<p>Rhodes has a lot of OOS students. Can anyone tell me how geographically diverse it is? What is the experience like for a Northerner?</p>
<p>Same interest here. Scheduled to visit in Feb.</p>
<p>About 7% of Rhodes students are from the northeast region (about 125 students)
Just over half of the students are from the south (25% from TN specifically)
11% midwest, 19% southwest, 2.5% west
About 3.5% are international students.</p>
<p>I’ve worked personally with kids here from all over the U.S., all of whom have had equally great experiences. Our student government president if I remember correctly is from the northeast (PA, yeah, I know you call it “mid-atlantic” up there…). A good friend of mine when I was a student here was from NJ and had a great time, played varsity basketball.</p>
<p>And, for what it’s worth, the only group of students for whom distance from home seems to be a factor in retention are those students who are about 100-300 miles away from Memphis. Northeastern students are well beyond that range, and they tend to retain well.</p>
<p>If you’re worried about culture shock, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. It’s a friendly place and you’ll fit in quickly (which you should be able to tell from a visit). I think the things that might surprise you the most are how much “small talk” you encounter and how prevalent churches are. I don’t think you’ll find any trace at all of the stereotypical “go home yankee” attitude.</p>
<p>Y’all come visit. ;-)</p>
<p>And it looks like it might be fairly easy for students to take a MATA bus downtown, or to the Perimeter Mall, correct?</p>
<p>My sophomore D at Rhodes has friends from all across the country, and we are from CO. It seems quite comfortable for all of them. Unfortunately, TrumpetDad, public transportation is not a great option in Memphis. My D is very “green”, and even she agrees that it isn’t a good idea to ride the bus there. Kids are great about sharing rides though.</p>
<p>Because it’s considered dangerous?</p>
<p>Unreliable and unsafe.</p>
<p>I would agree, most students at Rhodes don’t use public transportation. I’m a freshman here and I have absolutely no hesitations about giving my keys to anyone on this campus cause I know that if something went wrong and they got in an accident they’d do everything they could to make it right. The students here are what makes Rhodes, Rhodes. To touch on the subject of students from outside of Tennessee, my roommate is from Jackson, I’m from Fort Worth, Texas, my best friend is from Baton Rouge, my hallmates are from Arkansas, my pledge brothers come from Maine, California, Missouri, Alabama, Washington D.C., I also have good friends from Alaska, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, Kentucky, Florida, NYC, New Jersey, Romania, Latvia and even one from China. Basically, anyone can fit into Rhodes. The Southern hospitality that everyone talks about, true. </p>
<p>If you have any hesitation about coming to Rhodes, come for a weekend and try it. If its financially difficult to visit, the school can send travel vouchers to you. Please message me if you have any questions.</p>
<p>Great, thank you. Never been to Memphis, so I guess we’ll get a better feel for things when we visit in February.</p>
<p>When y’all come visit in february make sure your student stays overnight with a host. That’s what made the difference for me.</p>
<p>So if church-going is big on campus, how do Jewish kids fit in? How many Jewish kids are there at Rhodes? Is there an active group? Is there some accommodation by professors for Jewish holidays that don’t fit Christian holiday breaks?</p>
<p>
My son is still just a HS sophomore, so we’re not at that stage yet.</p>
<p>Quillgirl, I wouldn’t say church-going was “big” on campus. It’s not an overly or overtly religious school.</p>
<p>Quillgirl, there is a Jewish Students Association that is active as far as I know. I can’t give you exact numbers of how many Jewish student are here at Rhodes, but they are all very welcome. I’m not sure about accommodation for Jewish holidays but knowing the professors here, I’m sure they would be willing to work with you on a case-by-case basis.</p>
<p>About 1.5% of the students identify as Jewish. That’s in the neighborhood of 25 students.</p>
<p>A plurality of students are protestant Christian of one flavor or another. 20% of the students indicate no religious preference. 18% are Catholic, 3% Hindu, and we see a smattering of affiliations like Buddhist, Muslim, etc.</p>