<p>Tell your daughter she’s terrific and should enjoy her next venture without worrying about this thread. You’re terrific too.</p>
<p>So I am currently a freshmen at Hendrix and I really have to tell you that I could not have chosen a better school - for myself. I am pursuing a double-major in Political Science and English and hope to attend graduate school or law school. And that has always been my plan- so to assume to the school is for people who don’t have a clue what to do with life, is incredibly ignorant. I really just want a deep and broad education, as do almost all of my classmates. I want more than to pigeon-hole myself into a career. In my first semester, I have made the dean’s list, joined the literary magazine staff, and competed for and earned an internship with a local politician. As well as making new friends and I found myself in some pretty interesting and new situations.
I love Hendrix, but like a lot of you I was really confused when I researched the school and found the acceptance ratings on college board. I looked at a lot of different schools and ultimately settled on Hendrix out of stress and because of the great scholarship I received. I reasoned that since it was the one school I couldn’t really find too much fault with (during a short afternoon visit the students were all welcoming, friendly, and inclusive, and the faculty took interest in my goals) and because it was relatively inexpensive compared to the other schools I’d been accepted to, I could attend for a trial year and then transfer back home or to one of the other schools which had made my short list. I honestly couldn’t even think of transferring now. I love it!<br>
I come from a highly competitive, public, residential math and science school, and when applying to schools, I really stressed out. From my graduating class of 56, two now attend Yale, one attends Harvard, two are at the Naval Academy, and the rest are all attending well-reputed state and private schools across the country. Several of my other classmates also looked at Hendrix, despite the fact that the school is over 500 miles from our state. So to say that Hendrix does not attract good students would be ridiculous. During just my first semester here, I have met people who have come from equally rigorous and competitive schools as myself, and who are thriving in the academically challenging community of Hendrix. And the burden of academic doesn’t fall solely on the faculty. I can tell you of several parties I’ve been to where people suddenly decided to debate religion, politics, literature - and sounded interesting and incredibly informed doing it.<br>
Also, the community at Hendrix welcomes, includes, and challenges everybody. The small student body guarantees that everybody knows everybody, but in a good way. The upperclassmen look out for the freshmen, sharing notes, forming study groups, walking people back to friends or dorms on the weekends. The student body is largely self-governing. A big party in one of the dorms resulted in the residents cleaning the hall before the cleaning crew arrived on Monday to the mess. The cafeteria staff know most students’ names and sing happy birthday to everybody. My advisor also taught my freshmen seminar course, and oftentimes will approach me if he has heard I’ve had a tough day.<br>
I went into my freshmen year skeptical of Hendrix, and the “too good to be true” attitude definitely followed me through the first couple weeks. But after a semester at Hendrix, I really couldn’t be happier with my choice. I’ve been challenged, I’ve matured, I’ve made great friends, and I’m happy with my professors and the people around me.</p>
<p>literaryfly - Confirmation of what we discovered on our visit and a great testament to a unique college. Thanks for sharing.</p>
<p>Literaryfly
What schools were on your short list? Thank you for your post. I am beginning to get more of an understanding of the culture of Hendrix. It sounds like a terrific place to live and learn.</p>
<p>Could I jump in and ask a couple of questions? First is, judging from the other replies, it looks like many students are from out-of-state. Are the scholarships awarded for OOS students too? Other question is specifically relating to men’s soccer; is anyone familiar with that program to offer any experiences? My son is 17, a junior, and plays both varsity football and varsity soccer, as well as club soccer. I know that one of these sports will be in his future at college – in addition to figuring out which school to go to, we’re also trying to figure out which sport! Thanks. It sounds (and looks) like a wonderful place.</p>
<p>Scholarships are definitely awarded to OOS students (I am an OOS high school senior, and have received scholarships). However, it is worth noting that their largest scholarship, the Hays Scholarship (a full ride, IIRC), is awarded based on an on-campus competition.
I’m seriously considering Hendrix- it’s probably my top choice right now. I can’t wait to visit campus and see how Hendrix looks- though as far as “looks” go, I’ve done the virtual tour, and the buildings look nice!</p>
<p>cgpm59 - Our son is OOS and was offered 2 merit-based scholarships. Hopefully someone else can help with the soccer.</p>
<p>We recently visited Hendrix for the second time. Again, we were amazed by the open, friendly nature of the students that we met. Kids came up to my son and introduced themselves. When we toured the dorms, everyone spoke to us and told us about their experiences. Our tour guide chose Hendrix over Vassar and Grinnell. It is just an amazing place and I would be thrilled if my son ends up at this school. Their new dining hall is great (and I just love the mac and cheese!!!).</p>
<p>My son graduated last May from Hendrix with a degree in English and History. He lived in Hardin, Couch, Front Street apartments, and the new apartments. I’d be glad to answer any specific questions. He was out of state.</p>
<p>preironic-
What was your son looking for in a college when he was searching four years ago? What were his top schools before choosing Hendrix and why do you think Hendrix won over the other schools?</p>
<p>Short list schools?
