<p>As many of the people on CC know, I got rejected from 5 of my top schools, WL at my #1 Kenyon and Tulane, and accepted at American and SCU with no money. That leaves me with Rutgers U, my state school. I was a LAC. I am not happy with going to Rutgers, knowing its size etc. I looked in Nacac.com and Hendrix College has openings. I am applying right now. I was wondering what anyone knew about the school. Any alumnis? Anyone attending next year? Any info on its strong points, area, fin. aid, social life, student body, etc? Kenyon said they met their quota and unless someone leaves, they will not be accepting off the WL. Is Hendrix anything like Kenyon? Is it a "prestigious" college considering I don't really hear much about it in NJ. Please help me if you can give me any information! I think it may be a fit for me. I like languages, want to study abroad, very liberal, like to party etc. What do you think?</p>
<p>anyone there to help me on this? I really am worried I won't fit in because of the social life etc. Let me know if you are familiar with the school, its academics, food, etc.!</p>
<p>From everything I have heard, Hendrix is a wonderful school. Like Kalamazoo, I get the sense that Hendrix is one of those places that does a wonderful job of educating their students and placing those students into graduate programs, but is relatively unknown outside academic circles. </p>
<p>Like Kenyon, I get the sense that there is a strong emphasis on writing. I don't know the strength of their languages (Carolyn probably knows that off the top of her head). The student body will likely be more liberal than what you would have at Kenyon and less preppy. You will probably encounter fewer east coast kids at Hendrix than you would at Kenyon and more kids from the south and west coast.</p>
<p>Though I recognize that I would be in the minority on this board, at this point of time I would personally prefer Hendrix to Kenyon. I like the fact that Hendrix seems to attract a more diverse student body, seems less pretentious to me, while still offering an excellent liberal arts education. </p>
<p>I suggest that you check out Loren Pope's brief write-up on the CTCL website, if you have not already done so. The link is:</p>
<p>I suggest that you take a look at his book as well to read his rather in-depth description of Hendrix. It will give you a far better flavor of Hendrix than what anyone can offer you through a post.</p>
<p>Good luck, Valuable. I feel confident that you will make a positive contribution to what ever college community you choose to join.</p>
<p>Valuable - Knox College is still taking apps, and may be a better fit for you than Hendrix. I'd take a good look at both schools.</p>
<p>Hendrix is a terrific school. Knox is also. But they are quite different. However, maybe you could throw in applications to both. You also might want to give Fordham a shot if you want to stay closer to home. They also still have open seats for the fall.</p>
<p>First, Knox - it is located in a small midwestern town that is many miles from a city of any size (closest is the Quad city area or Peoria, both about 45 minutes to an hour away). The town is not bad, but not much happening there. The campus is nice, flat, open. Railroad tracks run along the edge so there is a constant noice from trains. They say you get used to it though. Majority of students are from illinois, and then other midwestern states. The student body is pretty middle of the road, there are frats/sororities. Buildings are older and, when we visited, seemed a bit frayed around the edges (but winter was just getting over). Dorms are suite style but my daughter thought they were very 1960s style. It's also in Loren Pope's book.</p>
<p>Hendrix is smaller than Knox. Located in a small town in Arkansas where there isn't much happening. Little Rock, a decent sized city, is about 30 minutes away, depending on road construction and traffic. Student body is 70% from Arkansas, large proportion fof the rest from Texas and Oklahoma.No frats, no sororities. Students tend to be liberal and on the quirky side - you'll see a few more piercings and hair dyed unusual colors at hendrix than you will at Knox. One parent who visited described the Hendrix student body by saying "It looked like every off beat character in Texas and Arkansas had migrated there, with a share of preppy and normal kids mixed in." Same parent said the campus was very pretty, with lots of trees and, of course, the pecan court. It has been called the Grinnell of the south and has a very good academic reputation in the south.</p>
<p>Both Knox and Hendrix have excellent study abroad options. Hendrix even has its own campus in England. However, Knox may have a stronger language program, at least based on what I can tell from the size of their language faculty.</p>
<p>Academically, they are probably on par with each other, but both have their special strengths. For creative writing, history, sciences, Knox is a great choice. For pre-law, political science, and economics, Hendrix is a great choice. However, that doesn't mean that other subjects are weak at either school, just those seem to be their particular strengths. Hendrix's accepted student stats are just slightly higher than Knox, however. Both are good with merit money and financial aid, although your chances of getting much of either at this point in the year are probably slim, not just at these schools, but at many schools. Really, both schools are "hidden gems" in that they are not overly selective yet offer a quality education.</p>
