<p>krakenjack, I would bet all of them would have different ways to state why they did what they did. For my kid is was all about opportunities. Some provided by Rhodes itself , some by the Rhodes student body, and some by Memphis. As I said, she turned down some excellent schools (Hamilton, Case, Scripps, Centre ) when the $ left to pay after scholarships was equivalent. Rhodes whipped them straight up in my D’s mind.</p>
<p>Surprising as it may seem, the square footage you mention is considered large by college dorm room standards.</p>
<p>why are the airline fares ridiculously high for Memphis…??? Freakin’ $800 from Chicago to Memphis…!!! Whereas Chicago to Orlando is just $200… :(</p>
<p>I mean isn’t $800 too much considering the fact that it costs only $1,000 for an air ticket from Pakistan to USA…Any advice for someone who’s coming to Memphis from Pakistan via Chicago…???</p>
<p>Welcome to Memphis, Jack! :eek:</p>
<p>You’re getting a reality check on air travel to Memphis. I’ve mentioned this as perhaps one of the major pitfalls to a Rhodes education. Logistics. Trains, planes and automobiles …all run to and thru Memphis, but not cheaply.</p>
<p>The answer to your question of cost is quite simple and 3 fold.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Memphis is neither close to nor on the way to anyplace other than the dog track in West Memphis, Arkansas or Muskogee, Oklahoma. As Memphians are wont to say, “we’re kinda down in a hole.” </p></li>
<li><p>Beyond FedExers (who fly their own planes), international paper-hangars, and Elvis look-alikes, it simply is not a destination city. The ducks may waddle “where the delta begins,” but they don’t need Delta. </p></li>
<li><p>Nor do enough others, and thus the market for air travel’s rather miniscule. And it’s dawned on Delta and the other Mid South carriers, if you’re booking there, you’ll pay what they charge. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>And now you know in a nutshell the primary reason for Rhodes’ generally fabulous financial aid. Despite its many very real and worthy attractions, students living beyond the immediate metro market might end up paying a significant premium to play there. </p>
<p>Figure it out at 2-5 trips/annum. As the saying goes, no free lunch. I’ve mentioned this in several earlier posts. And now YOU know the rest of the story.</p>
<p>… 
:(</p>
<p>Krackenjack,</p>
<p>I disagree with Whistle Pigs depiction of the difficulty of travel to Rhodes. While Memphis International Airport may not compare with LAX, Newark or O’Hare, I’ve had no problem flying my son in and out three times this past school year at reasonable cost. We live 1,000 miles away and the fares paid ranged from $244 to $343 r/t. The $343 being for a non-stop at Thanksgiving. You just have to plan ahead. Check out a great website yapta.com - a fabulous tool for getting the best fare.</p>
<p>You cite a cost of $800 from Chicago to Memphis. Is this a one-way fare? If so, that’s the reason for the high cost. I did a quick Travelocity search for the latter part of August and found non-stops for $218 r/t on American, United and Northwest. There are tons more options if you want to stop. And the one-way fare was $422 which is still half of your $800. If I were you, I would buy the round-trip ticket for $218 and just use it for the one-way from Chicago to Memphis.</p>
<p>Another really cheap alternative is Amtrak. The one-way fare is $77 with a student discount but it will take 10.5 hours! Might be fun to do at least once.</p>
<p>By the way, I’m pretty sure, taxi fare from either the airport or train station won’t be more than $35. And don’t worry, once you’re at Rhodes you’ll have no trouble finding someone with a car to drive you to the airport or train station (which is downtown) when you need a ride. My son did lots of that this year since he has a car on campus. Rhodes kids are friendly!!</p>
<p>Well, problem solved, I hope! Now, is Whistle Pig going to call me a cheerleader again?</p>
<p>Parent100,</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your input…You really did cheer me up 
:D</p>
<p>To be precise the airfare is $834 ( AA-Economy class-20th august-one way) and btw, the round trip idea sounds great…I’ll definitely try that but I’m not too sure about AMTRAK…10 hours is a bit too much… :p</p>
<p>San Francisco to Memphis round trip $270. United Airlines.</p>
<p>Chicago to Memphis $240
Dallas to Memphis $145
LAX to Memphis $270
JFK to Memphis $219</p>
<p>very cheap fares… doesn’t seem like a hole to me. Most fares out of Dallas are in the 300s.</p>
<p>My kid usually drives to Little Rock and flies Southwest for well under $200, but this last time I managed to find a fare from Memphis to DFW for $235.</p>
