Kenyon College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Gambier, Ohio · Private nonprofit · Selective · CDS 2024-2025
Kenyon College is a private institution located in Gambier, Ohio with a selective admissions profile. For the most recent reporting cycle, Kenyon College admits between a quarter and half of applicants, with an overall admission rate of 31%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1440 and an ACT composite around 33. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $29,383 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Kenyon College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Kenyon College?
Admitted students at Kenyon College typically present unweighted GPAs in the 3.6–3.9 range with several honors or AP courses. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
What does Kenyon College weight in admissions?
Kenyon College reports the following factor importance in its Common Data Set (2024-2025). These are the criteria the admissions committee weighs when reviewing applications.
- • Rigor of secondary school record
- • Academic GPA
- • Application essay
- • Recommendations
- • Class rank
- • Standardized test scores
- • Interview
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Talent/ability
- • Character/personal qualities
- • State residency
- • Volunteer work
- • Work experience
- • Level of applicant's interest
- • First generation status
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Geographical residence
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
SAT and ACT scores Kenyon College typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 670–750, with an EBRW midpoint near 715. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 31–34. A score at or above this school's 75th percentile materially improves your child's odds, particularly when paired with a rigorous course load.
| 25th percentile | 1370 |
| 50th percentile | 1420 |
| 75th percentile | 1473 |
| % submitting SAT | 11% |
| 25th percentile | 31 |
| 50th percentile | 32 |
| 75th percentile | 33 |
| % submitting ACT | 10% |
- • Test-optional: Standardized test scores are not required, but may be submitted and considered.
- • Policy detail: Considered if submitted
Where admitted students ranked in their high school class
Class rank distribution gives parents a clear sense of how academically dominant a typical admitted student was within their own high school cohort — often a more meaningful signal than absolute GPA.
| Top 10% of class | 61% |
| Top 25% of class | 84% |
| Top 50% of class | 96% |
| % submitting class rank | 18.7% |
How much does Kenyon College actually cost?
Published tuition is $69,330 for in-state students and $69,330 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $14,410 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $29,383 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 10% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $71,870 |
| Room and board | $17,380 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $29,383 |
| Application fee | $0 |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Kenyon College
| Regular deadline | 1/15 |
| Notification date | 3/23 |
| Reply deadline | 5/1 |
| Offers Early Decision | Yes |
| ED deadline | 11/15 |
Will my child graduate from Kenyon College?
Retention and graduation rates are the most overlooked numbers in college planning, but they predict actual outcomes far better than acceptance rate. They tell you whether admitted students stay and finish on time.
Other colleges in Ohio parents ask about
- Ohio State University-Main Campus51% acceptance
- University of Cincinnati-Main Campus85% acceptance
- Case Western Reserve University81% acceptance
- University of Dayton95% acceptance
- Miami University-Oxford82% acceptance
- Kent State University at Kent81% acceptance
- Cleveland State University
- Oberlin College87% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Kenyon College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Kenyon College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Kenyon College
What GPA do I need for Kenyon College?
Admitted students at Kenyon College typically present unweighted GPAs in the 3.6–3.9 range with several honors or AP courses.
What SAT or ACT score does Kenyon College typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 670–750, with an EBRW midpoint near 715. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 31–34.
How much does Kenyon College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Kenyon College after grants and scholarships is $29,383 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Kenyon College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Kenyon College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Kenyon College, and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.