New Member Interested In Hendrix

<p>I agree that the financial package at the U of A at Fayetteville is attractive, but my daughter is not the slightest bit interested in going there for the reasons you outlined in a previous post. (Not an "intellectual environment" and the frats/sororities "ruling" the campus.) </p>

<p>If a rewarding financial package was uppermost on her priority list, she would probably apply to the UALR Donaghey Scholars program which PAYS students up to $9000 a year (plus full tuition, fees, etc.) and includes a study abroad package. What a deal! But - from my understanding, you go to class with the same group of about 25-30 people for the majority of the coursework and that seems very limiting.</p>

<p>If she stays in Arkansas for college, it will be at Hendrix.</p>

<p>I have the scores to get a governor's scholarship too....and Hendrix is my top choice in Arkansas.</p>

<p>Part of me wants to go just because it will be free....but the other part of me wants go to a school with better name recognition.</p>

<p>Take it from me, someone who has attended Hendrix since 2002 and will soon be graduating. Hendrix is not at all what it used to be. Yes, you could get in with your scores, but so could someone with a 22 ACT and 3.0 or lower GPA. Last year Hendrix accepted 100% of its applicants. That means everyone who applied got accepted. This means the school is desperate for money and accepting everyone who applies. Also, many of the best professors, the ones who care the most about their students are leaving, and are being replaced by professors with less than half their ability or adjuncts (not real professors). Hendrix claims to care about their students, but they don't. So, do yourself a favor and go to the U of A Honors program, at least they don't pretend to be something they are not.</p>

<p>According to the National Center for Education Statistics, for the fall of 2005, 1,086 students applied to Hendrix, 82.5% were admitted and 31.3% of those who were admitted enrolled. </p>

<p>I compared the faculty lists in the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 catalogs and found that in 2005 Hendrix had 4 new faculty members in addition to 4 visiting assistant professors and 1 visiting instructor. Four people left: two assistant professors and two visiting professors..</p>

<p>Looking at the list of adjunct faculty, there were 7 added in 2005 (biology, computer science, business, kinesiology, art histiory, dance and english). 5 were added in 2004 (africana studies and french, english, dance, philosophy and religion, and kinesiology), 4 were added in 2003 (art, physics, politics, kinesiology) and 4 in 2002 (business, economics and business, dance, and dance). The trend definitely seems to be to use more adjunct faculty although there are many professors listed in the faculty section.</p>

<p>My son is finishing his freshman year and has had excellent teachers, most of them regular professors. He had excellent grades in high school and high SAT scores and has found the work challenging.</p>

<p>I haven't looked at catalogs from other colleges or universities so I don't know how they compare in terms of faculty turnover or adjuncts. So far, we have been very pleased with Hendrix.</p>

<p>Thanks, volunteer mom! The previous post had me a little concerned. The stats you posted speak for themselves. :) And your comments about your son's experiences at Hendrix were good to read!</p>

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My son is finishing his freshman year and has had excellent teachers, most of them regular professors. He had excellent grades in high school and high SAT scores and has found the work challenging.

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<p>Thank you volunteer mom. Quite honestly, I don't put much stock in the comments from millernp, someone who has never posted here, and obviously someone who is disgruntled. Having visited Hendrix with our DD twice, and having done extensive research, I have no doubt that Hendrix is a top-notch school with a top-notch faculty/staff. DD still hasn't made her decision, so I don't know whether or not she'll be a member of the Hendrix class of 2010, but if so, we are supportive of that decision.</p>

<p>I was curious so I looked at the Carleton 2004-2005 catalog and they list 12 adjunct instructors, 21 visiting assistant professors, 5 visiting distinguished professors and 15 visiting instructors. They also list 29 lecturers but 18 of these are in music so they are probably professional musicians who give occasional lectures.`</p>

<p>Hendrix lists 7 visiting assistant professors, one visiting instructor, and one regular instructor, but it does have 27 adjunct faculty. Of the adjunct faculty, 8 have PhDs, 3 have JDs, 9 have a master's degree and 3 have a bachelors degree (3 just list dance and 1 lists business) so they sound very well qualified. One of my daughters favorite teachers at Swarthmore was an instructor who was working on her PhD.</p>

