kenyon college essay prompt

A Comprehensive Guide to Kenyon College

Kenyon College, located in Gambier, Ohio, is a renowned liberal arts institution known for its intellectual rigor, vibrant campus culture, and commitment to fostering a strong sense of community. Gaining admission to Kenyon is a competitive process that requires careful planning and preparation. In this comprehensive guide, we will provide you with valuable insights and actionable tips to increase your chances of securing admission to Kenyon College and embarking on an inspiring educational journey.

Understanding Kenyon College: Begin by immersing yourself in the world of Kenyon College. Familiarize yourself with the college's mission, academic programs, campus traditions, and unique features. Explore the college's website, attend virtual information sessions or campus tours, and connect with current students or alumni to gain a deeper understanding of Kenyon's culture and how it aligns with your academic and personal goals.

Academic Excellence: Kenyon College values academic excellence and seeks students who are intellectually curious and eager to learn. Maintain a challenging course load throughout high school, taking honors, Advanced Placement (AP), or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses when available. Pursue subjects that align with your interests and showcase your academic strengths. Engage in class discussions, seek out research opportunities, and demonstrate a commitment to deepening your understanding of your chosen fields of study.

Personal Statement: Craft a compelling personal statement that reflects your unique experiences, values, and aspirations. Use this opportunity to demonstrate your intellectual curiosity, personal growth, and how you will contribute to the Kenyon College community. Be authentic, reflective, and articulate your motivations for pursuing higher education at Kenyon. Share personal stories and experiences that showcase your character, resilience, and accomplishments, leaving a lasting impression on the admissions committee.

Extracurricular Involvement: Kenyon College values students who are actively engaged in extracurricular activities and demonstrate a commitment to their passions outside of the classroom. Pursue activities that align with your interests and allow you to make a positive impact. Show depth of involvement by taking on leadership roles, initiating projects, or participating in relevant clubs, sports teams, community service, or artistic endeavors. Highlight your achievements and any recognition received, demonstrating your ability to balance academics and extracurricular commitments effectively.

Letters of Recommendation: Choose recommenders who can provide insightful and detailed accounts of your academic abilities, personal qualities, and potential for success at Kenyon College. Select teachers, mentors, or supervisors who know you well and can speak to your intellectual curiosity, critical thinking skills, and collaborative nature. Provide them with sufficient time and information to write strong letters of recommendation that showcase your strengths and potential contributions to the college community.

Campus Visits and Demonstrated Interest: If possible, visit the Kenyon College campus or engage in virtual events to demonstrate your genuine interest in the institution. Attend information sessions, connect with admissions officers, and participate in virtual tours. Take note of specific programs, faculty, or campus initiatives that resonate with you. By expressing your interest in Kenyon College, you can underscore your enthusiasm and dedication to becoming a part of their academic community.

Supplemental Essays: Pay close attention to the supplemental essay prompts provided by Kenyon College. Tailor your responses to reflect your unique qualities, values, and how you align with Kenyon's educational philosophy and campus culture. Thoughtfully reflect on your experiences and aspirations, making connections to specific resources, programs, or opportunities offered by the college. Use these essays as an opportunity to showcase your fit and passion for Kenyon College.

Application Submission: Ensure that your application is complete, accurate, and submitted before the deadline. Double-check that all required documents, such as transcripts, test scores, and recommendation letters, are included. Proofread your application materials, including essays and short responses, to eliminate any errors or typos. Submit your application well in advance to allow for any unforeseen technical difficulties.

Conclusion: Securing admission to Kenyon College requires careful planning, academic excellence, and a genuine passion for learning and community engagement. By following this comprehensive guide, you will be well-prepared to navigate the application process, highlight your strengths, and present a compelling case for why you would be an excellent fit for Kenyon College. Embrace the opportunities that lie ahead, stay true to yourself, and best of luck on your journey to Kenyon!

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Kenyon College Undergraduate College Application Essays

These Kenyon College college application essays were written by students accepted at Kenyon College. All of our sample college essays include the question prompt and the year written. Please use these sample admission essays responsibly.

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College Application Essays accepted by Kenyon College

Drawing my life anonymous, kenyon college.

By now, color and form are two essential ways I express myself. In my art I often draw myself as a stick figure with a shock of bright red hair. My family, friends, and even strangers have always commented on the thousands of freckles that pepper...

“Buenos días, ¿cómo estás?” Anonymous

When my dad first began working in Mexico, I nonchalantly changed my schedule to include seventh grade “Intro to Spanish.” Naturally, I didn’t think twice about what would later prove a crucial decision—few seventh graders realize how such simple...

The Jeanne B. McCoy Center for the Performing Arts Piper Elizabeth Hill

Fingers at the ready. Arms at the ready. Feet at the ready. Stomach at the ready. Eyes at the ready. Keys, bow, steps, song, speech – all at the ready to create another person, another emotion, another world. This genesis, this nebula that hatches...

Charms Alison Georgescu

When I turned sixteen, my grandparents took me out to the lavish Sixteen restaurant in Chicago. “Sixteen for sixteen,” they said. Over microscopic spoonfuls of diced cucumbers, which the restaurant dubbed "a salad," my Grandma handed me a velvety...

The Outside of a Horse Anonymous

Most people are surprised to hear that I head from the suburbs to the city to ride a horse.. Just off a busy city avenue in Buffalo, tucked among white stucco apartment buildings sits The Buffalo Equestrian Center, a turn of the century polo arena...

Nightmare Julia Dupuis

This is how my nightmare begins.

I’m standing in the heart of a pristine university campus, surrounded by hundreds of teenage girls fidgeting with their luggage. Damp hair sticks to the backs of our necks; we can taste the heat and the salt and...

Flies Deeptansha Dwivedi

Sweat dripped from my brow as I carefully set my roll of tape onto the granite kitchen counter in front of me. My masterpiece was finally complete. As I slid down from my stool, I was careful to not let my knobby ten-year-old knees topple into the...

My body issues Anonymous

Why aren’t there campaigns for male plus sized models? I had no one to tell me I’m beautiful when I weighed 185 pounds in eleventh grade; all I got were offensive slurs and derogatory nicknames. I had shielded out the remarks, without retorting,...

Breaking Home Ties Anonymous

The painting is enormous. Its carved golden frame hangs squarely in the center of a muted red wall in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I lean in and read the information plaque to the right: Breaking Home Ties by Thomas Hovenden. Stepping back, I...

Hwato Anonymous

At the tender age of nine, both my hands clutching the glass of water I’d carefully poured, I made my way over to the table where my grandmother, or Halmoni as we say in Korean, sat before a war zone of cards strewn across the table. I was not...

