Ridiculously Awesome, but Not Perfect

Introduction
First of all, Rhodes is a small school: approximately 1700 students. This facet of Rhodes is perhaps the most important to keep in mind. Some people feel that Rhodes is a lot like a high school simply because everyone has at least heard of everyone else. Anonymity is very hard, if not impossible, to maintain at small schools, and Rhodes is no exception. So anything from embarrassing nights to hook-ups to roommate stories will not go unnoticed nor forgotten. You'll run into these people, and it will probably lead to awkward moments, often.

The benefits to this small size is the incredible ease at which you can develop a group of friends upon your arrival during your first semester. You will have to work hard to not develop several acquaintances and friendships. You do not feel like a fish out of the water at Rhodes. Everyone is incredibly friendly and holds the doors open for you. Rhodes definitely has a strong sense of community and a very comfortable feel to it.

I chose Rhodes because of its small size for a simple reason: opportunities. At Rhodes, the only graduate program is the Masters in Accounting. What this means is that professors do not focus on their graduate students over you. Undergraduates, sometimes freshmen, get to do research alongside their professors at Rhodes. Research, internships, jobs, and experience in the field are essentially an automatic experience for most Rhodes students. I wanted exposure to the world, and I got it.

The only drawback to this experience, one that I'm only now beginning to discover in my sophomore year, is that Rhodes does not close any doors, it only opens them... lots of them. Do not come to Rhodes if you want to not be challenged or if you do not want to have your possibilities opened. I have gained tremendous knowledge and confidence in myself, but I am nowhere closer to choosing a career or even considering only one. This frustrating experience of not knowing what you'll do with your degree is the trouble of a liberal arts degree, but especially one from Rhodes. Rhodes will undoubtedly prepare you for whatever you want to do after college. Philosophy majors have become very wealthy business men, and Economics majors have turned into well-noted journalists in newspapers. And Rhodes will prepare you if you have a set career path and one goal. But you will be opened to all the possibilities for your life after college, so you can feel overwhelmed or underprepared. Yet, not having a plan does not mean that you are unprepared. It actually means you're ready for anything. I just wish I knew what "anything" was at this point. My faith, however, lies in my professors, advisors, coaches, friends, and experiences to help me sharpen my skills and come closer to a direction over the next two years. I know I'll be ready by then.

Campus Life and Social Life
I would say that there are maybe 6 weekends a semester at Rhodes where there is nothing going on. Nothing qualifying no speakers, parties, and school-sponsored activities. For a school as small as Rhodes, that number is not that bad. Rhodes seems to have a constant flow of speakers coming to campus discussing everything from free speech, political candidates, and economics to statistics covering brain cell development or art gallery discussions. So the academic side of campus is quite lively.

Partying is essentially constant on the weekends. Rhodes has a great set-up for Greek life. Right now, it stands at a 50/50 split between Greek and non-Greek. But the frat and sorority houses are on campus and non-residential, meaning that members are not allowed to live in the houses. This helps to integrate the campus and keep the Greek scene from becoming extremely isolated or too exclusive. All parties except for swaps or date parties are open to campus, so regardless of which Greek or in any Greek organization, you're allowed to party. There are even bus parties where all of campus is able to bus over to an off-campus location to dance with a live band and drink at a bar. Completely free and open to campus, bus parties are very popular and occur close to 10 times a semester.

The downside to this situation for those Greek-hopefuls is the lack of exclusiveness or the integration. Fraternity and sorority members do usually get houses off-campus together, however, and provide another party location for their group, which is not open to campus. This allows for a more exclusive edge to the Greek life, but it may not be ideal. Some people say that paying dues is unnecessary considering that most parties are open anyway. But the Greek scene does provide more social opportunities for its members and those active in the Greek scene do have the best networking on campus, hands down. So being a member does have its advantages, despite the possible drawbacks.

Unfortunately, Rhodes sports tend to lack. The sports that are nationally ranked are actually the least spectator-friendly. Men's golf is currently (2007) ranked 4th; Women's volleyball was ranked 13th, finished 16th; Men's cross country finished 31st; and Women's Track had some National Qualifiers in the sprints. Football here is pretty unimpressive, so is soccer and basketball. So the main spectator sports lack great games or great records. But there have been a couple of AMAZING games this year, but whether or not that makes up for the rest, I don't know. Either way, 25% of campus is involved in varsity athletics, and 65% are involved in intermural sports. So Rhodes is an athletically active campus, perfect for staying in shape or working towards that direction.

There are over 100 clubs and organizations on campus, and we're constantly creating new ones. There's groups from Anime Club to Health Professionals Association to RhodeKill (our ultimate frisbee team) to Rhodes Christian Fellowship. This year we just created Rhodes Radio, which is constantly streaming at www.rhodesradio.org/.

All the groups provide for great service opportunities, which are prevalent at Rhodes. Over 80% of the population works with a service organization for at least a semester. We run our own soup kitchen on Tuesdays; we were the first college to have an independent chapter of Habitat for Humanity (built a house last semester); we sponsor construction trips to Mexico and the Gulf Coast (for post-Katrina: still lots of work to be done); we run a Spanish-speaking clinic; we tutor Sudanese refugees in English; we have mentorship programs with multiple schools in the area. Rhodes serves the Memphis community. Though the campus may be fenced off on a 100 acres, we burst the bubble as much as we can with service.