<p>I would say you that should you get into either school, you should definitely visit. Both are going to have very different atmospheres, and it would be important to know which felt right for you, especially since both are likely to be very different from New Jersey. As I said, perhaps you could apply to both and then visit over the summer to see if either was right for you. I will say that I think both schools have a very different feel than Kenyon. Kenyon tends to attract more kids from the northeast. Knox and Hendrix both tend to attract mainly from their regions, although both will have students from many states.</p>
<p>I'd also suggest you go to livejournal.com and do an "interest search" for Hendrix College and Knox College. I believe both schools have livejournal communities so you can read through and get a bit of a sense of what the communities are like.</p>
<p>Another school that I think would be an excellent fit for what you want (and also has some open seats) is Goucher College in Maryland. Very strong writing, English and language programs plus the chance to cross-register at schools like Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Towson. Beautiful woodsy campus with a bit of the same feel of Kenyon in terms of the buildings that look like they've been transported from England. Nice location just outside of Baltimore with lots to do nearby plus a free shuttle to the 6 or 7 other college campuses and various other points in Baltimore. Close to home. Good with financial aid and merit money. Student body hails mainly from the northeast, but leans towards quirky instead of preppy. Excellent reputation, growing in size (will hit 1500 students in the next year or two) Really great school that would be particularly interested if you're male.</p>
<p>Some other LAC schools that still have seats for next year include: Willamette in Oregon, Clark in Mass., St. Lawrence U in NY, and Goucher in Maryland. All are also good solid choices. </p>
<p>Of course, your other option is to try Rutgers for a year and then attempt to transfer.</p>
<p>Wanted to add: Goucher is also one of the schools in Loren Pope's colleges that change lives book. It also has a very active livejournal community where the students seem particularly willing to answer questions from prospective students. I think you might find it to be the closest to Kenyon of the three schools I have discussed. And sorry for saying you were male - if my weak brain cells don't fail me, I believe you are female. Anyhow, I would say Goucher would probably be a good fit for you. However, as with all of the schools on the NACAC list, financial aid is likely to be somewhat limited and merit scholarships have likely already been awarded for this year. </p>
<p>I just looked up your stats, and Goucher would be a good bet for you, even at this late date. If you had applied RD you would have probably received some merit money from them so looks good for maybe getting a bit next year (sophomore year).</p>
<p>Good luck valuable. Please post on the parents board - maybe some people there will have some other ideas for you.</p>
<p>Thank you for the input, I will post on the Parent Forum. I also talked to some Hendrix kids on Myspace, a lot like livejournal, and they all seem to say they love it, have annual, parties, go to shows in Little Rock, party at UArkansas, etc. I am excited to see how this turns out</p>
<p>Valuable, Yes, the feeling I get from secondary sources is that hendrix is a fun, tight knit school. In fact, my own daughter has it on her list for next year. I will keep my fingers crossed for you --- please if you remember, can you let me know if you do go there?</p>
<p>Valuable --</p>
<p>It seems to me that if Kenyon appealed to you and was your first choice, then the closest in terms of feel on the NACAC list is probably St. Lawrence. The school has an excellent reputation, is strong in English, and offers a variety of study abroad options. Furthermore, they (like Hendrix and Knox) are known to be generous with their financial aid. St. Lawrence has a preppy reputation, but that may be somewhat outdated at this point in time. As Carolyn mentioned, St. Lawrence is worth checking out and probably the most like Kenyon in terms of student body composition.</p>
<p>Also check out Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. It still has a small number of openings. Southwestern is an excellent small LAC similar to Hendrix that historically has been very generous with merit aid (due to a large endowment). It is on a handsome campus about 20 miles north of Austin (an easy drive down the interstate). If you are considering Hendrix, definitely also give a look to Southwestern while their door is still open.</p>
<p>Great suggestion Lonestar.</p>
<p>Just Got Accepted Woohoo!!!</p>
<p>Wow, that was fast!</p>
<p>Congrats!!!</p>
<p>Valuable1212 - Mucho Congrats!! There is a lot to be said for going to a college/university that wants you, and Hendrix obviously thinks you're cool.</p>