Recent Questions about Kenyon College

The Question and Answer section for Kenyon College is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

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A Complete Guide To The Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop

By Eric Eng

For every high school student who has experienced the thrill of a story flowing through their pen or the excitement of ideas coming to life on paper, there is a place where these moments are part of a collective adventure. The Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop is that place, making writing into a lively, shared experience.

What is the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop?

The Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop is a specialized creative writing program for passionate high school students aged 16-18. Held at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, it is backed by the Kenyon Review, one of America’s leading literary magazines.

The workshop typically features two-week sessions each summer, offering an intense, collaborative environment where students can delve into various writing genres, including poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. The workshops are also now available through online classes. Led by instructors and Kenyon College faculty, they promote skill development through practical workshops, peer reviews, and readings.

Participants in the program get the opportunity to work on their writing skills, receive feedback from peers and instructors, and become part of a community of young writers. The experience is also residential, giving students a taste of college life on the Kenyon College campus. This hands-on experience aims to inspire young writers to develop their voice and craft.

How does the workshop work?

The Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshops, organized by the literary journal at Kenyon College, welcomes high school students worldwide to join a thriving literary community. Here, you can explore creative writing, challenge yourself, and discover new abilities while connecting with other young writers who share your passion.

The program offers three distinct workshop formats:

• residential summer workshops
• online summer workshops
• winter online workshops

Young Writers Summer Residential Workshop

The Young Writers Summer Residential Workshop at Kenyon College offers a two-week program for high school students curious and eager to hone their creative and critical writing skills. It’s an ideal environment to develop as a writer and thinker.

At the workshop, you’ll get into the writing experience with 12-14 fellow students for five hours each day, exploring all genres through freewriting, working on assignments, and discussing both readings and each other’s work.

Beyond the regular sessions, you can also join specialized genre sessions. These mini-workshops focus on specific genres or craft elements, allowing you to focus intensively on an area of interest under the guidance of different instructors. The topics for these sessions vary, ensuring there’s always something new to spark your creativity.

Set at the Kenyon College campus, known for its rich literary tradition and home to the prestigious Kenyon Review, this residential program gives you a taste of college life. You’ll stay in dorms, write in college classrooms, eat in Peirce Dining Hall, and have free time to explore the charming Village of Gambier and the Lowry Athletic Center facilities. It’s a fantastic way to experience college life while focusing on your writing and creativity .

Important Dates

• Session 1:  June 23 – July 6, 2024
• Session 2: July 14-27, 2024
• Application Deadline: March 1, 2024

Eligibility

Here’s what you need to know about eligibility for the Young Writers Summer Residential Workshop:

• You should be between the ages of 16-18 at the time of the program.
• Participants are rising juniors and seniors. However, you’re welcome to apply if you’ve just graduated high school before the program starts.
• Sophomores who will be 16 after the program dates are recommended to hold off applying until the next year
• International Students and previous online workshop participants can also participate.

Program Cost

The total program cost is $2,575 , which includes tuition, accommodation, all meals, and activities. Please note that travel costs are not included. Upon acceptance, you’ll need to secure your spot with a $500 non-refundable deposit and submit your enrollment forms by April 5th. The remaining balance must be paid by May 20th. The application is free.

They also offer need-based financial aid to help families manage the program costs. Aid is granted on a case-by-case basis, often meeting the amount requested. Simply fill out the “Financial Aid” section in the online application to apply for aid.

Application Materials

If you met all of the eligibility requirements, here are what you’ll need to apply:

• Completed online application form
• 300-word personal statement
• high school transcript (it can be official or unofficial)
• Letter of recommendation
• financial aid information (this is optional)

Young Writers Summer Online Workshops

The Young Writers Summer Online Workshops provide a space for young writers like you to hone your skills, discover new strengths, and connect with fellow writing enthusiasts. In these online sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to explore creative ideas, create new stories, poems, and essays, and discuss the writing process with instructors and other participants.

The week-long workshops are done daily via live Zoom sessions. You can choose from the afternoon sessions, from 12:30 to 4:00 p.m. ET, or the evening sessions, from 7:30 to 11:00 p.m. ET. Both options cover a wide range of genres.

You’ll join 12-14 students and an instructor for three and a half hours of synchronous daily sessions. These sessions are dedicated to freewriting, responding to prompts and assignments, discussing readings, and sharing and critiquing each other’s work.

A unique feature of these workshops is that everyone, including instructors, writes and shares their work daily. The environment is supportive and non-judgmental, with no grades given. Instead of formal evaluations, instructors provide feedback emphasizing each writer’s strengths and potential, guiding you toward effective revisions and improvements in your writing.

Each day also features special events from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. ET, including readings by guest writers, craft discussions, participant showcases, and casual socials designed to enrich your workshop experience.

• Online Workshops: June 16–21, 2024
• Application Deadline: April 15, 2024

Here’s what you need to know about eligibility for the Young Writers Summer Online Workshop:

The Summer Online Workshop costs $995, covering both the tuition and all related activities. Accepted students are required to pay the full tuition and submit their enrollment forms by May 15 to secure their spot in the program.

Financial aid is also extended on a case-to-case basis.

• completed online application form

Young Writers Winter Online Workshops

The workshops provide a supportive environment to develop your writing skills, discover new strengths, and connect with others who share your passion for writing.

During these six-week sessions, you’ll focus on a specific genre, craft element, or theme, honing your skills, finding your unique voice, and engaging in discussions about the writing process with instructors and peers.

Workshops are every Saturday, with two available slots: 1:00-3:30 p.m. EST or 7:00-9:30 p.m. EST. Each workshop has a unique focus, detailed in the descriptions below. While you can apply for multiple workshops, you can only participate in one. Besides the live sessions, there are optional readings and short assignments to complete outside of workshop hours, providing additional opportunities to refine your skills.

• Online Workshops: January 20 – February 24, 2024
• Application Deadline: January 10, 2024

Here’s what you need to know about eligibility for the Young Writers Winter Online Workshops:

Program Costs

The Winter Online Workshop costs $655 , which includes tuition and all related activities. The full payment is due by January 10. If you cancel by January 12, a $250 cancellation fee will apply. No refunds will be issued after January 12.

Is it difficult to get into the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop?

Admission to the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop can be competitive due to its reputation and the quality of the program. Each year, it draws many applicants, including many talented young writers. The selection process primarily considers the strength of your application materials, such as your personal statement and a writing sample. This means the level of competitiveness changes based on the applicant pool each year.