But the typical weekend at Rhodes usually consists of a party on Friday night (either Greek or "self-motivated"), sleeping in and getting "some" work done on Saturday afternoon, doing something (another party, sports game, clubbing, movies) Saturday night, and Sunday is almost exclusively work-related. Some weekends are slow, and others are packed. But most weekends have a nice blend of the two. If you're on a sports team, like the 1/4 of campus is, you will have weekends spent on travel and such. Some weekends campus can be dead when all the sports teams are away. Advertisement
Academics
Classes are Rhodes are not easy. Yes, you can blow them off and probably make C's or low B's. But in order to excel and reach the coveted A, you will have to work. As a sign of the academic standards at Rhodes, a grade of an A- (A minus) is marked as a 3.7 on your GPA. Only a grade above a 95 merits a 4.0. Thus, receiving a 4.0 at Rhodes is an incredible undertaking and requires a lot of work.

Writing is a HUGE component of academics at Rhodes and most liberal arts colleges, for that matter. Last semester I was writing a paper usually once a week of 5 pages or more. This semester I have two classes requiring a 20+ page term paper of original research on top of our midterms, finals, and auxillary papers.

Obviously, some majors write more than others. As an International Studies major, I will be writing for the rest of my collegiate career (or post-collegiate, regardless). My roommate, a Chemistry major, hasn't had to write a paper since he completed his liberal arts required courses. Of course in place of papers, he has problem sets, labs, and tests that are far more technical (and thus harder to study for) than my own. We both work very hard in order to reach our goals of medical school and graduate school.

But Rhodes has an acceptance rate that's twice the national average for medical school: 95%. We also maintain over 96% acceptance rate into business, law, and graduate schools. Granted, this does not mean that every student gets into their #1 graduate program. But this does mean that if you seriously considered this option, then it is fully obtainable. The percentages are also slightly bloated, because advisors are fully aware as to whether or not a student is capable of making it into any grad school program. Thus, those that did not take it seriously or work to that level rarely apply and therefore do not reduce the percentages.

But classes seem to operate in two week cycles in which one is incredibly difficult and the other relatively work-free. During midterms it appears as if the faculty conspire to destroy you with their placement of exam times during the weeks or paper due dates, but that's part of the experience. Finals are intense as well, and sleep is a precious commodity during that time. But academics are Rhodes has yet to approach the "suicide" level, so that's good. We still maintain a large degree of sanity, but we're far from saying that we're "normal".

Nearly every class at Rhodes is taught by a professor with a terminal degree in their field. Exceptions might be for small, one-hour elective courses and the occasional TA lecture. But I have never had a bad experience with a professor, ever. Professors at Rhodes are here to teach, not to get paid for research. They are engaging and are equally invested in your success in the course. Many classes are discussion-based and in every class you are encouraged to ask questions. The average class size is 13 at Rhodes. My smallest class has been 6 (it's awesome) and my largest was 25 (it too was awesome). Many of the professors are among the top experts in their fields, so being able to pick their brains, and vice versa, is an unparalleled experience.

Nearly every major on campus kicks total butt. The departments that are lacking are probably our Mathematics and Computer Science, Theatre, and Music. Math and Comp Sci have very involved professors, but it definitely does not do anything abstract, as far as I'm aware. So the mathematics gained has a practical use, which turns off many potential math majors who just love the abstract possibilities of the subject area. The Theatre department also has great professors, but the program is limited in its ability to put on huge shows. You'll definitely gain tremendously in understanding what goes into a show (design, construction, preparation, direction, and execution), but you may not gain as much as you would hope towards the actual acting side (from what I hear). The Music Department, again has great staff, but is limited in its scope. The department typically produces conducting and composition careers instead of performance careers. But all other departments meet or exceed the expectations the students have coming in to Rhodes.

Student Body
Students come from all across the nation, providing for a great blend in culture and personality. Sports games are always very fun when rivals happen to live right across the hall from one another, or perhaps in the same room.

Dress tends to be on the "preppy" side with considerable polo's for men and skirts/sundresses for women. But Rhodes definitely has a large "alternative" population with less expensive or structured fashion expectations. J Crew and American Apparel are very popular across campus.

Students tend to be very passionate and very active. There is an energy at Rhodes where everyone is working towards something great. It's inspiring and very unique to the college experience as I talk with my friends who have attended elsewhere from other private institutions to public universities.

Of course, at Rhodes and any college, there are the rich, pompous, practically trust-fund kids. They're arrogant, rude, and expect to coast through life. Luckily, the Rhodes academic life either humbles them or chases them off. But you will run into them or their Porsche bumper at some point. Despite their existence, they provide that necessary end of the spectrum in order to bring the debate of proper parenting onto campus.

The majority of Rhodes students, however, come from upper middle class families. Most have a car and an abundant closet. But nearly everyone is on substantial financial aid to offset Rhodes huge cost ($41k+). So despite their credit cards connected to home or upper-scale dress, people here do realize the expense of Rhodes and don't take it for granted.

In Closing...
Rhodes attracts a lot of people, but its strong academic programs are the biggest draw. "I have work" is a liable excuse to not attend a party here. Of course, we're still college students, so you're only allowed maybe two such weekends before you're teased ridiculously by your friends. It's only fair after all. We have to watch out for each other: too much work is craziness.

Rhodes is where you get an eduation, not a degree. If you want the college lifestyle of large class, anonymity, constant parties, Rhodes is NOT for you. There are people who follow that ideology here, and they're a tight-knit group and not a mainstream group here.

But the biggest tip to Rhodes is apply. If you do the application online, it's free. And your application is the form by which Rhodes awards 95% of its financial aid. And most financial aid is merit-based, so if you're involved and a good students, send in an application and see if you get a good chunk of change in the mail (average aid package is $20k+, and there are over 150 official scholarships of $10k or more).