<p>My D has made her college choice, and it will be Hendrix. She was accepted by Grinnell, Whitman, Macalester, Smith, Union, Lawrence, Beloit, Earlham, Drew and Siena.</p>
<p>Congratulations! What was the deciding factor?</p>
<p>I’m another kid turning down Grinnell and Beloit (among others) for Hendrix! Congratulations!</p>
<p>My daughter and I just returned from a visit to Hendrix. She’s not ready to decide yet, but we were both very impressed with the school. Anyone who is considering it ought to go for a visit. I think this school is a gem.</p>
<p>I was also accepted to Hendrix, but money is an issue. I was also accepted to a few other schools including University of Miami, which I will have no tuition to pay for if I go. Should I still consider Hendrix? While I like the school, those around me aren’t as impressed. I know it’s stupid, but as far as rankings and prestige go, they aren’t very high. I try not to listen to those things, but is it still worth it?</p>
<p>Well, it depends on how much you prefer Hendrix to UMiami, and how much the debt is, and whether prestige matters in the field you’re interested in. There’s no one answer, sadly.</p>
<p>mimimomx3 – The deciding factor(s) were 1. friendliness of the people on campus, 2. students talked about academics outside of class (at Grinnell and Whitman they talked about drugs, alcohol and sex), 3. the campus is gorgeous, 4. admissions at Hendrix made her feel special, 5. financial aid at Hendrix made her feel VERY special, and it doesn’t hurt that 6. Arkansas is much warmer than the other colleges.</p>
<p>mingusahum – peer pressure and assumed prestige are difficult to overcome. I was terribly proud of my D when she chose Hendrix. I very pointedly asked her if she had doubts because Hendrix is generally ranked below all of the other colleges where she was accepted except Siena. Her response was an unequivocal “No”. And just so you know, both my wife and I are college professors, and we can attest that the reputation of Hendrix is rapidly climbing the charts. USN&WR ranked them number one on their new ranking of “Up and Coming” colleges – ahead of Davidson. Other colleges know Hendrix and respect it, and if you are a good student at Hendrix and take advantage of the many opportunities that they offer, you can do anything that any other good student at top LACs can do.</p>
<p>Thanks, Treeman, and congrats to your D!! I appreciate your thoughts. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Hendrix was the only small school that my son applied to because of the Odyssey experience. The larger schools that he was considering were University of Richmond, Syracuse, Purdue, Denver, Northeastern. We learned with recent visit that Hendrix also begins to prepare and help students beginning freshman year for grad school, law school and med school. They expect to see most of their students go on to further their education. My son respects their commitment to and support in allowing students to discover a unique learning path. It will certainly be a different atmosphere for him since we are from Connecticut, but he is very excited!</p>
<p>^ Your son won’t be the only one experiencing a different environment by going to Hendrix. I’m from the Midwest (suburbs of Chicago, not cornfields), and I’d never visited the South before visiting Hendrix. It’ll be an experience, that’s for sure!</p>
<p>I also will be attending Hendrix in fall and experiencing an entirely new culture. I’m from California, and Arkansas will definately be different. But honestly, I wanted something new, and I am so excited to go to Hendrix!</p>
<p>D made her choice today and it is Hendrix. Looking forward to her decision for an Orientation trip.</p>
<p>I decided Hendrix over New College FL, Hampshire, UMass Amherst, and Rhodes. I’m from Boston, so this is going to be a huge shift.</p>
<p>i’m very pleased to read that so many others from out of state and out of region are planning on attending Hendrix. So … what Odysseys are others considering?</p>
<p>The choice for my daughter is Hendrix over Middlebury, Skidmore, RIT, UVM, and Denison. I think it was the friendliness of the people that tipped the scales. It sounds like there are some interesting students from around the country headed to Hendrix. Good luck to everyone.</p>
<p>Thought I would weight in. My daughter will graduate from Hendrix this Saturday. These past 4 years have been magical for her. The closeness and the acceptness of Hendrix is beyond anything I would have imagined. I can remember going to visit her at Hendrix her first year. We were sitting out in the “Grove” when a group of kids gathered with plastic swords, dressed in costumes (including one girl in is silver playboy bunny outfit) and then they screamed “avast ye matey” and proceeded to have a sword battle. Now I bring this up because when my wife and I asked my daughter what the heck was going on, she said “oh they do that all the time” and then the other kids went on to their business. I grew up a huge UT fan and I know if these kids went to the center of campus in Knoxville and did this, they would likely be held up to ridicule. At Hendrix, every kid feels accepted from my observation. I would say the biggest negative my daughter had was not being able to have “alone” time on campus. Everyone knows everyone. She is very involved…works in admission, gives campus walks, etc. As far as Academics…I’ll put Hendrix up against any school out there. While at Hendrix, she has studied in France, researched in Rwanda, presented her Thesis at NCUR in Montana and went on a road trip to do service for poverty organizations in the south. </p>
<p>I don’t know of anyone who went to Hendrix that doesn’t love it. I just got off the phone with my daughter after she finished her final exam. I told her that she is now officially a college graduate…her response was “you can’t say that to me!!” Up until last week, graduation was referred to “that day in May”. I cannot say enough good things about Hendrix. If I had to use a phrase for Hendrix that encompassed it…“Well Rounded” in every aspect.</p>
<p>My D wants to come visit- 2 seniors will be attending Henrix next year but I know Zero about it other than it’s a small school in arkansas -what is the social life like? It looks great and is 6-1/2 hours from here- will a summer visit be Ok if noone’s on campus - what other colleges are close by?</p>
<p>If summer is the only time to visit then go during the summer. If you can wait for classes to start up in August I would visit when the students are on campus to get a feel for the campus and the students that attend Hendrix.</p>
<p>I am going to be a sophomore at Hendrix next year, and I LOVE it. It is a really open and I know everybody (which can be a great thing but I’m not going to lie sometimes it’s not so great because everybody knows what is going on in your life). The majority of the students are from out of state now so there are always people on campus, which I know at state schools around Arkansas people usually leave on the weekends. There is always something to do on campus.
What, as a student, I like about Hendrix academics is the fact that we learn about so many different subjects (even ones that aren’t in our majors) and our professors encourage us to connect them to better understand their subject. They also make you think more about the big picture, instead of just writing or taking test about facts that you’ll probally forget the next day.</p>
<p>I know this thread is a couple of years old but maybe this will help revive it. I would love to connect with other Hendrix parents! My S will be starting at Hendrix this fall and we couldn’t be more thrilled. He turned down Bard, Wheaton (MA), Wooster, St. Olaf, Knox and Minnesota. Throughout our search Hendrix kept rising to the top, and our opinions were confirmed when we visited a few weeks ago. We just completely fell in love with it. As much as I am sad about my son leaving the nest (and being 13 hours away–we are from WI), I know he will have an incredible experience and a ton of opportunities both while there and after he graduates.</p>
<p>Congrats to everyone else who is going to be there, and if you are a parent please feel free to weigh in with your perspectives.</p>