If you’re interested in applying, it’s important to create a strong application showcasing your unique voice and passion for writing. The organizers have explained that they put a lot of focus on the 300-word personal statement the participants submit. It is recommended that you spend a lot of time writing that piece. Here are some tips you can practice to create an excellent personal statement:

• Start with a vivid scene or moment: Instead of beginning with a general statement about your love for writing, engage your reader by opening with a vivid scene or defining moment that showcases your passion for writing. This approach draws the reader in and immediately demonstrates your writing skills.
• Focus on your unique perspective: Identify what makes your writing unique, such as cultural influences, unusual subjects, or a distinctive style. Emphasize these elements to stand out and explain how the workshop will help you further develop these aspects of your craft.
• Reflect on your growth and aspirations: Summarize your writing journey, including significant milestones and challenges, and outline your future goals. Show how the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop will help you achieve these aims, such as refining skills, finding inspiration, or engaging with a writing community.

When you apply these tips, you should be able to create a personal statement that will not only present a clear and engaging narrative but also demonstrate your readiness to benefit from and contribute to the workshop.

Should you join the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop? Is it worth it?

Yes, you should join, and it is absolutely worth it. Joining the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop can be an enriching experience, particularly if you aim to take your writing skills to the next level. However, you have to consider a lot of factors before you make the decision.

Three advantages of joining the workshop include:

• Improved writing skills: The workshop offers sessions focusing on various genres, providing you with the tools to improve your writing significantly. This skill is invaluable, not only for personal growth but also for academic success in college.
• Attractive to colleges: Participation in such a prestigious program can be a strong addition to your college application. It demonstrates your commitment to literature and writing, setting you apart from other applicants. This is particularly appealing to competitive liberal arts colleges that value creative thinking and communication skills.
• Networking opportunities: You’ll meet and collaborate with peers and instructors passionate about writing. These connections can lead to lifelong networks and professional relationships, which can be beneficial as you progress in your academic and writing career.

Things to consider before joining:

• Cost and financial aid: Assess the workshop’s cost and determine whether it fits your budget or if you need to apply for financial aid.
• Time commitment : Ensure you can commit fully to the duration of the workshop. Full participation is essential to maximize the benefits of the experience.
• Academic pressure: Consider your current academic obligations. Ensure that joining the workshop won’t overwhelm your schedule, especially if you are balancing other commitments.

The Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop offers numerous benefits that can aid your personal development and strengthen your college applications. However, carefully considering your financial and time commitments is required to ensure it’s the right fit for you.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop

1. What do they consider for admission?

The selection committee focuses closely on the 300-word personal statement and the teacher recommendation. They seek students who demonstrate genuine talent and enthusiasm for writing and would excel in both the workshop and residential environments. Their goal is to admit a diverse mix of students with different academic backgrounds and personal interests.

2. What is the acceptance rate for Kenyon Review Writers Workshop?

The reported acceptance rate for the entire workshop is 30% to 35%.

3. How will I know if I got in?

The admission decisions will be sent via email. They are sent out in early May for the Summer Online Workshop, while results are sent in early January for the Winter Online Workshop. Decisions for the Residential Summer Workshop are sent out in late March. 

4. Is the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop prestigious?

Yes, the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop is prestigious. It’s associated with the Kenyon Review, one of the oldest and most respected literary magazines in the United States, and Kenyon College, a renowned liberal arts college with a strong emphasis on writing and literature. The workshop attracts talented high school students from across the nation and around the globe, offering them an intensive, immersive writing experience. Its selective admissions process, high-quality instruction, and dedicated focus on developing young writers’ skills all contribute to its esteemed reputation.

The workshop offers a peek into college life and a fantastic opportunity for networking with professionals in the writing industry and fellow writers. If you’re a high school student passionate about writing, the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop might be the ideal next step.

We recommend you apply and grab this chance to enhance your writing skills. For more details, check out the Kenyon Review Young Writers website . Remember, the literary world eagerly awaits your unique voice and stories. Don’t miss this opportunity to advance your potential as a young writer.

Want to assess your chances of admission? Take our FREE chances calculator today!

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Find out about requirements, fees, and deadlines

Applying to college is an exciting part of starting the next chapter in your life, but the process can also be a little intimidating. What's expected? What will set you apart? What is Kenyon looking for in a student?

While each student brings a unique perspective to Kenyon, there are a number of similar characteristics we seek. We look for people who are bright, who aren't afraid to ask questions, and who are well informed. They're at the top of their classes, play sports, volunteer, write zines, paint, or play in a band. Kenyon students are achievers but are also creative and know the value of community.

If this sounds like you, you'll probably feel right at home here. Learn more about applying to Kenyon here.

Kenyon welcomes students who apply for admission after beginning undergraduate study at another institution.

We recognize that not all students are comfortable with their initial college choice — and that academic and career goals often change during the college years. For this reason, the College accepts a limited number of transfer students each year, depending on their class year and the availability of living accommodations. Learn more about transferring to Kenyon.

Additional Information

"The kind of place that can feel like the heart of the universe...when you picture a college, you see a place like Kenyon." P.F. Kluge, Writer-in-Residence, 1964

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Lowell House , 104 College Drive Gambier , OH 43022 , United States of America

[email protected]

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(740) 427-5776

For first-year students

Admissions website.

www.kenyon.edu/admissions

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www.kenyon.edu/finaid

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www.kenyon.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/

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CollegeVine's essay prompt database

Find your college’s application essay prompts for 2023-24

Latest essay prompts for the top 100 schools.

At CollegeVine, our goal is to make the college application process a little less stressful, so we’ve compiled the latest essay prompts for the top 100 schools in one easy, searchable database.

Also, every year we create free guides on “ How to Write X School’s Essays ” for the top 100 schools. In these guides, we give you tips and tricks on how to approach each prompt. As such, our prompt database also contains a link to each school's Essay Breakdown.

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The Kenyon Review

Young Writers Residential Workshops

• Young Writers Workshops Overview
• Summer Residential
• Summer Online
• Winter Online

Session One

June 23 - July 6, 2024

Session Two

July 14-27, 2024

Information

June 23 – July 6, 2024

July 14–27, 2024

Tuition and Fees

No application fee

Need-based financial aid is available

Application Deadline

March 1, 2024

We do not accept late applications. Admissions decisions will be sent via email in late March.

Application Materials

• Online application form
• 300 word personal statement
• A high school transcript (official or unofficial)
• A letter of recommendation
• Financial aid information (optional)

Questions? Concerns

Email [email protected] or call (740) 427-5391.

The Young Writers Summer Residential Workshop is an intensive two-week workshop for intellectually curious, motivated high-school students who are eager to develop their creative and critical abilities with language—to become better, more productive writers and more insightful thinkers.

In generative workshops, students write to explore ideas and produce fresh work in a variety of genres, including short stories, poems, and essays. With their instructors and peers, student discuss the craft of writing (and rewriting) to stretch their talents and develop their own unique voice.