Tulane, UVA, UNC, and Vassar
Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Mediaman,</p>
<p>He was looking for an out-of-state school, small liberal arts, small classes w/ lots of discussion, little or no frat/sorority presence, liberal. He was accepted to all of the schools he applied to, with scholarship/grant offers. I’ll try to remember which - Earlham, Macalester, Oberlin, Grinnell, Goucher, Austin College, Cornell College, Carleton. He cast a wide net because a good scholarship was the only thing that was going to keep him out of a state university. Hendrix was always his first choice but Grinnell was pretty even. He chose Hendrix because it ticked all the boxes, they were so great with every contact we had with them, the campus was so pretty, and they made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. </p>
<p>And he graduated in 4 years as promised!</p>
<p>We just got back from the scholars weekend with our son. What a neat school Hendrix is! Our older child is at Grinnell and personally, I think our son will have similar great opportunities. The campus is just as beautiful, the students have the same “non-cliquish” attitude and exhibit just the tight amount of “quirkiness”. Our son was also offered more scholarship money at Hendrix than my daughter has at Grinnell (she has the max they offer and it was much more than Oberlin and some of the other LACs offered her), so the price at Hendrix is very favorable. </p>
<p>I don’t know if this info is useful. I just wanted to put in a plug for Hendrix!</p>
<p>Can you be more specific about what you liked? Did your son attend any classes? What did you think of Conway? Where are you from? I like the school very much from afar and am trying to decide whether to visit. Any details and thoughts would be appreciated.</p>
<p>0987,
The school is in the south but has a “blended” feel to it. It reminded me in some ways (academic, lack of pretension, good sense of community) to some of the schools my older child was admitted to and visited in the midwest. Very comfortable but professional. With that in mind, the atmosphere is different from the east coast schools we visited. The eastern schools were similar in terms of the academic rigor and intellectual population but not a great match for either of my kids (both seem to need an environment that is more openly friendly and accepting).</p>
<p>The students at Hendrix indicated that the town/gown relations are not bad but that there is no interest in going into Conway other than for a different place to eat. Little Rock is a major City (30 minutes away) and, to us, seemed to offer plenty culturally. Some of the students do occasionally make a trip there for a change of pace. Most of student life seemed to center around campus events. The surrounding community is rural southern-small farms, swamp land, lakes/rivers, rolling hills).</p>
<p>Conway is a rural small city and there is a huge economic range in the residents. The newer housing is more expensive and larger; it reflects how the town has become more of a “bedroom community” for Little Rock in recent years. It did not feel unsafe. However, it also did not have the perceived safety of say Oberlin, Ohio, Grinnell, Iowa or Northfield, Minnesota. It is also much larger than any of these towns with more amenities.</p>
<p>My son met with two professors and enjoyed his time with them (bio and music). He sat in on a psychology class. The instruction is very much like many of the liberal arts schools-learn the text own your own outside of class, read ahead and come prepared to contribute ideas based on the readings. Preparation for the advanced degrees seems to be one of Hendrix’s strengths.</p>
<p>I would encourage a visit as what each student finds appealing is very different. The college is very helpful and accommodating so I think you would leave with a good feel for how it would be for your family member.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions.</p>
<p>I’m visiting this weekend. I’ll report back on my findings when I return.</p>
<p>D and I visted a few weeks ago and she liked Hendrix much more than she expected. She was just having a hard time with its geographic location. The campus is very nice as well as the buildings. The new SLTC is a wonderful student space. The students seemed to enjoy learning for the sake of learning and seemed very laid back and comfortable in their surroundings. She did an overnight and one of the cons seemed to be a lack of floor life and interaction among the girls on the hall. Everyone was friendly but when she asked about floor activites or planned study breaks the answer was no. She liked the fact that she could walk to town if needed and she saw a few shops downtown that looked interesting (clothes) along with some great restaurants. The admissions office was great too. The visit was very organized but they were also vey laid back and welcoming. It seemed as if the staff had all the time in the world for us to ask questions and get a real sense of the school. Two student admission interns spoke to the parent group and answered our questions (splashmom’s D?) and they were very sincere and open with their responses.</p>
<p>I haven’t committed yet, but I’m almost certainly going to Hendrix. The weather is nice, the town is good, it’s academically good, I’d fit into the student body, and I got good scholarships. The only thing that bugs me is the large amount of distribution requirements and rumors that the Education department (now solely the Secondary Ed minor, which I’d be taking) is poor.</p>