<p>I think all colleges use visiting professors and adjunct faculty so I don't really see this as a problem in terms of the quality of education. It is a problem for those people with PhDs who want to be hired as full time faculty though.</p>

<p>Being a current student at Hendrix College, I am a bit offended by the post made by MillerNP. I definitely disagree that Hendrix accepts 100 percent of its students. I think that is an absurd statement to make about any college, let alone a college like Hendrix. Besides all of that being said, you have no evidence that this is even true, so until you cite some US News statistics etc. I think its best to keep those types of "facts" to yourself. As for being desperate with money, I highly doubt that too. Hendrix College gets plenty from alumni, Methodist affiliations, etc. I don't think it’s sensible to say Hendrix College accepts all of their students due to their "desperate" need for money. If Hendrix was so desperate for money, the students wouldn't receive such awesome financial packages and grants for numerous odyssey proposals that pay for everything from studying abroad in Istanbul (studying architecture) to flying out to Las Vegas to see a magic show from your idol magician (crazy but true, there is a student at Hendrix heavily involved with performing magic that received a grant to do this recently!) Also, we are currently building a new Physical Activity center and getting new soccer fields, etc. I don’t think a school desperate for money would provide services like Hendrix does for their students. How could they give away so much money, attracting some of the top students in the south and more recently recruiting from other areas more heavily, and be “desperate” with the dollar? Hendrix has some of the best professors in the south and the last time I checked, Hendrix hasn’t hired any “adjuncts” with “half the ability” of a real professor. If you are going into Chemistry, Dr. Thomas E. Goodwin (who was named 2003 U.S. Professor of the Year (for baccalaureate colleges), awarded by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) ) still works here and keeps the department strong. If you go into History, professors like Dr. McAinsh (whose work has been cited in US News) and Dr. Skok who graduated from University of Chicago give some of the most amazing, involved lectures on campus. If you like Classics, Dr. Resinski and Dr. John Farthing can teach classes in everything from Latin, Greek, History, and Religion. Really, the list goes on. Every department has amazing professors who care about the students as well as giving “outside the box” type lectures and classes that prepare students to think abstractly, write adequately, and ultimately go into a professional field, graduate school etc. Most professors will write you a personal recommendation if you go to them without a problem. The close knit environment at Hendrix allows for professors to relate on a personal level with the students on a daily basis. To say professors don’t care about their students is crazy because it goes against everything Hendrix stands for. This school is known for professors that care, classes that are intriguing, a close knit environment without Greek life, a diverse student body, and ultimately a well rounded liberal arts experience in the South with an air of intellectualism I highly doubt you will find in the U of A honors program…I don’t think Hendrix pretends to be anything. If you aren’t looking for all of those qualities, then maybe a state school is for you. I personally wouldn’t choose any other college over Hendrix. It’s a great place to spend four years. I am sorry that MillerNP has become so bitter towards the end of his college career. If you have any questions for a current student, I am more than willing to help out!</p>

<p>Thanks valuable1212!</p>

<p>valuable1212 & volunteer mom -- Thanks for the great positive posts. millernp's post WAS bitter. Sorry if his/her experience was so bad, but since this person seems to be graduating from Hendrix, why pass on such a bad impression to others about your school?</p>

<p>First of all, valuable1212, YOU GO GIRL!!!<br>
If Hendrix has students who can articulate as well as you can, then it is definately the place for my S!</p>

<p>Second, because of the educational climate right now it is cost effective to have adjunct professors as opposed to tenured staff. Even the ivys do it. I agree it's not the best for job security in the academic field, but I don't know many jobs that have job security anymore ...maybe the post office.</p>

<p>Finally, I want to thank all of you who posted a rational rebuttal to that post. They echoed my sentiments exactly. I am also impressed with Hendrix, excited for my child to attend and am confident he will receive a first rate education.</p>

<p>The guy doesn't like the school obviously... Not much more than that</p>