This residential program takes place at Kenyon College , home of the Kenyon Review and a leading liberal arts college renowned for its literary history and beautiful campus. During Young Writers, participants immerse themselves in college life, living in dorms, writing in college classrooms , eating in Peirce Dining Hall , and spending downtime exploring the Village of Gambier and the Lowry Athletic Center .

Am I eligible to apply?

You are eligible to apply if you are a high school student who will be between the ages of 16-18 years old at the time of the program. Most of our participants are rising juniors and seniors during the program, but we occasionally accept talented students who have just graduated high school before the program begins. Students who are current high school sophomores but will not turn 16 until after the program are eligible to apply.

International students are eligible to apply, as are students who have participated in  online  Young Writers workshops in the past. Rising sophomores are not eligible to apply.

Young Writers participants are a diverse group, representing a wide range of academic and personal interests. You should apply for the Young Writers program if you like to work with other people, are open to experimenting with new approaches, are willing to be playful and take some risks as a learner, and are interested in the process of learning more than final goals.

How much does the program cost? Is financial aid available?

The total cost of the program is $2,575, which covers program tuition, accommodations, all meals, and all activities. We do not cover travel costs.

In order to enroll in the program, accepted students must pay a non-refundable $500 deposit and submit enrollment forms by April 5th. The balance of the program cost is due on or before May 20th.

We offer need-based financial aid for families who cannot afford the costs of the program. Financial aid decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. We are usually able to offer the amount of financial aid requested to all admitted students. Financial aid decisions are made in conjunction with admissions decisions; however, acceptance decisions are not affected by aid requests.

In order to apply for need-based financial aid, please fill out the “Financial Aid” section of the online application form.

How do I apply?

A complete application consists of the following:

• The online application form
• A 300-word statement, essay, story, or poem that illustrates why and/or how writing has been meaningful in your life (you may be as straightforward or creative with this prompt as you like)
• A high-school transcript, to be uploaded with the application form (we accept official and unofficial transcripts)
• The email address of the teacher who will provide a letter of recommendation.

Applications must be submitted by March 1st. Teachers will have until March 7th to upload letters of recommendation.  We do not accept applications beyond the March 1st deadline.

How are applicants chosen for the program?

The selection committee pays particular attention to the 300 word statement and the teacher recommendation. We are looking for students who show real talent and passion for writing, as well as students who will thrive in both the workshop and residential setting. We strive to admit a diverse group of students with a wide range of academic and personal interests.

Young Writers is a highly selective program. We are only able to admit a small percentage of applicants and have to turn away many talented writers each year. If you are not accepted this year and will still be eligible next year, we encourage you to reapply.

Due to the volume of applications we receive each year, we cannot comment on individual applications or offer feedback on application essays.

How are workshops structured? Who teaches the workshops?

Workshop groups of 12-14 students meet for five hours a day. All workshops follow a similar curriculum covering all genres of writing. Workshop time is spent freewriting, responding to writing prompts and assignments, discussing assigned readings, and sharing and discussing each other’s work. 

Everyone in the classroom, including instructors, writes and shares work every day. The workshop is ungraded and student work is not evaluated in any formal sense. Instead, instructors emphasize techniques for responding to work in ways that will help the writer recognize their strengths, potential, and avenues for productive revision. Instructors also meet with each student in individual conferences.

In addition to the regular workshop group, students have the opportunity to sign up for a genre session, which is a mini, three-part workshop focusing on a specific genre or craft element. These sessions give students the chance to work with a different instructor and student group, and to hone in on an element of writing that interests them. Genre session topics vary each session.

Our instructors are talented writers and teachers from around the country who have a long association with the Kenyon Review and the Young Writers program. Many of our instructors have been published in the Kenyon Review and several are Kenyon College alums. Most have advanced degrees in creative writing and teach high school and/or college during the academic year. Because many of our instructors have been teaching in the program for several years, they are a strong team with a deep understanding of the curriculum and philosophy of the Young Writers program.

Are you offering a Young Writers Summer Online Workshop this year? Can I attend both the Residential and Online programs?

The  Young Writers Summer Online Workshop  will take place June 16-21, 2024. Applications for this workshop will open in early March. Students may only attend one Young Writers Workshop per summer, but are welcome to apply to both programs.

Upcoming Workshops

Residential adult writers workshops.

July 7-13, 2024

Winter Online Adult Writers Workshops

January 28 - March 24, 2023

Kenyon College Alumni Magazine

From the Archives: Everlasting Speech

On occasion, we select stories from the archives that still resonate today. "This is Water" is the title of the speech author David Foster Wallace gave at Kenyon's 2005 Commencement. Sixteen years later, it remains one of the most searched stories on Kenyon's website, and a frequent subject of literary analysis.

The 2005 Kenyon Commencement address by the venerated novelist David Foster Wallace lives on in popular consciousness, in social media, and in print, years after its delivery and the suicide of its author. This proliferation of the speech in multiple forms has had a collateral effect for Kenyon, amplifying the College's name in quarters where it might not otherwise be heard. Elizabeth Lopatto '06, attending the ceremony to see friends graduate, was among the speech's original audience. Like many others that day, and since, she found that the speech stuck. She has researched the speech in the Wallace archive at the University of Texas, Austin, and written about it in Kenyon Review Online.

David Foster Wallace was wearing his trademark bandanna and a white shirt with a Nehru collar when Christopher Bench '05 and Meredith Farmer '05 met him. Spread in front of him were the pages of the Commencement address he was about to give, occupying most of the table in the Sunset Cottage seminar room. They were covered in ink; he was still revising-cutting, mostly. Also scattered around the room were cups of spit, from the tobacco he'd been chewing. When Farmer told him she'd been the one who nominated him to speak at their graduation, he said, "F*** you, I'm not old enough for this. I'm not my father!" and laughed.

Then, upon hearing Bench was from Allentown, Pennsylvania, he began making the synth noises from the Billy Joel song of that title, which Bench described as both mortifying and endearing.

Wallace didn't wear the bandanna when he gave the speech, though he did wipe his face with it a few times while he spoke. And sometime between the graduation ceremony on May 21, 2005; Wallace's suicide on September 12, 2008; and now, the text of the Commencement address became so well known that writer Tom Bissell, a friend of Wallace's, complained of having it emailed to him from his aunt, a woman who "would not know David Foster Wallace if he fell on her."

Wallace's 2005 Kenyon Commencement address quickly took on a life of its own, carrying Kenyon's name with it. Reprinted in venues from the Wall Street Journal to O, The Oprah Magazine , it has been recognized as one of the best commencement speeches, either in the past twenty-five years or of all time, by Time, Slate and Elle magazines, and such newspapers as the Washington Post and USA Today. It was published in book form in 2009, after the author's death, as "This Is Water: Some Thoughts Delivered on a Significant Occasion, About Living a Compassionate Life." References to the speech, or quotations from it, come up frequently in Internet and social media searches for "Kenyon College."

