Academics
鈥淕enerous鈥 financial aid and 鈥渁 strong reputation for science鈥 are two hallmarks of Hendrix College, 鈥渁 progressive liberal arts school filled with Southern hospitality.鈥 Another perk is Hendrix鈥檚 unique Odyssey Program, which allows students to 鈥渆xplore all sorts of things鈥 in a hands-on way. You can learn printmaking, just for example, or maybe jet off to Prague to observe ballroom dancing. Class sizes are 鈥渟mall鈥 here, and the academic atmosphere is 鈥渆xceptionally rigorous.鈥 鈥淭here is a ton of writing.鈥 鈥淎 lot of time must be devoted to studying.鈥 鈥淯nmotivated students do not last long.鈥 鈥淚t鈥檚 sink or swim,鈥 contemplates a philosophy major. 鈥淚f you swim, you鈥檙e in for a really great experience.鈥 Professors are tough, but they鈥檙e also 鈥渦nwaveringly genial and helpful.鈥 Faculty members 鈥渓ove what they do and are very good at it.鈥 鈥淭hey make the subjects really interesting,鈥 swears a religious studies major. They鈥檙e 鈥減assionate about their fields and very accessible in and out of the classroom.鈥 Students do have some academic complaints. 鈥淭he registration process could be better.鈥 The level of academic satisfaction is pretty high overall, though, and the fact that about one-third of all newly minted Hendrix grads pro颅ceed directly to graduate and professional school is evidence that all the hard work pays off.
Student Body
Some students tell us that Hendrix is 鈥渁 cross between鈥 a hippie school and a nerd school. Others call this place 鈥渕ore preppy than hippie.鈥 More often than not, students have left-leaning political views. 鈥淗endrix is the liberal mecca of Arkansas.鈥 A fairly high percentage of students smoke鈥攕ometimes 鈥渉eavily.鈥 Students describe themselves as 鈥渉ardworking,鈥 鈥渧ery ambitious,鈥 鈥減retty free-spirited,鈥 and 鈥渆clectic鈥 鈥渋ntellectual misfits鈥 who tend to have 鈥渓ots of interests and hidden abilities.鈥 鈥淧eople with particularly odd or strange quirks fit right in鈥 at Hendrix because 鈥渆verybody is weird in one way or another.鈥 鈥淲hile I can鈥檛 say we are ethnically diverse,鈥 promises one student, 鈥淚 can say that everyone is whole颅heartedly welcome.鈥 In the cafeteria, 鈥測ou鈥檒l see a jock, a gay drama kid, and a hippie all sitting together having a good time together.鈥 鈥淧eople form groups quickly and really just stick to those groups,鈥 though.
Campus Life
Social life here is extremely 鈥渃ampus-centric,鈥 and Hendrix is 鈥渟mall enough to evoke a sense of familiarity without feeling boring.鈥 鈥淗endrix is its own little world where you can鈥檛 help but get caught up in something.鈥 鈥淲e have everything from sword club, Frisbee team, volunteer committee, to full orchestra,鈥 enthuses one student. 鈥淭here is always something to do.鈥 鈥淎 lot of kids play intramural sports and stay pretty athletic.鈥 鈥淧eople are very involved in the act of hanging out鈥 as well, and 鈥淭here are really interesting conversations going on all over cam颅pus.鈥 鈥淒uring the week, Hendrix is quiet because everybody is studying or work颅ing on something school related.鈥 On the weekends, however, 鈥淗endrix definitely has an active party scene.鈥 The revelry is 鈥渆asy to avoid if you want to鈥 but most students embrace it. 鈥淭he lack of Greek life makes parties much more open and universal.鈥 鈥淪uper-fun parties鈥 reportedly abound. 鈥淎lmost every weekend has been predesignated for some sort of ongoing annual event.鈥 Off campus, some feel Conway, Arkansas, boasts little to do, but relatively urbane Little Rock is a short drive and 鈥渁 common destination for Hendrix students wanting to break away from the routine.鈥 Students say the campus here is 鈥渁bsolutely gorgeous.鈥 However, some note that housing isn鈥檛 uniformly objectionable, but some of the dorms 鈥渉ave issues.鈥 Students have few other gripes about their lives here, though. The food: always 鈥渄igestible鈥 and occasionally 鈥渇antastic.鈥
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