Welcoming 2021
From Kenyon News - August 22, 2017
Bread bakers, Eagle Scouts, award-winning writers and virtuosos of innumerable musical instruments are among the 460 students joining the Class of 2021. The Hill’s newest residents, including 14 transfer students, were welcomed at Convocation on August 20, armed with purple paper fans to stay cool in front of Samuel Mather Hall.
“You were wise to choose Kenyon, and the company you keep here will honor, affirm and push your talents and virtues,” Dean of Admissions Diane Anci said in her presentation of the new class.
The Class of 2021 comes to Gambier from 387 high schools in 19 home countries and 37 home states. Some students have traveled from as far away as China and India, but many students are from Kenyon’s own backyard, with 50 Ohio residents among the class. Additionally, 51 students hail from New York and 47 from California.
“While we cherish our geographic diversity, we value even more so the diversity of perspective and experience represented among new students,” Anci said, adding that 20 percent of new students are domestic students of color and 8 percent are international, making this one of the most diverse classes in Kenyon history.
In what Anci called a testament to “the impact and power of Kenyon,” nearly half the class enrolled at Kenyon through early-decision admission. Fifty students were influenced by a relative who studied on the Hill before them, and others were inspired by their experiences with the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop, Camp 4 and the Kenyon Academic Partnership.
Drawn from a pool of more than 5,600 applications, the class continues Kenyon’s tradition of academic excellence. The average high-school GPA was a 4.04, and new members completed 4.8 Advanced Placement classes and 4.2 units of science, while 63 percent took calculus and/or statistics.
“This is a place that, at its core, is all about the power of rigorous inquiry and knowledge,” President Sean Decatur said in his welcoming remarks. “You are in for an adventure that will change your life.”