Numerous people interviewed for this article reported a similar phenomenon: after mentioning their alma mater, the next comment from an interlocutor is, "Oh, isn't that where the David Foster Wallace speech was delivered?" Several people spoke of having the speech recommended to them by friends and family.

How does a commencement speech come to have this kind of afterlife?

That David Foster Wallace's advice would garner rare attention should not be entirely surprising. Wallace is widely considered among the most important writers of his generation, a reputation dating at least from the release of his tour-de-force novel Infinite Jest in 1996. A deeply funny, deeply sad novel, Infinite Jest examines the American pursuit of happiness through addiction at the expense of our ability to connect with other people. By 2005, the novel and its author had achieved a kind of cult status, inspiring readerly devotion and giving rise to Internet fan sites and e-mail discussion groups.

The speech was transcribed at least twice, once by Kaelin Alexander '07, from what he recalls as a VHS tape, and once by Devin Thompson, a Wallace fan and student at the Nazarene University in Mount Vernon who came to Kenyon to hear the address. Alexander was asked to make his transcription by the alumni affairs office for a pamphlet containing the Baccalaureate and Commencement addresses. That wasn't the version at large on the Internet, though. The most widespread version, until the publication of "This Is Water," was Thompson's. Thompson had recorded Wallace's delivery of the speech on a Hi-8 camera and made a transcription of it as a favor to Wallace-l, an e-mail list devoted to the author. Unlike Alexander, Thompson included pauses, verbal tics, and extemporaneous remarks such as Wallace's introductory aside-"If anybody feels like perspiring [cough], I'd advise you to go ahead, because I'm sure going to. In fact I'm gonna" (and Thompson here includes Wallace pulling out his bandanna to wipe his face)-and his on-the-fly self-editing ("et cetera, et cetera, cutting stuff out because this is a long ceremony"). Thompson wore out the tape transcribing the speech, then sent it to Wallace-l in May 2005. The text went wide.

"I thought that speech was priceless and sent it to everyone I know," wrote one member of the list in reply.

"I can't decide whether this is uplifting or wrist-slitting," another list member wrote of an address that widened expectations of what could be done in a commencement speech. The speech was more candid about the challenges of adult life than usual for its genre and addressed dark issues like suicide. At the same time, its honesty permitted a genuine connection between speaker and listener (or reader), a common sense of humanity that comforts and inspires.

"Based solely on my subjective internal applause-o-meter reading, it was pretty well received," Thompson wrote in reply. "Is it standard practice to give a standing-o to the commencement speaker?"

Bill Stillwell posted an HTML version to his blog, Marginalia.org. The address was also adapted and published in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006. The speech essentially hunkered down quietly on the Internet, being spread through emails and Facebook postings, until Wallace's death.

That's when The Economist's More Intelligent Life posted it as "In Memoriam" on September 18, 2008, writing that the best tribute to Wallace's life and spirit "is the one he wrote himself." On September 19, the U.K. newspaper the Guardian adapted and ran the Kenyon speech, as did the Wall Street Journal. Its popularity with readers led to the book "This Is Water."

The versions of publication vary. Some-not all-newspaper reprints include the line, "It is not the least bit coincidental that adults who commit suicide with firearms almost always shoot themselves in the head. And the truth is that most of these suicides are actually dead long before they pull the trigger."

So that's how the speech took on a life of its own. The other obvious question is why.

"The speech itself has universal appeal, I think, because it explores the kinds of tedium many people experience every day, and at the same time offers some sound advice to deal with, or overcome, these experiences," said Nick Maniatis, who runs the Wallace fan site The Howling Fantods. The site saw increased traffic as the speech spread, perhaps because people were looking up Wallace and his work, Maniatis wrote in an email.

Biographer D.T. Max, whose book "Every Ghost Story Is a Love Story" (2012) tracks Wallace's life, said the speech was an ideal starting point for people new to Wallace.

"One of the things that's so striking is the gentle tone," Max said. "You can ignore this if you want, I'm not here to make you take your medicine." The speech is simpler and more direct than most anything else Wallace wrote, perhaps because his sometimes-baroque syntax and frequent footnoting are meant to be read on the page, not aloud. It's a pretty simple speech: don't worship false idols, they will consume you. Do your best to be kind. The world is what you make of it.

The moral code he espoused at Kenyon in 2005 is what Wallace learned in Alcoholics Anonymous: just because something is clichéd doesn't mean it isn't true. Clichés are accumulated human wisdom, and their being worn smooth from repeated use doesn't mean you won't be gauged by their accuracy.

A major theme of Infinite Jest is choosing how to worship and how to love. The premise of the novel is that a video exists that is so entertaining that people lose interest in anything but watching it over and over again, withering away to their deaths. A Québecois terrorist organization wishes to unleash the video, to make it clear to the U.S. citizens that they do not know how to choose life, that at some point they forgot how to choose what to love and what to worship and now worship only their own entertainment.

Choose your temple, Wallace said at Kenyon in May 2005. Worship something that won't destroy you. Though the speech is unassuming, its wisdom seems hard-earned, implying there was a lot of pain in learning the lessons Wallace was trying to impart. The darkness in the speech is what gives it weight.

"I was realizing I had never seen people on the edges of their seats at a commencement address," said Meredith Farmer, one of the Kenyon seniors who had met Wallace in Sunset Cottage. "People were so totally focused. They were rapt."

When Farmer nominated him, she wanted someone who understood Kenyon's values, she said. She and Jackie Giordano-Hayes '05 shepherded Wallace's name through the nominating process for the junior class committee, figuring that as someone who taught at Pomona College, he would understand Kenyon's atmosphere.

"I'm not sure I got all the potential levels of meaning in that speech right away," Giordano-Hayes said. "Everything in your life is changing, and it's huge turmoil sitting there. I didn't realize until after that it was exactly what we'd wanted."

The rhetoric of kindness in the speech extended into Wallace's behavior on campus, said Sergei Lobanov-Rostovsky, a professor of English who served as Wallace's host. When students came up, starstruck, Wallace was unfailingly gracious.

"He showed an unwillingness to assume distance," Lobanov-Rostovsky said. "After the speech we walked up Middle Path, surrounded by people wanting to say how great it was. And he was really nice about it, he seemed human."

Christopher Bench, the other senior who met with Wallace in Sunset, was immediately impressed with the speech. "There's the whole sentimental reality of, um, it's my commencement speech and it's also bigger than that," he said. Now a teacher, Bench recalls students who, "when they find out I'm from Kenyon, they ask ‘Were you there for the Wallace speech?' And I get to be like, ‘Oh yes, I was,' and look real cool for thirty seconds."

