<p>So who is looking at Rhodes? It has gotten hot lately. Anyone know what accounts for that? S is very interested in the school, having done a class trip to Memphis last year. He didn't have a chance to visit classes, but may later this term.
Love to start a conversation with others about the school.</p>
<p>My daughter and I toured Rhodes this summer, and really liked it. She's a junior, so she'll be applying next year. Love the look of the campus, the opportunities in Memphis, the study abroad programs, the student/faculty ratio, etc. Daughter has a friend who is a freshman there now, so I'll try to find out more during Christmas break.</p>
<p>My D is a senior, we toured Rhodes last week and she will apply shortly.</p>
<p>I can see why it's gotten hot. The campus is pretty, the kids are friendly, the academics are excellent, and there's always Beale St for serious entertainment. It also has a rep for giving aid. The impression I got was that Rhodes is a fine school that is just now being "discovered". It has probably been overlooked in the past due to location.</p>
<p>The "351 Best" type books say the food is so-so, but we did a road test and on the day we checked, it was fine. There might be a minor issue with not having a car. It didn't look like there were any drug or convenience stores within walking distance, but we didn't look thoroughly.</p>
<p>My son is in his first year at Rhodes. Interestingly, altho' he grew up 3-4 hours from Memphis , we didn't know about Rhodes until about five years ago. Then Loren Pope included Rhodes in his book about colleges that change lives, and I think a lot of people decided to take a closer look. </p>
<p>The school does have a large endowment, and I've heard a good many students do receive financial aid. My son worked hard in high school and applied to schools that award merit aid. He received his best offer from Rhodes. </p>
<p>The campus is gorgeous (I'm probably more impressed with the beauty than my son is). A new library will open in late spring 2005. It will be the largest complex on campus, even bigger than the student center/gymnasium, and will be open 24 hours. Right now, students may study into the wee hours of the morning at the on-campus coffee shop.</p>
<p>The students are very friendly and down to earth. However, those from outside the south, take note: the student body appears to be overwhelmingly southern. Not to say that someone from outside the south wouldn't find himself very welcome, only to let you know what you will find. I'm sure that situation will change as the school becomes more well-known on the national level.</p>
<p>My son claims the food is fine, but he is already slightly tired of it. The fact that there is only one main cafeteria on campus which takes the meal ticket has probably contributed to reports that the food is subpar. There is another grill on campus where the meal ticket can be used, but it's a little more expensive, and the meal ticket may not cover the entire meal there.</p>
<p>I was concerned about the lack of stores and restaurants within walking distance of the campus. However, there are grocery stores, restaurants, banks, other shopping about 5 minutes away by car, so I'm sure students can get a lift from other students if they really need to go somewhere. I've been to Memphis a few times now, and I'm very impressed with the city and the quantity of off-campus activites available.</p>
<p>Let me second the 'gorgeous" campus quote. The area of Memphis is not bad</p>
<p>either. The "planners" of this place have done a remarkable job.They </p>
<p>obviously had a clear vision and the $ to make it happen. The only negative ,</p>
<p>if it can be considered a negative (but it was an impression that stuck) ,was</p>
<p>that the school had an almost pious feeling about it. An atmosphere </p>
<p>of "humbling service" to mankind is about as close as I can come. One school</p>
<p>I am familiar with has the name "Christ" on every page of every publication ,</p>
<p>or at least every other page. If Rhodes had written it, it would be "public </p>
<p>service" or "charity" or "volunteer hours". All well and good, but I would have</p>
<p>appreciated some references to fun and frivolity. It may be that we just </p>
<p>didn't see clowning students as we were there on the shoulders of a holiday</p>
<p>period. That and the awe inspiring architecture may have been enough to </p>
<p>skew my vision. The campus rec center is phenomenal for a school that size,</p>
<p>and Beale Street was a riot. D loved the ribs.She mentioned the other day </p>
<p>that Rhodes was still "on the list" for whatever that's worth. Rhodes deserves</p>
<p>to be "hot" in my opinion. I just want D to see an impromptu costumed </p>
<p>hacky-sac tourney or some other total nonsense like she has witnessed at </p>
<p>comparable schools. Centre, Austin College , Southwestern to name a few.</p>
<p>Daughter has applied to Rhodes, and we will be going back for a visit during Open House, Sat Nov 20. I have a question for Chloe - I was also concerned about needing a car, especially since D is reluctant to take her car to college. Is there any transport for off campus activities? What about for service activities - one school she's applying to has cars available for students to "check out" in order to do community service projects. My husband will probably take her to the open house - sometimes they will come home with answers, sometimes not!</p>
