About Rhodes College

Founded in 1848, Rhodes College. is a Private college. Located in Tennessee, which is a city setting in Tennessee, the campus itself is Urban. The campus is home to 1,999 full time undergraduate students, and 30 full time graduate students.

The Rhodes College Academic calendar runs on a Semester basis. In the school year the student to faculty ratio was 10:1. There are 193 full time instructional teachers. Degrees awarded at Rhodes College include: Bachelor's Degree, Masters Degree, Post-master's certificate, Doctor's degree.

Quick Facts

Acceptance Rate54%
Application Deadline1-Nov
Application Fee0
SAT Range1170-1360
ACT Range27-31

Admissions at RC are considered Selective, with ,11% of all applicants being admitted.

In the school year, of the students who applied to the school, only 11 of those who were admitted eventually ended up enrolling.

96% of incoming freshmen are in the top half of their high school class. 78% were in the top quarter, and 49% were in the top tenth. You can apply online.

STUDENT LIFE

We asked, and students answered these important questions about student life at Rhodes College.

0%
“We”re apathetic”
36%
“We know about current events and vote”
64%
“We participate and encourage others to get involved”
0%
“There”s nothing we won”t protest”
0%
“We save it for the classroom”
18%
“Sometimes, but not often”
36%
“There”s usually intelligent conversation to be found”
45%
“All the time, including weekends”
0%
“I”m always terrified”
9%
“I only go out in groups”
36%
“I usually let someone know where I”m going”
55%
“I feel extremely safe”
36%
“We don”t play sports”
0%
“We play recreationally”
55%
“We bought the gear”
9%
“We live for the big game”
0%
“It”s not really our thing”
18%
“Occasinally we gallery crawl”
82%
“There are a variety of opportunities”
0%
“We”re a very artistic group”
0%
“Haven”t met them”
0%
“Available in class”
36%
“They keep regular office hours”
64%
“They”re always available”
0%
“No greek life, but other groups to join”
27%
“There is some involvement, but not a lot”
64%
“Plenty of people join a sorority or fraternity”
9%
“It”s everything. If you”re not greek, you”re a geek”
9%
“We”re not into drinking at all”
0%
“Maybe a little, but it”s not a big thing”
45%
“We only party on weekends”
45%
“There”s some drinking happening every night”
18%
“Never, we”re here to learn”
36%
“There might be people who do”
36%
“People are known to partake on weekends”
9%
“There”s a huge drug scene”
0%
“We”re apathetic”
36%
“We know about current events and vote”
64%
“We participate and encourage others to get involved”
0%
“There”s nothing we won”t protest”
0%
“We save it for the classroom”
18%
“Sometimes, but not often”
36%
“There”s usually intelligent conversation to be found”
45%
“All the time, including weekends”
0%
“I”m always terrified”
9%
“I only go out in groups”
36%
“I usually let someone know where I”m going”
55%
“I feel extremely safe”
36%
“We don”t play sports”
0%
“We play recreationally”
55%
“We bought the gear”
9%
“We live for the big game”
0%
“It”s not really our thing”
18%
“Occasinally we gallery crawl”
82%
“There are a variety of opportunities”
0%
“We”re a very artistic group”
0%
“Haven”t met them”
0%
“Available in class”
36%
“They keep regular office hours”
64%
“They”re always available”
0%
“No greek life, but other groups to join”
27%
“There is some involvement, but not a lot”
64%
“Plenty of people join a sorority or fraternity”
9%
“It”s everything. If you”re not greek, you”re a geek”
9%
“We”re not into drinking at all”
0%
“Maybe a little, but it”s not a big thing”
45%
“We only party on weekends”
45%
“There”s some drinking happening every night”
18%
“Never, we”re here to learn”
36%
“There might be people who do”
36%
“People are known to partake on weekends”
9%
“There”s a huge drug scene”

Rhodes College REVIEWS

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  • How would you rate on-campus housing?

    31 Students rated on-campus housing 3.3 stars. 3 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate off-campus housing?

    24 Students rated off-campus housing 3.3 stars. 0 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate campus food?

    32 Students rated campus food 2.1 stars. 3 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate campus facilities?

    32 Students rated campus facilities 4 stars. 31 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate class size?

    32 Students rated class size 4.5 stars. 59 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate school activities?

    32 Students rated school activities 3.9 stars. 34 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate local services?

    32 Students rated local services 3.9 stars. 34 % gave the school a 5.0.

  • How would you rate academics?

    32 Students rated academics 3.7 stars. 28 % gave the school a 5.0.

What's your overall opinion of Rhodes College?

9 Students rated Rhodes College

Sonny - 09/05/2022

Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!Forget it !!!

