GAMBIER — When choosing a college or university, prospective students and their parents take more than dollars and cents and the bottom line into consideration. A case in point: Applications for admission to Kenyon College increased 8 percent this past year, to more than 4,600.
Kenyon is the priciest private institution of higher learning in Ohio. One student’s fees for the 2007-08 school year, including tuition, room and board and other costs, will come to roughly $44,300. Case Western Reserve University is the second-most expensive in Ohio, at $43,846. Denison University’s cost of attendance for the 2007-08 academic year is roughly $43,430. Typical annual costs at the public Ohio State University, on the other hand, are estimated to be $17,305.
Jennifer Delahunty Britz, Kenyon’s dean of admissions and financial aid, said one reason for the college’s increase in applications could be the sheer number of students going to college — 80,000 more than 20 years ago.
“Competition has become very stiff,” she said, “especially at East Coast colleges, and students are reaching into the Midwest more often from both coasts.”
She said Columbia University, for example, is admitting only 7 percent of its applicants this year. Britz estimates Kenyon will admit around 30 percent of its applicants.
Another reason for the increase in applicants is that Kenyon’s reputation is growing nationwide. The college is becoming better known for its great academics and outstanding faculty, and surveys show the level of satisfaction among Kenyon students and faculty is very high. Based on admission statistics as well as interviews with administrators, faculty, students and alumni, Kenyon was recently named a “New Ivy League” by Kaplan/Newsweek, one of only 25 colleges nationwide to receive that designation.
In addition to East Coast students, Ohio residents are also choosing Kenyon College over less expensive Ohio schools. Janae Peters, from Cleveland, is one. She said she decided on Kenyon after looking at the school and what it could offer her, and felt she could grow at the school. Peters was not surprised to learn that over 4,000 individuals applied to Kenyon this year.
“It should be more, honestly,” Peters said. “[Kenyon College] is like Ohio’s best-kept secret.
“I like the whole community idea,” she said. “Kenyon is a small private college and prestigious. It’s one of those colleges in Ohio that not too many people know about. So, it was especially attractive in that sense. They’re really, really, really generous with financial aid, too.
“I like the close connections with the professors. Classes are small enough that the professors know you. The faculty is first-rate. A lot of them are so enthusiastic about what they’re teaching that it makes you enthusiastic, even if you don’t necessarily like the subject. I like the academics in general. Academic standards are high. It’s tough, but not too tough. You can get through it. And even if you feel like you can’t get through it, you have the professors who will help you.”
Kenyon’s rural setting was also attractive to Peters.
“It’s really peaceful here,” she said, “and there are animals all around. I don’t drive here at night — I’m not used to driving at night and not having street lights everywhere. ... It’s different. It’s definitely not like Ohio State or Ohio U.”
A small college also offers more chances for interaction with the community.
“I used to be a volunteer tutor at Wiggin Street School,” Peters said. “And we have contact with the churches, too. A few people from campus go to churches in the Mount Vernon community. And we’re trying to do things with the community, not just through the college, but just putting ourselves in the community.”
An English major, with concentrations in African and African-American studies, Peters plans to pursue advanced degrees and become a professor herself one day.