Giordano-Hayes has been emailed by the speech's readers to ask what it was like to hear it in person, and she once saw someone with a "This is water" tattoo. She's had the book recommended to her in bookstores, she said.

Wallace's suicide reified the speech, said David Lynn '76, editor of the Kenyon Review, endowing it with a kind of material existence it otherwise might not have had.

"I don't think any of us expected it to have the afterlife it did," he said. "It rings very true. It's clearly what was preoccupying him at the time, ways of controlling your life as you move forward."

After his death, many people went back to the text of the Kenyon oratory. "Learning to exercise some control over how and what you think," as Wallace puts it, to decide what kind of meaning you will draw from your life, is a non-trivial pursuit. In drafts, Wallace addresses the ghost of himself at his own commencement, trying to tell his younger self the things he had to learn the hard way, through addiction and recovery. Though the "young Dave" conceit is cut from the address, one might wonder who the real audience for the speech was. It was almost as though Wallace thought if we believed him enough, he might eventually believe what he was saying, too.

"This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, About Living" can be purchased from the Kenyon College Bookstore .

Elizabeth Lopatto '06 founded the Kenyon Review blog and currently writes about health and science for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

From Alumni Magazine - Fall 2020

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Kenyon College

• Cost & scholarships
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What are Kenyon College’s Tuition and Fees?

What does it cost to attend Kenyon College? Below we’ve mapped out the tuition, fees, and room and board that will help you understand how much you will pay for Kenyon College. We’ve also included financial aid information to help you pay for college. If you’d like to get a personal estimated cost of attendance based on your situation, use our free cost calculator .

What does it cost to attend Kenyon College?

Net price breakdown.

The Net Price is the estimated cost after the average aid amount is applied to the total amount.

Published costs and averages can be misleading: they don’t fully account for your family’s finances (for financial aid) or your academic profile (for scholarships).

Want to see your personalized net cost after financial aid and scholarships?

Sticker Price Breakdown

The sticker price is the advertised price of the school. You may not have to pay the full sticker price if you get financial aid or scholarships.

Grants can be given out by the federal government, your state, or the college and are based on your financial need. Grants do not need to be repaid.

Merit scholarships

Scholarships are awarded based on your your financial need or academic achievements. They do not need to be repaid but you may have to reapply for them each year.

Student loans

Student loans are sums of money given to students to help them pay for college now. You must pay this money back later with interest.

Work-study is when you work during the school year, typically an on-campus job. The money you make pays a part of the tuition. It’s a great opportunity, but it’s not free.

What was YOUR Kenyon essay??

<p>I think Kenyon doesn’t get a lot of street cred for its essays…they’re much better than Chicago’s.</p>

<p>So here’s the rules:</p>

<p>Post what you wrote for your Kenyon essays, or you can just post your essay if you’d like.</p>

<p>Why Kenyon</p>

<p>Working together:</p>

<p>Funny One: </p>

<p>For why Kenyon, mine was just generic. Same with working together (i talked about theater) And I really really really enjoyed the least one. Probably the only essay i actually enjoyed writing. I wrote the monster one and how I leave it blank and it opens up a world of possibilities for me…</p>

<p>any thoughts?</p>

<p>Cool. For the creative one, I did an extended analogy comparing my books to a map. I said I didn’y know what the edges said coz I hadn’t got there yet…</p>

<p>ha, i did theatre for working together, too. and i sort of compared my monsters to doubts and expectations that prevent me from living life. it was fun because i got to wax poetic.</p>

<p>i did the maps(who didn’t though? Best prompt by far!), at my border was godzilla and other b-movie monsters. “Destroy them I must!” (i have many fears at my border like public speaking, but I know i will have to tackle them in my life to truly live)</p>

<p>Neuroscientists prompt, I wrote about faith. Partnership, I wrote about working with my dad every summer for years through the desert.</p>

<p>Map prompt- I just wrote in general of the ocean of possibilities in front of me education-wise…only it sounded much better :3</p>

<p>I really liked my D’s response to the map prompt. There are no shortcuts … it’s not about getting from point A to B as fast as possible. It’s the journey that has meaning.</p>

<p>For the working together prompt I wrote about how my cousins and I used to write petitions together when we were young and give them to our parents whenever we wanted to do something. For the creative one, I used the prompt about a recent discovery and talked about one of my hobbies, geocaching.</p>

<p>For the working together prompt, I wrote about the Invisible Children’s Rescue of Joseph Kony’s Child Soldiers Event. For the fun prompt, I wrote about how the edges of my map would be about apathy and complacency.</p>

<p>I went for the hilt with the map prompt: I talked about my recent search for religion (something I very much doubt the mods would like me to talk about it detail. Suffice to say I was atheist, now I’m not). I took the map prompt differently than may people, taking the edges as areas to be explored and eventually made my own. So yeah…</p>

<p>The Partnership one I talked about a judo class I had set up with a past teacher.</p>

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Undergraduate Admissions

Deadline Update: We want to ensure anyone applying for federal financial aid has enough time to make an informed decision regarding their college choice! For this reason, we're extending our enrollment decision deadline to May 15.

Writing Prompts for First-Year Applicants

Following are our writing prompts for first-year students applying for fall 2025 admission. Writing prompts for fall 2024 will be announced in August.

Major-Specific Prompts

You'll answer two to three prompts as part of your application. The questions you'll answer will depend on whether you're applying to a major or to our undeclared program , and if you've selected a second choice . Each response should be approximately 150 words . If you're applying through Common App, you'll find our major-specific writing prompts in the "Writing" tab of our supplemental questions after adding us as one of your colleges.

If You're Applying to a Major :

• Explain, in detail, an experience you've had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you've taken, or through something else.
• Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from UIUC and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them.

If You're Applying to Our Undeclared Program in the Division of Exploratory Studies:

• What are your academic interests? Please include 2-3 majors you're considering at Illinois and why.
• What are your future career or academic goals? You may include courses you took in high school and how these impacted your goals.

If You've Selected a Second-Choice Major (Including Undeclared ):

• Please explain your interest in your second-choice major or your overall academic or career goals.

Essay Prompts

You'll also answer one essay prompt as part of your application. Prompts are the same whether you apply through myIllini or the Common App. Select and answer the prompt of your choice from the full list found on the Common App website . Your essay response can be anywhere from 250 to 650 words total.

Want more info?

How To Tackle The Weirdest Supplemental Essay Prompts For This Application Cycle

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Writing the college essay

How do you write a letter to a friend that shows you’re a good candidate for the University of Pennsylvania? What reading list will help the Columbia University admissions committee understand your interdisciplinary interests? How can you convey your desire to attend Yale by inventing a course description for a topic you’re interested in studying?

