<p>Basically what the title says. I have the "stats" to go to much higher ranked schools, but since it is close to home and offering me money, I am very intrigued by Hendrix. It seems like the school has a very motivated student body, as evidence by all the students who go to grad and professional school.</p>
<p>I want to know: Did the school prepare them extremely well for that? Did it foster a love for learning (cheesy, I know)? Will a very top notch student be challenged and pushed there, especially if he actively seeks that challenge?</p>
<p>I'd like to hear students and parents' thoughts. Also, any comments on the strength of the English and History programs? It worries me that the school has a bit of reputation for being more science oriented.</p>
<p>Hmm… anyone? Sorry if the first post sounded a bit pretentious, but I really just want to know a little more what current students and parents think of the school’s academics. Does anyone want to bite?</p>
<p>I think it is a wonderful school. My D wanted a school where she would be challenged and where students were actively engaged in their learning. She looked at many schools and decided on Hendrix. She is a freshman and has only been in class a few weeks but she has not been disappointed. I’ll try to let you know more later in the semseter.</p>
<p>Dear friend went there, loved it, met her husband there. Both highly successful in academia now, still rave about the school. One was able to do research with and co-author a paper with a prof. Both now in their late 20’s.</p>
<p>williefresh
I don’t think she could narrow it down to one deciding factor. Key factors she mentioned inlcuded: felt welcome on campus, could sense the strong academic focus of the students, great financial aid, it seemed that Hendrix really wanted her to attend and took a personal interest in her, also liked the campus and sense of community. I suggest that you schedule an overnight visit and attend classes to experiecne Hendrix first-hand.</p>
<p>Yeah, I actually am trying to schedule an overnighter some time in the next few weeks. I’m extremely excited about it; I want to pick up a vibe on the students. Does anyone have an opnion on the student body in general? I hear liberal and driven a lot, both of which I like. Any other thoughts?</p>
<p>There’s a lot of variety in the student body, more than I expected at such a small school. There are people who go get insanely drunk every Wednesday night at Martin Hall, and there are people who run around hitting each other with foam-and-duct-tape swords. It seems like there’s a niche for everybody.
As far as the academics, I’m a similar high-achieving student who chose Hendrix largely for scholarships and was skeptical about the classes. Now that I’m here, I can tell you I haven’t been disappointed. The classes are at least AP-level, and are challenging without being impossible. I’m taking a 200-level English class right now, and it seems reminiscent of my AP English Lit class in terms of reading level, reading amount, depth of analysis etc., though a major difference is the longer papers required by the class every so often. The only class I’ve been disappointed academically by is Explorations, and that’s not really a full class anyway and should be over with by your second semester. The teachers are all wonderful, minus one or two bad apples who I won’t name but other students will when the time comes.
By the way, just because you’re smart enough to get into a higher-ranked school, don’t expect everybody else to be academically inferior to you. Certainly not everybody here is brilliant, but quite a few students are, and chose to go to Hendrix for scholarships and such. Frankly, I’m surprised we don’t have better rankings- I feel like Hendrix is more than the 80th best liberal arts school in the country (or whatever the current U.S. News ranking says).
I’m a freshman at Hendrix, by the way. Feel free to ask me more questions. By tomorrow at this time I’ll be able to tell you about my first real college test (in Latin I).</p>
<p>Haha, I totally know who you are now, AnagramPanda.</p>
<p>Sophomore here…much more cynical than a freshman (because of silly bureaucracy you’ll find at every college), but I’ll try to be helpful.</p>
<p>Haven’t heard any negatives on the English department, and the History department seems pretty legit. Everyone here wants to be a doctor or a psychologist, but there’s still good professors and cool students outside of those areas.</p>
<p>Explorations is a joke. A very bad joke. It’s only an hour a week first semester of freshman year though, so you can live with it.</p>
<p>Don’t get so hung up on selectivity or rankings. Just go with your gut instincts. It’s hard to go wrong.</p>
<p>Hendrix is very liberal, not very religious but religious people do well here anyway. Mostly we’re just really chill. We like a good party…multiple times a week, but don’t take that to mean we’re not bright. Plenty of opportunities for undergraduate research, but you have to take the initiative yourself. Most of the professors are pretty legit.</p>
<p>Yeah, I suppose there aren’t too many Latin-I-taking 200-level-English-taking freshmen who know about Sword Club and are from Chicago.
Also, my previous statement about English being like an AP class isn’t entirely correct. The analysis is more in-depth and detailed than any high school class.
And yeah, Explorations is a joke. But Journeys is fairly cool, so it balances out, IMO.</p>
