My D21 spent a weekend at Rhodes (pre-Covid) and had a great visit. She is very interested in the school, but recently has expressed some concern that the student body might be too liberal for her. She is a practicing Christian, but has a very active social life (parties, etc.) and would most likely join a sorority. I think the school would be a great fit for her academically, size, urban setting, etc., and am trying to assuage her fears.
I looked through previous posts, but couldn’t get a great sense of the liberal/conservative bent on campus. Does anyone with a recent experience have any feedback? Thanks!
Interesting concern as I have never identified Rhodes College as a liberal school. My impression is that students at Rhodes are moderate with some conservative representation.
Would be interesting to read comments of current students or recent graduates.
Rhodes would not be considered a “liberal” college by any means. According to Niche, Liberals/Progressives outnumber Conservatives by a little (21% versus 16%), but the majority are either moderate (40%) or “not sure” (23%).
We know several kids at Rhodes and the other southern LAC’s. Rhodes has always been known for being fairly secular with a center-left bias, similar to Vanderbilt in that respect. It’s a work hard-play hard school, politics and church are down the totem pole a little.
Its religious affiliation is with the Presbyterian Church (USA), which is fairly progressive. The church affiliation is nominal in its intrusion into campus life, similar to Sewanee or Davidson.
There are plenty of religious and/or conservative kids at Rhodes, though, and she should find the student body welcoming and accepting. It might be the timing of her visit so close to a contentious presidential election that skewed her view.
It’s a great school with high admission rates into law, medical, and other graduate programs. Internship and research opportunities are really good as well. Rhodes really leverages its position as the top college in Memphis with the numerous hospitals and corporate headquarters there.