Kenyon College is a small liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, a town with only about as many residents as there are students at Kenyon. Seriously, it’s nearly a 1:1 ratio. Kenyon has become renowned, though, for being informed by a small town but not limited by it. The campus is so big, too, that there is nearly half-an-acre per student.
At over 200 years young, the Kenyon of today is a top producer of Fulbright scholars, has the winningest NCAA Division III athletics teams in the country, and can call author and youtuber John Green, podcaster Tommy Vietor, and NPR reporter and podcaster Leah Missik alumni — among many other big names in media and the arts.
Kenyon offers more than 50 majors, minors, and concentrations, but no matter what you study at Kenyon you will be doing a lot of writing. “We believe that good writing is good thinking,” they even say. Kenyon believes strongly that writing skills are a must in a college education, so they prepare students to not just be exceptional in their field, but also at communicating what they know to others. While Kenyon is known for the humanities and arts, though, nearly a third of students major in the natural sciences. These students often went looking for a college that would encourage them to explore the humanities alongside the sciences, and want the writing skills Kenyon delivers.
The acceptance rate at Kenyon is just over 30%, so it’s a selective college that expects applicants to have strong grades, a clear perspective even if they aren’t certain of what they are going to study, and a robust resume full of activities that illustrate your passions and underline your academic interests. In this post, we’ll lay out how you should be spending your summers to augment your Kenyon application, offering them exactly what they want to see in an exceptional applicant.
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What does Kenyon want to see from your summer?
How you spend your time outside of school is very important to Kenyon for your application. The college likes students who are self-directed, and who pursue their passions beyond a formal classroom or program. They also want to see commitment, not things you do once for a short period of time unless it’s a structured format, like an intensive program. And, if you are going to do an intensive program like a camp, it should be paired with you pursuing those same passions outside of that structure. This is the big umbrella concept of how to plan your summers with Kenyon in mind, but let’s get into more detail.
Emphasize Your Interests
Kenyon is all about the arts and humanities. Those aren’t the only programs they offer and, as we said above, about a third of students major in the natural sciences, but the humanities are where the college’s heart is. So, we encourage students to pursue activities that emphasize their interests, but with a humanities bend. If you’re into the arts or literature, that probably won’t be too difficult — you can find an internship with a literary magazine, a summer job at a gallery, or work to get your art out into the world. If you are more of a math or science brain, you should still look for opportunities with a humanities bend. This may mean finding something like a job or internship with a math or science publication, where you’ll be able to learn about communicating what you are passionate about to others.
You will notice that we’ve used the word “job” a few times. Yep, you read that right. We highly recommend that high schoolers have at least one paying job that is legally ‘official’ (not babysitting, or the equivalent) before applying to college. We also believe strongly in internships and volunteer opportunities, but having a job communicates a level of seriousness that unpaid work generally doesn’t. So, do things that emphasize your interests and, if possible, get paid for them.
Augment Your Academics
Kenyon requires a comprehensive academic distribution for applicants to be considered, so you really need to check whether you’ll be able to meet the academic requirements for applicants. If you can’t meet the requirements at your school, or won’t be able to take high level courses in as many subjects as possible, you’ll need to spend some time during your summer making sure you’ll meet (or, ideally, exceed), the high bar Kenyon has set. If you do need to earn credits outside of your school, summer courses at a local college, credited online courses, and residential intensives, can all be options depending on the time (and budget) you have available.
Kenyon Distribution Requirements
English: 4 years
Mathematics: 4 years
Science: 3 years of lab
Foreign language: 3 years
Social studies: 3 years
History: 3 years
Plus 3 year-long electives, and they also recommend at least one fine arts elective
If you need any more motivation to augment your academics over the summer, you should know that applicants to Kenyon have the opportunity to earn scholarships based on exemplary academics alongside leadership. So, it’s important to show your chops during and outside of the standard academic calendar.
Have Fun
Summers should be fun, and Kenyon doesn’t want you to work so hard during the summer that you don’t have time to truly enjoy yourself. The college is fully residential, and is one of only a small group of colleges in the US that is 100% residential with all students living on campus. We say this because a lot of the reason why they are fully residential is because of the power of community. At Kenyon, they believe that being part of a meaningful community that supports its members is crucial, so you need to show them how you play that role in your community by bringing joy to others in structured ways like volunteering and unstructured ways like being part of a positive friend group.
But Not Too Much
Hopefully this doesn’t need to be said, but don’t let having fun turn into a messy time. You’ve worked really hard, don’t mess it up by getting into trouble. Use your time well.
If you’re worried, too, about how you’ll have time for all of this, it’s worth noting that most admitted students don’t submit SAT or ACT scores. So, if Kenyon is a top choice for you and you aren’t naturally talented at standardized tests, or even despise them, you may want to invest the time you would have spent on test prep into expressing yourself through your creative or academic pursuits as fully as possible instead of studying for another try at the SAT.
Kenyon is a creative, passionate, tight-knit community that takes letting people into that group who will sustain and augment it really seriously. Spend your summers in a way that shows them that you’re up for that challenge.
If you’re overwhelmed by everything that goes into going from an idea to an acceptance, email us. We’re experts at great students into their best-fit colleges.