These are the challenges students must overcome when writing their supplemental essays . Supplemental essays are a critical component of college applications—like the personal statement, they provide students with the opportunity to showcase their authentic voice and perspective beyond the quantitative elements of their applications. However, unlike the personal essay, supplemental essays allow colleges to read students’ responses to targeted prompts and evaluate their candidacy for their specific institution. For this reason, supplemental essay prompts are often abstract, requiring students to get creative, read between the lines, and ditch the traditional essay-writing format when crafting their responses.

While many schools simply want to know “why do you want to attend our school?” others break the mold, inviting students to think outside of the box and answer prompts that are original, head-scratching, or downright weird. This year, the following five colleges pushed students to get creative—if you’re struggling to rise to the challenge, here are some tips for tackling their unique prompts:

University of Chicago

Prompt: We’re all familiar with green-eyed envy or feeling blue, but what about being “caught purple-handed”? Or “tickled orange”? Give an old color-infused expression a new hue and tell us what it represents. – Inspired by Ramsey Bottorff, Class of 2026

What Makes it Unique: No discussion of unique supplemental essay prompts would be complete without mentioning the University of Chicago, a school notorious for its puzzling and original prompts (perhaps the most well-known of these has been the recurring prompt “Find x”). This prompt challenges you to invent a new color-based expression, encouraging both linguistic creativity and a deep dive into the emotional or cultural connotations of color. It’s a prompt that allows you to play with language, think abstractly, and show off your ability to forge connections between concepts that aren’t typically linked—all qualities that likewise demonstrate your preparedness for UChicago’s unique academic environment.

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How to Answer it: While it may be easy to get distracted by the open-ended nature of the prompt, remember that both the substance and structure of your response should give some insight into your personality, perspective, and characteristics. With this in mind, begin by considering the emotions, experiences, or ideas that most resonate with you. Then, use your imagination to consider how a specific color could represent that feeling or concept. Remember that the prompt is ultimately an opportunity to showcase your creativity and original way of looking at the world, so your explanation does not need to be unnecessarily deep or complex—if you have a playful personality, convey your playfulness in your response; if you are known for your sarcasm, consider how you can weave in your biting wit; if you are an amateur poet, consider how you might take inspiration from poetry as you write, or offer a response in the form of a poem.

The goal is to take a familiar concept and turn it into something new and meaningful through a creative lens. Use this essay to showcase your ability to think inventively and to draw surprising connections between language and life.

Harvard University

Prompt: Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you.

What Makes it Unique: This prompt is unique in both form and substance—first, you only have 150 words to write about all 3 things. Consider using a form other than a traditional essay or short answer response, such as a bullet list or short letter. Additionally, note that the things your roommate might like to learn about you do not necessarily overlap with the things you would traditionally share with an admissions committee. The aim of the prompt is to get to know your quirks and foibles—who are you as a person and a friend? What distinguishes you outside of academics and accolades?

How to Answer it: First and foremost, feel free to get creative with your response to this prompt. While you are producing a supplemental essay and thus a professional piece of writing, the prompt invites you to share more personal qualities, and you should aim to demonstrate your unique characteristics in your own voice. Consider things such as: How would your friends describe you? What funny stories do your parents and siblings share that encapsulate your personality? Or, consider what someone might want to know about living with you: do you snore? Do you have a collection of vintage posters? Are you particularly fastidious? While these may seem like trivial things to mention, the true creativity is in how you connect these qualities to deeper truths about yourself—perhaps your sleepwalking is consistent with your reputation for being the first to raise your hand in class or speak up about a cause you’re passionate about. Perhaps your living conditions are a metaphor for how your brain works—though it looks like a mess to everyone else, you have a place for everything and know exactly where to find it. Whatever qualities you choose, embrace the opportunity to think outside of the box and showcase something that admissions officers won’t learn about anywhere else on your application.

University of Pennsylvania

Prompt: Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge.

What Makes it Unique: Breaking from the traditional essay format, this supplement invites you to write directly to a third party in the form of a 150-200 word long letter. The challenge in answering this distinct prompt is to remember that your letter should say as much about you, your unique qualities and what you value as it does about the recipient—all while not seeming overly boastful or contrived.

How to Answer it: As you select a recipient, consider the relationships that have been most formative in your high school experience—writing to someone who has played a large part in your story will allow the admissions committee some insight into your development and the meaningful relationships that guided you on your journey. Once you’ve identified the person, craft a thank-you note that is specific and heartfelt—unlike other essays, this prompt invites you to be sentimental and emotional, as long as doing so would authentically convey your feelings of gratitude. Describe the impact they’ve had on you, what you’ve learned from them, and how their influence has shaped your path. For example, if you’re thanking a teacher, don’t just say they helped you become a better student—explain how their encouragement gave you the confidence to pursue your passions. Keep the tone sincere and personal, avoid clichés and focus on the unique role this person has played in your life.

University of Notre Dame

Prompt: What compliment are you most proud of receiving, and why does it mean so much to you?

What Makes it Unique: This prompt is unique in that it invites students to share something about themselves by reflecting on someone else’s words in 50-100 words.

How to Answer it: The key to answering this prompt is to avoid focusing too much on the complement itself and instead focus on your response to receiving it and why it was so important to you. Note that this prompt is not an opportunity to brag about your achievements, but instead to showcase what truly matters to you. Select a compliment that truly speaks to who you are and what you value. It could be related to your character, work ethic, kindness, creativity, or any other quality that you hold in high regard. The compliment doesn’t have to be grand or come from someone with authority—it could be something small but significant that left a lasting impression on you, or it could have particular meaning for you because it came from someone you didn’t expect it to come from. Be brief in setting the stage and explaining the context of the compliment—what is most important is your reflection on its significance and how it shaped your understanding of yourself.

Stanford University

Prompt: List five things that are important to you.

What Makes it Unique: This prompt’s simplicity is what makes it so challenging. Stanford asks for a list, not an essay, which means you have very limited space (50 words) to convey something meaningful about yourself. Additionally, the prompt does not specify what these “things” must be—they could be a physical item, an idea, a concept, or even a pastime. Whatever you choose, these five items should add depth to your identity, values, and priorities.

How to Answer it: Start by brainstorming what matters most to you—these could be values, activities, people, places, or even abstract concepts. The key is to choose items or concepts that, when considered together, provide a comprehensive snapshot of who you are. For example, you might select something tangible and specific such as “an antique telescope gifted by my grandfather” alongside something conceptual such as “the willingness to admit when you’re wrong.” The beauty of this prompt is that it doesn’t require complex sentences or elaborate explanations—just a clear and honest reflection of what you hold dear. Be thoughtful in your selections, and use this prompt to showcase your creativity and core values.

