Kenyon College
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Kenyon College - Guys & Girls - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.46

Guys & Girls

Quick Stats

Female Undergrads 53%
Male Undergrads 47%
Birth Control Available? Yes
Condoms are available for free at Health Services.
Best Places to Meet Guys & Girls
  1. Classes
  2. Clubs
Best Places to Hook Up
  1. Dorm room
  2. Old Kenyon party

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

After a little time at Kenyon, you will become very familiar with a little thing called “the Kenyon goggles.” This is a phenomenon that allows average-looking men and women to be thought of as extremely hot by the rest of the student body. There are a great many cuties, but genuine hotties run few and far between. As a result, ordinary and slightly-above-average-looking people find it extremely easy to find dates and hookups, and even the most unlikely student can find someone he or she really likes. The good news is that the looks are improving. While many still feel that Kenyon guys are better looking than Kenyon girls, each incoming class brings in its notable additions, and the general looks of things are getting better.

Once you decide exactly who you have your eye on, you may discover that someone you know has already done, dated, and/or dumped this person. It is not that the students here are overly promiscuous, but dating tends to happen within social circles. Certain guys have been known to tear through particular female groups of friends and vice versa. There is also the strong incestuous vibe that comes with being in such a close community. Everyone knows everybody else’s business, and it is hard to meet someone with a clean slate if you have any kind of history on campus. For that reason, there is not a whole lot of dating. There is a lot of hooking up and a lot of serious couples, but there are not a whole lot of people in the process of getting to know each other. If both parties go to Kenyon, chances are, they already know each other. There are two extremes in Kenyon dating: hooking up with everyone in sight or being practically married. Students tend to choose one route their freshman year and stick with that strategy throughout their four years. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of the "most eligible" bachelors/bachelorettes have chosen to refrain from dating seriously for their college career.

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Kenyon Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Guys & Girls at Kenyon College

JohannasMirror

'15

English

5.0
A+

Geeks Got Game

The typical Kenyon student knows more about any given subject than you do but is willing to explain and covertly feels the same way about you. Geeky discussions abound, but so do frat parties and games of beer pong.

Jan 11, 2012

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Guys & Girls at Kenyon College

dunap

'14

Music Theory and Composition

4.6
A

Smart People, Good Atmosphere

I'd say a very large portion if not every single person on campus is amazingly interesting in their own way. Some people know lots about literature; some speak lots of languages; some people play in every music group on campus. Everybody's got something to say. As far as looks go, fashion-wise people do what they want. As long as you're comfortable with how you look and act, nobody'll ride you about it.

Aug 14, 2011

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Guys & Girls at Kenyon College

thisiswhyimhot

'14

Biology

3.8
B+

Casual Dating Doesn't Exist

At Kenyon, you are either practically married to someone or you are constantly moving from one random hookup to another. Typical students dress up for class (no sweatpants!) and keep weekend parties casual. Many students are artsy, but there is a core group of varsity athletes who support each other. Swimmers are gorgeous AND talented!

Aug 10, 2011

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Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

I would say girls on campus are

I would say guys on campus are

What kinds of relationships have you had since coming to school?

How would you rate the social scene on campus?

Facts

Social Scene

There are two distinct breeds of parties on campus. The first is the dimly-lit, tightly-packed, multi-keg, booty-dancing, and singing-along-to-classic-rock party. These usually take place in dorm lounges or fraternity lodges, and are a great way to simply cut loose on a weekend night. However, the atmosphere is not very conducive to actual conversation, and students often become disillusioned with the whole scene as they get older. These parties are most fun if you either are really drunk or very fond of dancing. Those who don't find either criteria appealing usually stick to the apartment scene. Juniors and seniors living in college apartments will often throw smaller parties. An apartment party can run the gamut from several friends hanging out to floor-sagging ragers, but usually, they fall somewhere in the middle. There are several distinct advantages to this scene. The first is that you are actually able to talk to someone without screaming in his or her ear. It is often easier to find a drink in these situations, and they often go on much later than the registered lounge parties, which are broken up at 2 a.m. by security. Every year, Kenyon pays for two school-wide parties. The first, Philander's Phling, happens in February and is designed to help students get through the long, Ohio winter. It is a formal, thrown in Peirce Hall, and seemingly the entire campus shows up (drunk) in their Sunday best. While it can be a blast, many first-years complain that it is reminiscent of prom, where the enormous build-up of the event leads to disappointment upon arrival. Also like prom, many students miss it by getting too drunk too soon, so caution is advised in that area. The second of these parties, Summer Send-off, is thrown in May, on the last weekend before finals. The drinking starts early in the morning and continues throughout the day at many informal barbecues and open rooms. The day is capped by a concert from a fairly famous band, and the drinking continues as long as the students can keep their eyes open, an ability usually lost around midnight. For many, Summer Send-off is the highlight of the year.

Hookups or Relationships?

Kenyon's location pretty much narrows the dating options down to "meet you in the cafeteria" and "let's take a walk," so people here are usually either just hooking up or practically married. Kenyon's incestuously small enrollment leaves little room for middle ground.

Best Places to Meet Guys/Girls

At the beginning of freshman year, much of the coupling happens within halls. Dorms are the first fully-constructed social unit a freshman encounters, and as a result, many decide to conduct their romantic affairs in-house. "Dorm-cest" usually leads down one of two roads. Some people graduate with boyfriends/girlfriends they've been with all four years and some realize that the incredibly short walk-of-shame isn't worth seeing your hookup every morning when you're brushing your teeth. After that, Kenyon is so small and personable that virtually any populated campus location can serve as a singles bar. The bookstore, the library, even the servery line are all perfectly viable locations to strike up a conversation with someone you've had your eye on. Striking up a conversation with a stranger is very easy to do. Comments on the class you have together or the length of the cafeteria line can easily lead to friendships, dates, and who knows what else. If you're the less patient type, immediate gratification can most easily be found at a frat party. Kenyon people are very friendly as it is, so putting 100 or so drunk ones in a room together, combined with low-lighting and booty music, can lead to a lot of interesting situations.

Dress Code

Looking around a Kenyon cafeteria, a newcomer would see a very confusing pastiche of styles. At a given table, you could see a girl wearing a J.Crew tank top talking to a guy in a full sweatsuit who is sitting next to someone wearing a top hat and a cape. Though it may seem confusing at first, Kenyon students' dress habits can be broken up into three distinct cycles, no matter what their personal style is. The daytime mode of dress is typical collegiate casual. You will see people in classes or at lunch wearing sweatpants, T-shirts, fleeces, and the like. This usually lasts until dinnertime, when the slightly more presentable clothes are put on to match the social scene in Peirce Dining Hall or Olin Library. This is the time when students put in immense amounts of effort to look like they got dressed effortlessly. The third style of dressing—party night—finds every social group dressed in their typical fashion, but more so. Preppy guys put on button-downs, and the hipsters find their favorite thrift store T-shirts. If necessary, a student could make it through their four years here without ever donning a tie or dress. There is the occasional semi-formal, usually thrown by the frats, but if you arrive late enough, no one cares what you wear. In general, the Kenyon rule seems to be "look decent." You don't walk around the bookstore at night in mesh shorts and a muscle shirt (though it happens), but if you put in a slight effort, no one is going to call you a slob.

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Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Kenyon

Name: Alexandra Patterson

Hometown: Bowling Green, KY

Major: English

Grad Year: 2012

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