<p>Hi I am a current senior who has applied to Swarthmore, Oberlin, Rhodes, and Hendrix, and has been accepted into the latter two. I have visited all campuses and did not like Rhodes. I really want to like Hendrix but I have a couple of concerns. When I visited I did not get an overwhelming sense of 'smartness' from the people I interacted with, although many of them were freshman in October. Another is that the campus/community is just too small. I feel like you would feel trapped after four years there. Also are the academics challenging? How are the sciences and especially the environmental science department? I've talked to the field hockey coach and want to play but I'm also worried about being pigeon holed into the athlete label. Also does anyone have information on the orchestra or violin opportunities for non majors? And how terrible is Conway? I just dont want to make the wrong decision. On another note I will be returning to campus in march for the hays presentation, ack! Lots of responses would be absolutely lovely, I really need help!</p>
<p>Unfortunately I don’t have a ton of experience with the sciences, music, or athletic departments, but I’ll try my best to help you make your decision. ^^
I think Hendrix does have its fair share of smart kids despite the high admissions rate- a lot of bright students (myself included, I believe ;D) come here because of the generous scholarships, even though they could’ve or did get into better schools. The academics are fairly challenging here, and though I don’t have a ton of experience with the science department myself, I know that it’s well known for requiring a lot of studying. Do be aware that it’s actually the “environmental studies” department, with some humanities classes mixed into the science. It’s not a large department, and still fairly new, I believe.
The athlete thing… well, there can be a divide, but only if you make it so. I have a close friend who’s on the track/cross-country team, and he fits in just fine with the rest of my friend group, which is anything but athletic in general. (I think few in the group would object to my calling us “nerds”. xD) Just know that in general, athletics aren’t a huge focus at Hendrix.
The school is small, but not much more so than the other liberal arts schools you mentioned. One nice thing is that the University of Central Arkansas is in Conway as well, so there’s always their students to interact with if Hendrix seems too small. And Conway isn’t a bad town either, though there’s not a ton of entertainment options. (But there’s a fair amount of dining options off-campus, though they tend to close up on the early side.) Plus Little Rock’s only a half hour away, which is a pretty reasonable distance, and Memphis is an hour and a half and not an uncommon destination either.
Unfortunately I don’t know much about the music for non-majors thing.
If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. I’ll be glad to help you reach your decision. ^^</p>
<p>Hey Maryjuliae,</p>
<p>Nice choice of schools, and congratulations on being accepted to two of them already.</p>
<p>To address your concerns:
-The campus isn’t necessarily any smaller (much at least) than these other schools, although the layout definitely does make it easy to access anywhere on campus very quickly. I actually think of this as a strength. The student body is only significantly outsized by Oberlin out of your choices. Sometimes the divide between students living in apartments and on campus can be apparent and make the school feel smaller however.
-The academics are known for being more challenged than many of our peer institutions. This is especially true of the sciences. Hendrix ranks very high on the list of Top 50 Schools That Produce Science PhDs.
-The pure sciences and the psychology department are probably the strongest areas of study at Hendrix. I have heard very good things about environmental studies as several of my friends are pursuing this.
-Some of the sports teams segregate more than others. Men’s baseball is the most notorious example. In general though, there is a very high level of integration. Women’s field hockey seems to be one of the best, I never see them only hanging out with teammates, despite seeming to get along very well with each other. All of our sports teams are small, they can’t afford to not interact with the rest of us! I don’t know what is wrong with the baseball guys…
-I don’t know too much about our music programs, I do know that orchestra exists and music lessons/classes are available to non-majors. Many students take advantage of this.
-Conway is what it is. Campus is somewhat of a bubble. We go out to eat, watch movies, or volunteer. Some students have friends at UCA, which is a larger school. Little Rock is really the closest thing to any sort of downtown urban area(if you can call it that). Lots of students carpool to concerts in LR, Memphis, or even Dallas.</p>
<p>Come stay overnight (again if you already have) and get to know what it’s like here. Good luck with the Hays!</p>
<p>Thank you guys for posting in here. While I’m not really interested in the same things I’m also a senior who applied and was accepted to Hendrix and I love it! I love hearing all of the great things everyone has to say about it and I’m so excited to do an overnight in march. I know it’s not really a question or anything, but I do appreciate your time spent answering questions.</p>
<p>I’m a parent of a prospective student concerned about the tuition increase from 33,900 to 35,900 next year. I guess it’s a roll of the dice to see how much tuition goes up each year. Even with the generous scholarships from Hendrix, the tuition will be a stretch.</p>