While the supplemental essays should convey something meaningful about you, your values, and your unique qualifications for the university to which you are applying, the best essays are those that are playful, original, and unexpected. By starting early and taking the time to draft and revise their ideas, students can showcase their authentic personalities and distinguish themselves from other applicants through their supplemental essays.

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Camp 4 Academic Program

Camp 4 coursework will help you think rigorously, write clearly, and master complex material, studying everything from atomic physics to the Harlem Renaissance.

Courses for Rising High School Juniors

American history: the power of print.

Learning and writing history are acts of social justice. This course explores the use of print to construct and seize political and social power in North America from the era of colonization through the 1900s. Our primary focus will examine the use of print media by Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Indigenous and common white historical actors to contest authority, advance access rights, reassert dignity and establish autonomy. Using primary sources and contemporary graphic novels, students will consider the production, use and consumption of history as tools of empowerment.   

African American Literature: A Fight for Liberation

This class focuses on two required texts, plus shorter reading selections. Overlapping themes from the play and autobiography include, family, the American dream, identity, gender roles, class, racism and racial unrest, and survival. The two essential questions that the class will grapple with are: What do people value the most in the pursuit of the American dream? How has American history affected the ways people of color are treated today? Students are expected to be familiar with current events, so that they can draw parallels from the time period covered in both genres to modern day.

The course is writing intensive, and students will gain proficiency in collegiate-level writing in the areas of expository, argumentative and persuasive essays. Students will have the opportunity to write shorter, analytical and reflective pieces through journaling during the course, and they will present their learning using a variety of rhetorical strategies.

Natural Disasters and Inequality

This course will examine natural disasters in the United States and the uneven responses by the government and relief organizations, which indicate that disasters disproportionately affect residents based on race and class.

Topics include: How do communities respond to a disaster? Does a disaster equally affect everyone? Do race, ethnicity, class and gender, make people more vulnerable to impacts of disasters? How do organizations respond to disasters? Why do they fail? How does a disaster become a political event? How do people perceive and respond to potential risks of disasters? Do disasters "bring out the best" in humans?

Topics will be explored through readings (books, news articles and journal articles), photographs and films. Assignments include in-class written responses, short essays (300 words) and one longer essay. 

'Reel' History: The Vietnam War

Not just an "eat popcorn and watch movie" class! Our goal is to learn American history through watching movies. We will watch three films during the session, each film is directly related to some aspect of the Vietnam War.

The class work will be divided into three different areas. The first will be the introduction, where we will study the historical background of the film. This can include the time the film portrays as well as the time the film was made. The second area will be the actual watching of the movie with discussion throughout. The third will be the post-viewing work, which may include film analysis, discussion questions, debates, film reviews and a short essay.

This is a writing intensive class. Each student will be responsible for daily journal entries and weekly writing assignments. Students are also responsible for an essay/book project that involves reading a biography, autobiography or historical account of someone from one of the movies or time periods and writing a 3-5 page paper.

Twice a week in the evenings, Camp 4 scholars will take studio art classes. In the past, these sessions have created sculptures in metal and stone, large public art installations, and pottery. Our instructors aim to incorporate what you are learning in your academic classes to experience an interdisciplinary approach to creativity.

Courses for Rising High School Seniors

Contemporary african american history.

This is an introductory lecture and discussion course in the history of Blacks in the United States in the modern era. Topics will include the tragedies and triumphs of Reconstruction, interracial violence, black political and institutional responses to racism and violence, and the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.

Students will be presented with a variety of primary and secondary sources materials; timely and careful reading of these sources will prepare students for class discussions. Students will be confronted with conflicting bodies of evidence and challenged to analyze these issues and arrive at conclusions for themselves. Memoirs and films will supplement classroom lectures and discussions. 

Foundations of Neuroscience: Behavioral Neuropharmacology

The focus of this course will be the effects of drugs of abuse on brain function and behavior. Several drugs will be discussed including marijuana, opiates, alcohol and caffeine. Specifically, you will learn about the drugs’ site of action, mechanism of action, effects on brain chemistry and effects on behavior.

Through these discussions, you will come to learn about the normal function and structure of the brain and the long-term effects of drug abuse on this important organ. In addition, the course will include a short laboratory experiment demonstrating some of the principles discussed in the lecture. In short, this course will provide you with a basic understanding of addiction, drugs of abuse and the effects of the drugs on the brain. 

Introduction to Physics

This course will introduce the theory behind concepts covered in the first year of the Kenyon physics curriculum and will include experiments in those areas using the department facilities and equipment. Topics include kinematics, dynamics, impulse and momentum, work and energy, electricity, circuits, atomic physics and nuclear physics.

The course will use a combination of topics discussions, performance of labs, in-class exercises, reading assignments and quizzes. Seven full (3-hour) labs will be performed along with supporting activities. Students will continue to develop skills in computer-assisted graphical and statistical analysis of data. The final exam will be an in-lab exam performed in a similar manner to those taken in regular academic year introductory lab courses. Knowledge of calculus is not required, but algebra will be used throughout the course.

Philosophy: Introduction to Logic

In this introductory course, each unit explores a different form of reasoning, a different "logic." We will study (fallacious) informal reasoning, Aristotle’s categorical reasoning, a bit of modern propositional logic, pictorial reasoning, the probability calculus, statistical reasoning, scientific reasoning and analogical reasoning in case law. 

We will rely upon the concept of validity to distinguish good arguments from bad arguments, and we will pay special attention to the role that semantics seem to play in this seemingly syntactical measure. We will wonder whether it is possible, in the end, to distinguish syntax (form) from semantics (content). And we will consider whether our aim should be to identify one best logic or to accept the possibility that there are many appropriate ways to reason. 

Religion and its Diverse Expressions

This course introduces students to the academic study of religion through readings and discussions of a variety of religious traditions. We will survey an array of traditions from ancient to modern times. While the major traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism) will occupy most of our time, we will introduce the religious thinking and practices of early humans as well as various religious innovations in the modern world. Our focus will fall on understanding the essential teachings of these traditions and on how these teachings influence adherents’ understanding of themselves and how they should live in the world. 

Sleep and Stress: The Neuroscience of College Life

This course will examine the brain physiology of stress and sleep, the impact of these systems on everyday human behaviors and functions, and the impact of everyday human behaviors on sleep and stress. Sleep and stress interactions with physiological systems relevant to physical and mental health will be studied.

This course is designed for first-year students; some emphasis will be placed on discussing the neuroscience of current research on stress management, sleep interventions, study techniques and other issues affecting and affected by college life. Student projects will include reflective engagement on the course topics and the development of techniques to apply what is learned.