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You may have heard of "Tufts Syndrome," where Tufts rejects students who are applying to other, more "prestigious" schools and may very well get in. I can understand it, I mean, no one wants to be a student's back-up school when there are so many people who genuinely wish to be admitted and attend.

I do have some worries about a possible Kenyon Syndrom existing after some posters mentioned the school's name in a discussion on the subject. I'm not entirely overqualified, but after I take my SATs one last time, I hope that I am. It's not that I don't think students with better stats and possibilities of admission than mine apply to Kenyon, it's that the Kenyon application asks where I plan to apply. I don't want them to see Harvard, Dartmouth, Swarthmore and W&L on my list and assume that I have no interest in the school.

I'm certain that it's one of my top choices, and I find absolutely no flaws with the school, and I'm pretty sure that these things will show themselves in my application. I hope. The 1-2 punch is really that I haven't visited the school, either. Flying is much too expensive for my family, and driving would be a major excursion. I am trying to get out to Gambier at least once, though.

Any thoughts on Kenyon Syndrome? Does it really happen?

By Perry (Perry) on Friday, August 20, 2004 - 08:02 pm: Edit

Yes it does happen. I do know of situations in which students who superceded the qualifications of most of their admits were waitlisted, but at the same time were admitted to more selective schools. This appears to happen especially in situations where these students were not offered one of the Kenyon's limited merit scholarships -- for which there is considerable competition. The thinking seems to be that after having been rejected for the scholarship, the applicant is likely to go elsewhere.

By Enzom (Enzom) on Friday, August 20, 2004 - 08:08 pm: Edit

Not really. I do know that Kenyon HIGHLY values an applicant's interest level and an applicant's knowledge level as it relates to Kenyon's qualities. They may reject you if they don't sense a real interest but they certainly won't reject you for being "over qualified". They just have too many students who could have easliy gained entrance to the Ivies and AWS, but preferred Kenyon, to have such a "chip" on their shoulders. I knew many, many classmates when I was there who had SAT scores well above 1500 with outstanding GPAs and chose Kenyon over more "prestigious" eastern schools. The school is phenomenal. If you really are interested I would advise that you make an attempt to at least interview with someone in their alumni network or go to Gambier. They really, really like to interview applicants if possible. Good luck.

By Dennis (Dennis) on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 09:09 am: Edit

I think this can happen at any number of schools these days. At Kenyon, there has been a dramatic rise in applicants in the past 2-3 years and a corresponding decline in acceptance rate. Given this, Kenyon, like other schools, has to be more judicious and selective in the way it admits students. I think that perceived interest is a big deal.

My S was denied and WL at a couple of schools that we thought might be "safeties" or solid matches. I think the problem was that he never visited and did not show a whole lot of interest in those schools. In contrast, he had much better luck at the schools he visited and got excited about. Small liberal arts schools like Kenyon definitely pick up on this.

So, I would say that even if you can't visit Kenyon (though I would strongly encourage you to try), express your interest as much as possible. Maybe see if you can interview with an admissions officer who might be in your area or even with an alum.

By Trickdacy (Trickdacy) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 10:09 pm: Edit

I applied to Harvard, Williams, and a few other schools in addition to Kenyon, and I listed as much on the Honors scholarship application. It didn't seem to hurt me much, because I got a scholarship! I think Kenyon really liked the fact that I visited twice even though I live far away (in South Carolina). Try to visit at least once, and while you're there, try to get an interview. That's what I did!

By Willywonka (Willywonka) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 01:28 am: Edit

I'm definitely going to try to visit before applying. We'll see. It will be the farthest I've ever been from home.

I decided that one way I could get around Kenyon syndrome was to stop "prestige whoring" and not apply to Harvard. It was clear from my list that I really had no interest in it, as it was very unsimilar from everything else. One of the biggest reasons that I was worried about it seeming like I was aiming for prestige-- and so worried about Kenyon syndrome-- was that I was. Lame, I know, but I'm over it. Thanks guys!

(I seem so immature in this thread, but I promise that this is me at my worst.)

By Reidmc (Reidmc) on Thursday, August 26, 2004 - 10:39 am: Edit

WW - It certainly would help if you could get to Gambier. Maybe you could go with another student from your area. Prowl the orbitz.com and expedia.com websites for cheap airline deals to Columbus.

However, their admissions staff does a lot of traveling and you may find one of them coming to your area. Check with them. If a rep is not coming directly to your area, I think it would be impressive if you (and a parent?) offered to drive a bit to meet a rep. This would show interest and initiate a nice personal connection. Kenyon does participate in an eight-college "roadshow" that is coming to Boston, Providence, Hartford and Buffalo next month. They can provide the dates for those cities and others they may be visiting later this year.

Whether you visit or not, at some point this fall you should send the admissions rep for your state an e-mail or letter (preferred) indicating your interest and identifying Kenyon as one of your top choices. Include a couple of specific reasons for your choice. Kenyon admissions staff members are accessible and responsive.

Finally, there are two prompts on the Kenyon supplemental application that address your knowledge of and interest in the school. Take some time to give specific and thoughtful responses and you'll be fine, even if you haven't visited. There is a prompt about a Kenyon visit, too, but if you have made a good connection with the admissions staff and have put a good app together, you will feel comfortable about responding even if you haven't visited.

By Dstark (Dstark) on Thursday, August 26, 2004 - 10:43 am: Edit

If you aren't going to visit Kenyon, pick up a tour of Kenyon at www.collegeiatechoice.com

By 2dsdad (2dsdad) on Saturday, August 28, 2004 - 07:11 am: Edit

Kenyon seems to have a problem with offering admission to students and then not having them choose to go someplace else. Applications have nearly doubled in the past four years. They have become much more selective with the acceptance rate dropping from somewhere in the high 60% range to 38% over those same four years. They had a target of 450 for this year's Freshman class and a stated goal of actually shrinking total enrollment slightly over time. Despite all that they have ended up with 469 accepting their offer and entering this year. (Just got back from dropping my daughter off at orientation.)

Kenyon is in a very, very rural location with cornfields or hardwood forests for several miles in all directions from the campus, so if that could be an issue for you I would strongly encourage a visit so that you can get a feel for the place.