Returning home & some early thoughts...

I returned this past weekend to find Gambier a bit chillier than when I left. We've moved into later Autumn and most of the leaves have fallen, but campus remains beautiful in each of the seasons. It can be a striking exercise to depart and return to such an impressive place.

The weekend was made more exciting as it played host to two of our 'formal' visit programs. We had more than 150 students from all over the country pay a visit to campus--one from Hawaii, who won the distance award, several from the West Coast, at least one visitor from Maine and a few from as far south as Florida. I must say that one of the inspiring elements of weekends such as these--and of Kenyon in general--is meeting new, intriguing, inspired and inspiring students from all corners of the country (and the globe), all of whom have found Kenyon and what the College offers as common elements in their searches.

I know that the economy is affecting all of us, and non-essential expenses such as college visits may be sacrificed. If you are able to schedule a campus visit, however, I encourage you to do so to all of the colleges in which you're interested, either for 'formal' visit programs or for an individual trip. That's the best way of seeing yourself in a community... Of course, if you can't swing the time or money, we most certainly understand. And that's why we have plenty of other options available to you, either online or perhaps near to your home. Take full advantage of our efforts to get to know you. I assure you that we appreciate your interest in us, and it is important to many college admissions committees to know of the interest you have in matriculating at their institutions.

On a different note, our first early decision deadline is this Saturday, November 15. Different schools may offer different 'rounds' of decisions--likely you've heard of early action, rolling admissions, etc. At Kenyon, we have two early decision options (in addition to regular decision), and both of them are binding. In other words, if you apply to Kenyon under an early decision agreement, you promise to enroll at Kenyon and withdraw all pending applications to other institutions. This allows the student to say to us that you're 100% certain that Kenyon is where you want to be, that you've done your research and are completely confident that Kenyon is the place you want to call home for the next four years.

If you've managed your college search and the application process appropriately, likely you'll have several good options which will feel 'right' to you. And at the end of April, you'll have to make a difficult decision and choose only one college out of several at which you would be well served. Oftentimes, this will come down to a gut decision, as you've already narrowed your list to those schools at which you'll feel at home. In this sense, when you apply early decision to a college, you've made that gut decision on the front end of the process...as I did a few years ago. I had conducted my visits, made my checklists and envisioned myself on numerous campuses across the country. But the one that felt best to me was Kenyon, so my decision came up front.

If you have any questions regarding early applications, please don't hesitate to drop me an email.

From Ransom Hall, all the best wishes.
-Noble