Margaret - 07/16/2020

If your parents have a lot of money to blow, and you don\'t know what you want to do with your life, sure, attend Rhodes. If either of those does not describe your current situation, LOOK ELSEWHERE. To address the money peice, Rhodes is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive and I would argue that the school does NOT provide your money\'s worth in education and preparation for your future. All the administration cares about is money (do not let their instagram posts dissuade you of this fact). There are an outrageous amount of pre-requisites to graduate, which I used to think was valuable for a well-rounded education, but I now believe is a way to wrangle as much money out of its students as possible. For what I learned in my non-major classes in the liberal arts, I could have gotten the same information for the price of a couple of books and internet access. There is just no way that the value of the classes and the money you pay are in any way correlated or comparable, even at a deep discount. Now, I do believe education is an investment and am under no delusions that it should be free. HOWEVER. Rhodes does next to nothing to help prepare students for life after college. The career services is so pitifully unequipped to help students land jobs. There are a few reasons for this - one being that many of the majors offered at Rhodes have no clear use in the real world. COUNTLESS of my peers graduated with degrees in anthropology, art, history, languages, etc. and were not advised or prepared that there is essentially no job market for these majors. Of course, it is not in Rhodes\' best interest to dissuade people from these majors, as I am sure they make up a large source of income (I bet there is a correlation between students paying full tuition and majoring in professionally-useless subjects). Now, what Rhodes COULD do to mitigate this issue is advise and inform students of the many job possibilities out there, help educate students on how to spin their experiences and interests into a job, etc...but this does not happen either. Even many people who had majors with more clear career paths or job opportunities (sciences, business, psychology) floundered after graduation. Let me rephrase: the number of of students that I graduated with who I have watched struggle to find a job, fiddle-fart around, \"study\" for the MCAT but actually just pivot to something easier, or just, like, move back with their rich parents is ASTOUNDING. A secondary impact of this phenomenon is that it does not provide a strong alumnae network, which theoretically is a key asset one hopes to have upon graduating college. I can only conclude that Rhodes does not give two flying shits about the lives of its students once they graduate. All they care about is getting more students in the door, and more money in their pockets. If you do not already come from a wealthy family, I would strongly urge you to look elsewhere for your college education. Now, if you do find yourself in the camp where your parents do have a lot of money and you don\'t know what to do with your life, Rhodes does have some great professors and courses. The Economics department in particular is great. The Business department is also pretty good, though the way the pre-requisites are structured essentially prohibits early graduation and is frustrating in other ways as well. I also had some great professors in English and Philosophy (though those departments are hit or miss). So I\'ve touched on what I feel are the most important factors in choosing a college - investing in your future. There are other secondary/supplementary factors, that I will touch on now. 1) Greek life is out of control. As a former participant in Greek life myself, it truly felt like that circle was all the social life that existed at Rhodes. I saw sororities and fraternities turn students into different people - worse people. Which, actually, 2) is an effect of the Rhodes culture as a whole. There are many old-money southerners at this school. If you are not one, you pretend to be one; and if you don\'t want to pretend to be one, you\'re outcast. Either way, it brings out the worst in people. There were peers that I loathed because they truly were not good people in college, who appear to have outgrown this phase in adulthood. But nonetheless, four years on Rhodes campus filled with pretty shitty people can be demoralizing. 3) On-campus housing is really awful your first two years, yet they still charge you exorbinantly for it. The food is really, really bad. 4) Essentially no sports (technically there are sports, but there is little excitement or investment in them). 5) Memphis is OK. There are some cool/cute spots and it improved signficantly over the time period I was there, but I would not choose to spend another 4 years there. Rhodes has also become increasingly political, which I find unfortunate.

Ashley

I've attended Rhodes for a year and a half and I believe that in this time, I can safely say that this isn't the school that I thought it would be (and I mean that both in a good and bad way). Then again, I didn't know what to expect joining a private, liberal arts college. Starting off with the pros, a major plus for my school is the small class size. Classes can range from 10-40 students (larger classes typically science-based). Because of this, students and easily get a hold of their professors for questions or easily find them during their office hours. However, I find this to be the only overwhelmingly positive thing about my school. The negatives, to me, seem to easily outweigh them. Firstly, the food options at Rhodes aren't that great. There's what students call 'The Lair' which is akin to any unhealthy fast food chain (however, it's the best-tasting option unfortunately), and there is the Catherine Burrow Refectory (the Rat) which is a hit/miss (typically a miss, ESPECIALLY during the weekends. Leaving students to opt for the lair which gets tiresome really quickly). Secondly, the drinking culture here isn't the most responsible. I don't drink. It never really appealed to me; however, I understand that some students do so for fun. So in my mind, I say to each their own. Rhodes also has a certain blasé attitude with on-campus drinking: underage or not. It's understandable that underage drinking can't exactly be stopped everywhere, so campus is pretty lax with alcohol. However, alcohol has gotten so bad to the point that ambulances every weekend became a regular occurrence. It probably isn't the most fair to have drinking be a fault of the school, but how lax they were towards it in the first place certainly had me raising my eyebrows. Lastly, search/life as a part of the curriculum comes off as a major waste of time to me. To sum this up, Rhodes receives a large sum of money from a family/organization (to which I do not know the name of at the moment, forgive me), and in return for this sum, they are required to have search/life courses. So in my case, I was required to take 12 credit hours of search to fulfill a foundation credit. I view this a waste of precious time because I am an agnostic, chemistry major that will have no use of this whatsoever. Overall, I can see how Rhodes excels academically in terms of communication between students and professors, but that seems to gray in comparison to environment/course issues that I have run into whilst being here.

