Spotlight on Hendrix College

This week's spotlight takes us to the town of Conway, Arkansas, where we find the 160-acre, flower-filled campus of Hendrix College. If you have negative stereotypes of the Bible Belt, Hendrix probably doesn't fit them. The school is affiliated with the Methodist Church, but the curriculum is both secular and progressive with a healthy emphasis on difficult national and global issues. The college has institutionalized the importance it places on active learning, and all students participate in the "Hendrix Odyssey," a program designed so that students learn through doing. All graduating students receive an "experiential learning transcript" to suppliment the usual numerical grades.

Hendrix College accepts a large majority of its applicants, but this doen't mean that anyone will get in. Self selection and the school's reputation mean that the average applicant has pretty high test scores and a strong academic record.

Hendrix is a private liberal arts college, but the bottom-line cost has earned the school a place on many lists of "best buys." Indeed, everyone who gets the FAFSA in early is guaranteed a $1,000 scholarship, and the average institutional grant for financial aid recipients was $13,150 in the 2006-7 academic year.

You can learn more in the Hendrix College profile and on the Hendrix website. If you're familiar with Hendrix College, please share your impressions with our readers in the Hendrix College discussion in the forum.

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photo: WhisperToMe / Wikimedia Commons