts) for college in the Amherst/Northampton area. Which was the best decision for me in the end, due to the cultural and academic resources of the Five College area and it's extremely close proximity to urban areas such as Boston & NYC.

Kenyon really does have one of the most stunningly picturesque campuses though, certainly on par with other top college campuses like Williams, Vassar Amherst, Hamilton, Bard, Sarah Lawrence, Reed etc.....BUT unfortunately lacks the resources those other institutions have in terms of their proximity to major urban areas. Kenyon's size was good for me at 1,600+ students, and the academics were solid (and the facilities were decent for such a small isolated college) unfortunately, Kenyon didn't "tick all the boxes" for me.

All that said: Wiggin Street Coffee was a wonderful hang out, and the Wright Center in nearby Mount Vernon, OH is a great facility for the study of Film. Kenyon was just REALLY hard to imagine myself at because of the remote location. However, it was among my favorites of the campuses of the colleges...

The most perfect college experience you could hope for. I attended Kenyon for 4 years and loved it. I loved the professors, my friends, the classes I took and groups I took part in and everything in between.

The school has high standards for education, and the professors are tough. You will work, and study hard, but it is worth it. The community feeling is quite cozy and inviting to pretty much everyone, from Ohio locals to long distant International students. You will make close and long-lasting friendships here. There is no backstabbing or hyper-competition, just friendly people and the most beautiful campus in the country.

Like I said, there are tough moments at this school and it can get pretty lonely, isolated on "The Hill" in the middle of nowhere, but if you are creative and resourceful, you will make it work.

There is also a big party scene here, despite the scholarship and rural location. Big parties on weekends and halfway through the week to take your mind off your studies and burdens. Also, there are lots of activities for folks not as into "keg stands" as the frat scene. Rides into town are common. There are bonfires and film screenings and other fun things to do as well.

You will not regret your...

I attended the Kenyon Review Writers’ retreat virtually in 2020 while being bullied by a former friend in Washington, DC. With a grain of salt, and as a brain injury survivor, the workshops, while prestigious in their own right, did nothing to equip my generation of writers with any foresight for the emergence of AI. This isn’t a knock against the entire Kenyon program, and personally I’m a huge fan of David Foster Wallace, but as someone who paid a pretty penny along with the prestige, the insular culture and clique nature of literary writing has not aged well as of 2025. I would simply say “consider all options for development” because writing, at its best, is a combination of a meritocracy and a network, and in the fight for the creative spirit, premier institutions must prepare students for all possibilities, not just any echo chamber which doesn’t promote holistic community...