Rhodes College Admission
Rhodes College Undergraduate Program
Rhodes College Application

The Facts

Rhodes College is a small, traditional, liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian church and located in the city of Memphis, Tennessee. It is home to over 1,520 undergraduate students and approximately 12 graduate and part-time professional students. The school is perhaps best known for its emphasis on traditional liberal arts programs such as the sciences, English, political science, and history. The school also offers a great preprofessional program, as well as several interdisciplinary studies programs in areas such as urban studies, American studies, Asian studies, and women’s studies. Rhodes College offers students over 35 majors (both B.A. and B.S.) in a wide variety of majors; however, some of the most popular with students include majors in the areas of biology, English, business administration, political science, and international studies.

Admission to Rhodes College is somewhat competitive, and applicants tend to be very self-motivated and to have been academically successful in the past. Last year, over 2,345 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 1,631 of those students were accepted; of those, about 680 matriculated. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1190 to 1390, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 26 to 30. Additionally, over 78% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about 3.62.

Rhodes College has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of about 11:1, and perhaps one of the best qualities of the school is the willingness of the professors and administration to be completely accessible to the students. The college runs on an honor system that everyone adhered very closely to; professors leave the classroom during tests, and students are constantly on the lookout for foul play. Students even say that you are able leave your wallet on a desk, and come back in an hour to successfully retrieve it untouched. It is rare to find a class with more than 18 students, and most classes are held in the form of discussion groups where students are able to have their opinions and wisdom heard and built upon.

The Social Scene

The city of Memphis, Tennessee offers students a huge amount of social and entertainment activities, including the ever popular country-music venues, bars, clubs, museums, shopping, and cafes. It’s very rare to hear a student complaining that they are bored on the weekends. The actual Rhodes campus is right in the middle of downtown Memphis, so students don’t have to trek very far to have a good time.

The school has a fairly large number of fraternities and sororities, and the Greek population pretty much dictates on-campus social life. The houses throw many big and rowdy parties where drinking is definitely the activity of choice. However, for the few students who don’t join the Greek organizations, Rhodes offers over 80 student organizations that are also quite popular with students.

The dating scene is certainly a wild one; don’t expect any quiet candlelit suppers...

What’s Good

“It’s rare to find such a great solid liberal arts education anywhere today. It’s nice to just focus on education.”

“The honor code is awesome, and you really feel like the administration trusts you as a responsible adult.”

“The social life here is amazing, and there is always something great going on during the weekend breaks.”

What’s Bad

“The drinking gets really out of hand here, and there usually aren't many people in class on Mondays.”

“There’s a lot of pressure to go Greek, and if you don’t, you can pretty much guarantee you will be an outcast.”

“The religious atmosphere is kind of overwhelming, and people tend to be really ethically conservative.”

Let the Penn Group help you apply to college.

• View our services
• Send a request now
• Read articles about applying to college