<p>1-3 kids from her high school go to Rhodes each year, and it generally gets thumbs up.</p>
<p>There is definitely a school-provided bus available to transport to and from off-campus parties. The admin doesn't want them drinking and driving, so they don't let the students know where the parties are, just deliver them and pick them up. </p>
<p>I don't claim to know everything about the volunteer scene at the school, but I don't remember anything being mentioned about cars available to check out, tho' that's a nifty idea. Since I've been to several general info meetings, I think I would have heard about that if they had mentioned it. I suspect they try to get the students to carpool. My son has a car and often shares rides. Also, since the school is relatively close to the hospital district, downtown, etc., I would think some kind of public transportation would be handy. The office people are real friendly and could probably give you the exact answer.</p>
<p>I have a 1420 SAT I, 760(V), GPA 3.8 with many AP and honors courses, good leadership, and decent ECs which include active involvement in our Community Service Club. I have 5's on Ap Eng Lang, Eng Lit. Euro History, and US History. Is this good enough for me to get any merit aid at Rhodes? I'm planning on majoring in History or English.</p>
<p>We went to open house weekend year before last, at which we attended a session devoted to the topic of scholarships. We were told that the top scholarship recipients had SATs 1500+, had very high class rank, and had extracurriculars that set them apart. The top scholarship, given to three students, required a little lower stats, but more superior extracurriculars, leadership, service, etc. My own son had top notch grades, NMF, first in his class, but rather ordinary extracurriculars, mostly school-based. Even though he stayed busy and won some state level recognition, that apparently wasn't enough to set him up to receive their top scholarship (they do really value service at Rhodes). However I have heard they have a very large endowment and therefore a good percentage of the applicants do receive some sort of scholarship.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you who have responded to my post! My son has been able to meet with the Rhodes rep in our area, and liked what she had to say. He completed part one of the online app over the weekend and is applying regular decision. Rhodes has plenty to recommend it, though I still am somewhat amazed that it has gotten the recognition lately that it has. I begin to wonder if Loren Pope's <em>College's that Change Lives</em> book gets a lot of the credit. Very positive. Thanks.</p>
<p>I'm wondering if anyone can offer some insight or speculation as to why a school like Rhodes College manages to have roughly 17% of the freshman class leave after the first year, while for comparison purposes, only about 4% of Davidson's freshman class leave after the first year. They're both similar size colleges, and their acceptance rates to graduate schools, including medical and law schools are almost identical. Are the students entering at Rhodes generally not as well prepared, and consequently, 17% of them decide to transfer to less challenging colleges? Any ideas?</p>
<p>I am a senior at Rhodes and one of the few who made a difficult and scary decision to come here all the way from California, sight unseen...I love it! Rhodes offers excellent academics, an outstanding array of extracurriculars, great service opportunities, and is in a fun city. Not to mention, I was accepted to several schools which were much more prestigious, but were blown out of the water by Rhodes' financial aid package. </p>
<p>Regarding service, this is a large component of connecting to the campus community. I think service is stressed so highly in admissions publications because campus Greek life does quite a bit to contribute to this (hey, they have to), there are a million different opportunities in Memphis competing for Rhodes volunteers (read: dedicated, responsible, dependable people), and most student organizations (apart from those specifically service-related organizations) contribute in some degree to a particular charitable group in the Memphis community. Trust me, students do get sick of hearing "service this, and service that" and there's definitely not any pressure to get involved in service if you don't want to. Case in point, I haven't participated in a focused manner to any one service organization or community group in lieu of working two jobs during the week and on weekends (internships). </p>
<p>To respond to the high transfer rate...I know quite a few people who transferred, and honestly most of them weren't ready for college. These students got horrible grades, partied non-stop, and couldn't handle rigorous academics balanced with extracurriculars. Not to say that they aren't intelligent, but you see my point. Additionally, others I know who transferred did so because they realized Rhodes did not offer the major/program/you name it that they were really interested in. In speaking with these transfers, they always knew they wanted to major in nursing or go to school x, but they liked Rhodes well enough and decided to give it a chance. </p>
<p>Lastly, Rhodes does have cars available to "check out" through the Kinney Organization (the volunteer conglomerate of all charitable groups). Also, many service groups meet at a specified location each week to carpool to the project. Which reminds me, the Dean's office has just started shuttles running to and from the airport before and after school vacations. Finally, I never had a problem locating a ride when I needed one (even during a vacation when practically no one was on campus).</p>
