<p>Hi,
(Asking for potential applicant): if you had to choose between Knox College in Illinois, Hendrix College in Arkansas, and Washington&Jefferson in Pennsylvania, which would you choose and why? Does one have specific strengths, a specific atmosphere, success with specific majors? Would a specific kind of person thrive at one and not at the other?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Thanks warblersrule.
In the meanwhile W&J has been eliminated from contention due to FA issues, but Knox and Hendrix remain at the exact same cost out of pocket.</p>
<p>I know a rising senior at Knox who has had a great experience. She is an environmental studies major which seems to be something that Knox is very strong in as well. She’s doing research there this summer, and enjoying that. She’s a big city girl and was worried that Knox wouldn’t have enough to do, but that doesn’t seem to have happened.</p>
<p>My impression is that Hendrix will have a geographically more diverse student body than Knox, if that is important. From an academic standpoint, I would say both have similar reputations. Hendrix is probably a bit more artsy fartsy; Knox a bit more middle of the road. Both places have a strong reputation for research opportunities.</p>
<p>My favorite law school professor graduated from Knox. So, I generally have a favorable impression of the place. However, when I visited Knox and Galesburg, I found it kind of depressing. Perhaps this had more to do with the weather (it was 45 degrees with a steady drizzle and just a gray day) than anything else. </p>
<p>Hopefully the student has visited both places. While I have never been to Hendrix, I get the impression that Knox and Hendrix would have distinctly different vibes, despite being comparable, academically speaking. If both are the same cost, then I would urge the student to the place where they felt most at home; a place where they could envision themselves becoming part of the place for the next 4 years. And that will be the right place for them.</p>
<p>Thanks qialah.
It looks like academically Know and Hendrix are similar. Any strong programs at either college (beside Creative Writing at Knox, thanks Warblersrule)?
What’s the campus culture like at Hendrix or at Knox?</p>
<p>Somone has told me “smart kids from rural areas” (Hendrix) vs. “Hippie kids from the Chicago suburbs” (Knox). Any truth to that?
Also, if you’ve visited, what does the campus look like?</p>
<p>Something you might want to consider is the ease/difficulty/expense of getting to each of the schools on your list. How do you plan to get to each of these schools?</p>
<p>For example, it’s easy to fly in to Pittsburgh, but I am not sure how a student gets to campus from there. What about the other schools on your list?</p>
<p>I’m surprised that W&J was eliminated on FA grounds…I know several students who have gone there and received both excellent Merit $$ and FA.</p>
<p>W&J supposedly has very good medical school placement.</p>
<p>hendrix has zero frats…that is a plus (IMO)</p>
<p>Icemaker: you mention “different vibes”, could you elaborate?
The student can only visit one, so any info is useful.</p>
<p>boysx3: there’s an airport pick up from both schools so that’s covered. However it’s a good point: transportation for students who don’t have a car. Is it easy to “share a ride”, are there buses or trains?..</p>
<p>Kid that I know at Knox takes the train from Chicago. (She’s from the West Coast.)</p>
<p>I get the sense that Hendrix attracts a slightly more off-beat student than Knox – less shoes and more patchouli at Hendrix. That is my impression.</p>
<p>Wow…a lot of these comments are spot-on. My son is a student at Hendrix, and Knox was one of his top choices as well. We visited both.</p>
<p>Partly why you’ll find fewer shoes at Hendrix is because of the weather. It is nice most of the year (with lots of rain in the spring). The state of Arkansas is stunning. There is fantastic hiking as close as 20 minutes away, and the Ozarks are only two hours north. Conway, the town that Hendrix is in, is fine–an OK selection of stores, cheap/ethnic restaurants (though not much in any one category), and so on. Yes, it is a fairly conservative area but nearby Little Rock has a strong liberal element and is a fun little city with good restaurants, shopping, culture, etc. </p>
<p>Illinois is…Illinois. A mostly flat, boring landscape. Galesburg is a decent town, though. And Chicago is a fantastic city that is easily accessible to Knox by train.</p>
<p>For campus beauty, I’d give the nod to Hendrix for sure. The buildings are attractive and well-kept, the grounds are gorgeous and lush with pecan trees and azaleas and lots of places to gather outside. Since the weather’s warmer, there is a lot of gathering outside. However, I liked the funkiness of Knox. The library is wonderful, with a great rare books collection. And I love that the college held one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.</p>
<p>Academically I agree that they are similar. Each school has many strong departments and some rock-star professors. Both have faculty who are accessible and focused on the students. Knox has a well-deserved reputation for its creative writing program and excellent literary magazine. Hendrix is known for the strength of its programs in the sciences. Both prepare students very well for med school, grad school or anything else they want to do.</p>
<p>As for student life–both colleges have some of the friendliest, least pretentious kids we encountered on ANY of our visits. They’re down to earth, helpful, and seem genuinely happy to be there. Knox’s fraternities host parties but I believe they are very inclusive. Hendrix’s social life centers around the dorms and a student group that plans parties. The parties at Hendrix are legendary and have lots of great traditions–a dance competition for freshmen, a Miss Hendrix drag pageant, and many others throughout the year. Since the weather is mild a lot of parties take place outside.</p>
<p>Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I really don’t think you can go wrong with either choice.</p>