<p>Yes, take a sleeping bag. They might be on a futon on the floor and will need bedding.</p>
<p>So for the competition, I prepared a 20 minute presentation on one of the essays they provided. I worked super hard on it and was panicking hardcore. When I went to my interview, they asked me why I chose the passage I chose, and then just talked about extracurriculars for the rest of the time!! Bah!!
So, future Hays candidates: don't make elaborate presentations. Just read and understand the passage and you're golden.</p>
<p>acc_bound, did you form any more impressions of the school while you were there?</p>
<p>We got back from the Hays weekend last night. Boy were we impressed. It was a great experience for parents and the participants as well! S loved it although had to stay in Martin which confirmed for him that another choice in dorms will definately be at the top of the list!
S is definately attending now...and the bonus is they are adding an additional $500 to the scholarship for showing up...it's a nice parting gift if the Hays doesn't work out :)
SplashMom and H connected which was really fun! Even though we get teased by DHs and kids, I was thankful to meet a fellow poster! CC rocks!!!</p>
<p>Curmudgeon- I really, really liked it! Campus was really pretty, the academic buildings were wonderful, the teachers were great, and the kids were friendly. The gym was pretty gross, but they're building a huge new center that should be done by June 2007, so I'm not worried about that. My only problem with Hendrix is that its only 1,010 students. That is reeeeally small. Oh well!</p>
<p>Texasmom- Do they add that $500 for everyone?</p>
<p>At lunch the speaker said that all the participants that attended will receive an additional $500. It's to make the sting of losing less painful! </p>
<p>The school is small. But there are a lot of opportunities that I just don't think some kids would get at a larger institution. At the fireside chat with the president, he spoke about all the development coming to Conway. It's exciting and I believe it's a great time to attend Hendrix. This school will have a waiting list soon enough!</p>
<p>But the bottom line is about fit...do you see yourself there?</p>
<p>Hahaha I told my mom about the extra $500 and she said "I love that school! If they keep up this pace, they'll be paying you to go there!"</p>
<p>Yeah, I could see myself at Hendrix. But I can also see myself at almost all the other schools I applied to. I'm going to be a stressed-out girl come April 30th. But hey, it's way better to have too many good options than no good options at all!</p>
<p>So Texasmom, ACC-bound, and splashmom-wherever you are ???? Give me impressions. Student body? Rigor? Workload? Quality of education? Maintenance of facilities? Quality of academic support? The down and dirty, nitty-gritty of attendance? What are we getting?</p>
<p>Student body: very pleasant. I only talked to about six of them, but they were very very nice. They like Frisbee a lot. There was a group of about ten of them protesting for gay equality a few streets down.
Rigor/Workload: They're not trying to flunk anyone out. I don't think the workload is too intense, but it's not a party school by any means. They have a really good chemistry department.
Professors: Ridiculously smart and really nice. I approve.
Facilities: Wonderful.
Academic support: I'm not totally sure what you mean by this, but they do have a career center that, according to the students I talked to, is top-notch.</p>
<p>Based on what I've seen, I think it's a great deal for the price. Hopefully some of this helped you!</p>
<p>Hello all! We have just returned home from the weekend trip. After Splash's presentation on Saturday, we walked around campus for a few more minutes, said our so-longs and snapped a few pictures. We stopped in Memphis to spend the night so Splash could hang out with her Governor's School friends for the night. Hubby and I spent our evening on Beale Street in some of the juke joints listening to some blues and eating some delicious bbq. We got up this morning, ate breakfast, packed the car, and walked around a bit more. We made a couple of stops on the way home and when we finally got here, Splash dropped into bed. She's exhausted. </p>
<p>Student body: What a great bunch of kids. Ordinarily, they have 30-35 kids on their host list, but with the Hays weekend, they needed another 30+ hosts, and so many students stepped up to bat. The students we encountered on campus, and especially Splash's hosts, were so very nice and helpful. Everyone there appears to really love their school.</p>
<p>Rigor: This was discussed at the fireside chat with the president. He made it clear that the professors are not soft, but he also made it clear that they are there to help the students and all one needs to do is to take school seriously. Although they have parties and fun, they are not a party school. </p>
<p>Workload: See above. Dr. Cloyd did address a question about the rigor and workload and said that many of the students who are top students like ours are sometimes procrastinators, waiting till the last minute to write a paper or do a project and still get a good grade on it. He did mention that it will not be that easy there. At least that's what I took from his point. Texasmom, correct me if I'm wrong.</p>
<p>Quality of Education: Top-notch. I have been very impressed with all the faculty members we've met so far, and the featured speaker at the luncheon, Dr. Larson was just great! Splash was very disappointed when she heard he will soon be retiring.</p>
<p>Maintenance of Facilities: Great job. They have recently installed a geothermal system on campus which helps to reduce natural gas costs and enables more of the dorms to be left open during breaks. The students can adjust their own heat and cooling versus one button for the entire dorm. Speaking of this, we were told by Dr. Cloyd yesterday that Conway is really at the beginning of a growth boom. They have some wonderful plans for a Hendrix village (see the Hendrix web site) and there is a lot of natural gas right under the town of Conway which will soon be tapped, meaning more money will be coming in to Conway. The new activity center set to open in June of 2007 sounds second to none. </p>
<p>Nitty Gritty: All students who came for the Hays competition will receive a $500 increase in their original scholarship offer. </p>
<p>Splash just loves it there. If Hendrix were a puzzle, and there was a missing piece, it would be her. She so fits that place and they so fit her. It makes me sad to think she'll be 6+ hours away, but never have I seen her more in her element. Every time we saw her, she was chatting with someone new. We asked her if it was being around a bunch of 'hers' this weekend and she said, "No, that would be annoying, don't you think?" I couldn't help but laugh. She enjoyed meeting so many of the other Hays competitors and we enjoyed meeting so many of the faculty, staff, students, Hays competitors and their parents. GO HENDRIX!</p>
<p>Curmudgeon:
SplashMom gave an excellent rundown...I did ask the VP of Education what types of internships are available for non science majors...they have just created a position where the person's job is to coordinate the internship opportunites for the kids...specifically for the Odyssey Program. With all the new natural gas companies coming into Conway there will be hundreds of white collar jobs and intership opportunites for the students there.<br>
My impression on rigor is that it's definately there. The professors are top notch and the kids work! They are not going to hold the kids' hands but are available if the students need help.<br>
It's just a really cool place and one where I know my S will be challenged and thrive. It's not a big label school and so it fits my S to a tee...but I firmly believe it will be a label school soon enough. Which will probably irk him ;)</p>
<p>Anyone know when decisions go out?</p>
<p>My understanding is that decisions will be known by the end of next week. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.</p>
<p>Quite interesting impressions.....</p>
<p>Quite interesting impressions.....
meaning?</p>
<p>Haha.... nothing. </p>
<p>I was just glad to see that parents of smart students/ smart students took a liking to Hendrix. </p>
<p>I already know Hendrix is great at attracting in-state talent with the state of Arkansas scholarships.....The fact that they actively recruit/ attract out of state talent betters my perception of the school too........ </p>
<p>Of course, I've read up on the politics department and it doesn't look to be their forte.</p>
<p>Splashmom...I thought it was end of this week they would call or you'd get a letter...maybe my brain is failing me...18 five year olds will do that to you!!!</p>
<p>Texasmom, you're probably right. Remind me ... do they notify everyone of their winner/non-winner status?</p>
<p>I assume they call if you get it, letter if you don't!!!</p>
<p>I remember he said they would let the kids know by end of the week.</p>