<p>Hope this helps, sorry it's been long!</p>
<p>Nichole, thanks for all the helpful info. Rhodes sounds great. I did get a chance to visit, and I really liked it. The system for signing up for classes seems confusing to me, but I'm not sure if it differs much from other colleges. Apart from the wonderful feel of the campus, I think that I would like the Search for Values core curriculum, small class sizes, Lynx Lair, the totally wireless access campus, and the huge new Barret Library. If there are any negatives, I must be missing them.</p>
<p>Nikkor, I can't say for certain why 17% of freshmen transfer, but I suspect nichole is right on the money. Going to a LAC is a less common choice in the South, and I'm sure some people aren't as sure of what they want to do, some aren't prepared for the academic rigor, and some go solely because their parents can afford it. I think as Rhodes becomes more well known and more selective, that 17% will decrease and begin to approach Davidson's numbers</p>
<p>Nichole, being from california and a senior, you are uniquely qualified to answer two of D's remaining questions. What is it like being on campus on weekends and over short breaks, and does the student body have any college "silliness" about it? ( I know that question makes me sound like an idiot but I really can't think of a more specific way to ask it. It's not ALL studies and service, is it? D will visit overnight but probably not until next fall.)</p>
<p>curmudgeon, I was actually quite shocked to read that there was no random nonsense going on when you were here.</p>
<p>Campus is fairly lively throughout the week, however on the weekends students really come to life. Many live by the motto "work hard, play harder," and while I personally find cliches like this annoying, students tend to adhere to this one pretty consistently. There's always something going on: Quiz bowl tournament, free movie outings, plays on and off campus, and yeah...the parties. Spring semester seems to offer more than Fall, so I think, because Fall semester is more about the parties whereas the Spring is more about events, if that makes sense. </p>
<p>Since you visited prior to a holiday, it's likely many students were either gone, in the process of leaving, or taking it easy because of a looming break. Over periods such as this the campus is dead, but there's always someone sticking around to hang out with. On the plus side, the gym is less crowded and the dorms are much more conducive to studying. Meals are not covered by the school during vacations, though, so you either have to cook in one of the dorm kitchens (they aren't terrible!) or hit up the grill/sandwich bar/pizza joint known as the Lynx Lair. </p>
<p>To speak to the down playing of fun and frivolity on campus, again this depends on when you visited and the weather. If it's cold, students aren't really into being silly outside, relegating nonsense to the dorms (the ultimate haven of procrastination and craziness), Refectory (tons of nonsense goes down here), Lynx Lair, Coffee Shop, etc. Warmer weather brings out the frisbess, footballs, and barefeet any day of the week.</p>
<p>Hopefully I've covered the bases, but as with any college, Rhodes is what you make of it. Students who spend all their time studying without enough silliness thrown in tend to get burned out. Those who do more balancing get to enjoy challenging academics and have a great time on the weekends.</p>
<p>Nichole, that was a wonderful post! And exactly what I wanted to hear(hopefully D will think so ,too.). I will show D tonight when she gets home from the season's first Bballgame. She loved the campus, the new buildings, the gym, the architecture, the reputation, the stats-everything and it is the ONLY city school that has made her "list", the "list" being admittedly a work in progress. It is so strange how we received such a wrong impression from our few hours there. Well at least we were savvy enough to doubt our observations. Thanks again.</p>
<p>S, a junior, became interested in Rhodes when a lively rep visited his high school.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what it's like for URMs there? S is African American, has plenty of friends from diverse backgrounds, and doesn't want to go to a college where he's likely to be the only black person or only person of color in his classes.</p>
<p>What are the stats for people getting merit aid? I have seen stats about people getting the very top scholarships like Bellingham, but what about the other ones?</p>
<p>We do know a student who goes to Rhodes, and who loves it. She particularly has enjoyed the community service. S likes community service, and also appreciates environments in which students can have close relationships with teachers. Thus, Rhodes seems like it would be a nice fit for him.</p>
<p>NSM, Rhodes has a reputation here (DD's high school could be considered a "feeder" school) for being very generous with merit aid, and the merit aid goes well down into the applicant pool, well beyond the Bellingrath. There may well also be some merit aid earmarked for Afri-Amer students. For example, I know of at least 2 students accepted by both Univ of Rich and Rhodes who got much better merit packages from Rhodes.