<p>Does anyone know which dorm is gonna be all-male this year…??</p>
<p>How would you guys rate Memphis when it comes to racism, especially against South Asians…?? (NO offense to anyone) :)</p>
<p>^^ Guys…a little help :)</p>
<p>I’d say the perception is perhaps more negative than the reality, especially in the Rhodes community, which is quite enlightened relative to the community in which it’s located. Memphis, perhaps more so than many metro areas, includes an enormous portion of poor, under-educated people, including blacks who’ve been there for generations and transplanted rural whites who wrongly see Memphis as their economic, world-of-work savior, all of whom may have threatening misconceptions about anyones different from themselves …and especially those who “look” different. Memphis is a literal and figurative distance from Nashville or Atlanta or Charlotte or even St. Louis, behind on the “sophistication” curve, I’d say. And remember, it’s only a mile from both/and Mississippi, Arkansas, neither of which is as deep and dark as many ignorant yanks might perceive, and both of which have merited remnants of that ill-informed vision. It’s a fascinating, colorful culture once you get beyond the gates of the Rhodes oasis. Still, it will have the unfortunate, eternal, inescapable hangover of being the place MLK was murdered.</p>
<p>Once again, Thank you so much Whistle Pig… Personally I don’t think its a big issue anymore… I know the Rhodes Community is very welcoming and I’m sure Memphis won’t let me down :D</p>
<p>Generally, I’d agree, especially when students are careful and travel in safe numbers. Still, you’ll not want to go cruising south Memphis on a hot July afternoon, nor leave your vehicle on the street much.</p>
<p>Whistlepig</p>
<p>I find your remarks about Memphis offensive. The tone is unmistakebly elitist. So, would you mind letting us all know what experience qualifies you to make remarks such as: the Rhodes community quite enlightened relative to the community in which it is located and
transplanted rural whites who wrongly see Memphis as their economic, world-of-work savior and Memphis is
behind on the “sophistication” curve.
Take your time.</p>
<p>Husband lived in Bartlett during Katrina year, but we visited him during breaks and very often went into the city of Memphis.</p>
<p>Our first visit was Elvis’s birthday weekend, and my first stop was Graceland. It was snowing! For you youngsters, Elvis’s birthday is in early January. Hey, I’m not that much of a fan that I know his exact birthdate, but it was a beautiful light snow, and we were able to get by with windbreakers. Now, we’re from New Orleans, and not accustomed to the cold, and it was bearable for us. </p>
<p>As for safety in Memphis, we would go to AutoZone Park for the baseball game, then walk down to Beale Street, walk down to the Gibson Guitar Factory, then to the River. We were never accosted by beggars, and never felt unsafe.</p>
<p>Seriously, we were hoping husband would get transferred there. We loved it so much. It had the beauty of the Mississippi, the friendliness of the south, and the food was to die for. As New Orleanians, we are very hard to impress with food from other cities. The barbecue is to die for.</p>
<p>When we’d tell locals we wanted to settle there, they’d say, Why, there’s so much crime here? When asked what they meant, they’d say, gee, there were five murders last year. Well, we get that in one day in New Orleans. </p>
<p>As for Rhodes, we often drove by it, and never saw any “bad characters” around the campus. The school has a wonderful reputation here, and if it weren’t for TOPS here in Louisiana, I suspect a lot more kids would go there from here. Memphis has lots of hospitals, and I think anyone wanting to go into a health care field would do well there. </p>
<p>For you shoppers, Bartlett had a mall, the Wolf River Mall, that was really nice, with good anchor stores, food court, theater, carousel. We played puttputt every day during Mardi Gras. And there is also a good size Catholic community there as well. Surprisingly, there was a Catholic high school in Cordova, near Bartlett, and a very nice church in Bartlett. We were surprised at this, as it is more near the Bible Belt, which is more Baptist, and a Catholic church is hard to find. I only mention this because Trinity was your other choice, so if you’re Catholic, just assuring you that you won’t be left out in Memphis.</p>
<p>Montegut…My question was about racism… :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I thought your D got a <em>full ride</em> to Rhodes, but not to the other schools, though she did receive significant merit aid?</p>