As for the "atmosphere" - as a white Southerner, I would say he would just have to visit, and ask a lot of questions. It is very difficult for the small South colleges to recruit African-American students, and the reasons are more complicated than they just don't want to do it, which has been suggested on this forum. I can't look up the percentages at Rhodes particularly, but I'm sure it is low. Again, at DD's private high school, which somewhere in the past was created or grew in response to desegregation, there is a very conscious effort to be inclusive and to stamp out any hint of racism - is it there? Sure, I know it is still there somewhere, but the parents (almost all) and the admin and the kids, try everything to make the African-American students feel welcome and a part of the school - and it is working, you can see the black kids moving in group with the white kids, part of the gang. I would hope that some of that attitude would spill over to Rhodes, which gets many students from small private schools like my daughter's, populated by the kids of MDs, JDs, judges, businesspeople - people who (again mostly) have taught their kids tolerance.</p>
<p>A more difficult to deal with scenario I've seen here in the South is the "self-segregation" that is common at the state schools (and high schools) with larger minority populations. At those schools, there is a large enough African-American population for the kids to feel more comfortable, but the result is that there is very little mixing, as opposed to DD's school where there is a lot of mixing, because there just aren't that many kids in each class. Please, don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the minority students!!!! I think mixing goes both ways, and the white students need to reach out to their classmates, but it's definitely a comfort zone thing for both parties. I'm not condoning, just describing the way it is.</p>
<p>Interestingly, DD went to a summer program at yale this past summer, where many of the attendees were from wealthy NE subs - lots of L.I. and Westchesterites. Her impression after the program was that her little high school, way off in Alabama was more diverse ethnically, religiously, racially, income wise (the school is cheap, but there are definitely some people who scrifice to get their kids there) than most of these schools - especially income wise - it is all a matter of perception.</p>
<p>For those reasons, particularly if you are not from the South, I would think he really needs to visit - see the school warts and all.</p>
<p>NSM, we visited Rhodes at the open house this weekend, and I kept your questions in mind. This was a very large event, and we didn't do the small group campus tours,because D & I had already seen campus, and her Dad preferred to walk around on his own. The question of diversity came up in a group session, and got sort of the stock answer - "Everyone gets along". My daughter said it was WASPish (now we are white and Protestant and Southern, but more mongrel than pure Anglo-Saxon, so I thought this was a little ironic), and a lively discussion of race, diversity, and the challenges facing a small college in the South in attracting minority students ensued. </p>
<p>The simple observations I made: the visiting families were of all colors, although predominantly white : more South Asian (Indian, Sri Lanka, Pak, etc), a few African-American, a number of Hispanic, and very few "North" Asian (Obviously I'm making wild assumptions here). The students "on display" were virtually all white, although I saw a few black students just hanging around, walking through campus. Two points here - this was the BIG open house, and it appeared to me that every student who could possibly scatter this Sat. afternoon, had done so. The other point is the school did not draft every student of color to sit on panels or be tour guides (you may consider that a positive or a negative thing, but it is a striking difference I noted in general in all the Northern vs Southern LACs). There were students of various ethnicities participating in the forum and the academic fair, but I would imagine that their numbers - about 10-15% - reflect their numbers across campus as a whole. Religious diversity was discussed, we have some personal knowledge of this, as one of the students DD knows who goes to Rhodes is Jewish and has had a very good experience. They share a Hillel group with Univ of Memphis, and have connections to a temple in the neighborhood.</p>
<p>Community service is BIG. In the more routine,everyday visit we made last spring, the assistant adcom running the visit touched on community service, but did not emphasize it to the extent I heard Sat. This seems to be the public foot the administration wants to put forward. One young man answering questions in the forum for parents we attended was a Community Service Scholar ?Bonner Scholar. They are required to do 10 hours a week community service to fulfill their scholarship. They made it sound as if it was not difficult to get one of these scholarships, although they were looking for people with a true interest/passion in community service. DH said that sounds like a lot of work. Freshemn could spend the year trying out many different service opportunities with the aim of settling on an activity or 2 to pursue for the remaining 3 years. The student mentioned that the community service staff was very supportive and helpful in scheduling, and guiding the students (sounded like they would help a befuddled freshman who scheduled themselves for 3 activities at once, as my DD did last week). He said it was easier than it sounded to get the commitment done - some weeks it was an hour or 2 a day, other times there was an all day event on Sat, so you could be freed up during the week.</p>
<p>This is the only one of these events we have attended (or will attend, unless DD does one next spring after acceptancces), so I don't have any comparisons - but it was good to get an opportunity, during the department fair, to talk to profs and students.</p>