Mary

When a Memphian, the name given to those of us lucky enough to reside in Memphis, Tennessee, thinks of Rhodes College they think of either one of two things. The first thing they think of is the reputation the school has as a party school. The second being its reputation of immense academic programs. How can both of these reputations exist? Until I grew up to attend this college I had no idea. I grew up in Memphis and never knew what to believe when it came to Rhodes College. As I immersed myself into the Rhodes community I saw much of what I feared; the irresponsible type of party-life that everyone had heard tell of. Then, as I found my people, I realized that Rhodes is much more than the weekend greek life parties. When walking in the gates of Rhodes campus the first thing that you see are the frat houses, but as one walks deeper into the campus, there you find the heart of Rhodes. The beautifully styled colligate-gothic architecture, as well as the expansive green spaces show a different story of tradition and excellence. This is not to knock down the greek life at Rhodes in any way, it is an integral part of the Rhodes identity. Other than being known for their parties, most of the greek life programs at Rhodes strive to better their own communities as well as those in the Memphis area. The school still has its problems, many regarding diversity and inclusivity, but just as the physical campus functions, there is work being done hidden away in the centers of on-campus organizations and individuals. The Black Students Association, the Muslim Students Association, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance are all examples of the affiliation groups Rhodes offers to its students to learn and bond with those like, and unlike, yourself. There is even a new push to address the more unhealthy habits of students regarding the party life. There are so many increasingly passionate students and professors at this school who are working towards changing Rhodes, and Memphis for the better. Regardless of the reputations this school may hold, I believe that Rhodes College generates individuals, immune to group thinking, ready to make their mark on the world, proudly boasting their Lynx pride ingrained in them from day one.

Rhodes College FAQS

  1. What is the Acceptance Rate at Rhodes College?

    The fall 2020 acceptance rate for Rhodes College is 54%. That means, out of _____ applications received in 2020 , _____ students were offered admission. The number of males who applied was _____ vs the number of females which was _____.

  2. What should every freshman at your school know before they start?

    I would tell myself to consider meduim size schools in addition to the smaller schools I applied to. That is the one major regret I have about going to Rhodes--it was a great school, but it was small. I think it is important to consider that you grow into a school, and it's possible to outgrow it. That's what happened for me. I wouldn't necessarily choose a different school, but I would have at least given myself other options as far as size.

    Read all  32 answers
  3. Describe the students at your school.

    They're an interesting lot.

    Read all  12 answers
  4. Here's your chance: Say anything about your college!

    perhaps the best education you can receive in the area.

    Read all  9 answers
  5. What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

    I think there need to be more emphasis on the diversity of the school. Also, more scholarship needs to be offer to students that are attending the school instead of just first year students. Someitmes i feel that the school is way more expansive than it should be.

    Read all  8 answers
  6. Describe how your school looks to someone who's never seen it.

    A close knit community of kids obsessed with connecting school work with all facets of life in the social scene.

    Read all  7 answers
  7. Describe your favorite campus traditions.

    Rhodes is known for encouraging the students to study abroad and for the amazing study abroad programs that it offers. Also, most people know about the course difficulty and the lack of diversity--the school hosts many wealthy white kids. It is a great school but extremely challenging and the course load is quite intense. When people think of Rhodes, most think of the beautiful campus. Many also think about the lack of school spirit and the poor attendance at sports games.

    Read all  6 answers
  8. What is your overall opinion of this school?

    Small school in a big city in the South with several strong departments. Good reputation, but not as well known as some larger schools. I don't have a problem with the administration, but know people that do. Some school pride, but not as much as pride as other schools, i.e. University of Memphis if you're at Rhodes but from Memphis.

    Read all  5 answers
  9. What do you brag about most when you tell your friends about your school?

    My professors and campus administration working with individuals to bring the best out in the students. The whole campus strives to better themselves in the school community and in the city off campus. Rhodes is full of students the work together in order to better the greater Memphis area.

    Read all  5 answers
  10. What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?

    The only part about Rhodes that I wished I knew about before is how to look better on paper when applying for financial aid. My aid package continues to be one of the only disappointments from my Rhodes experience.

    Read all  5 answers
  11. What is the stereotype of students at your school?

    Stereotypes about Rhodes students vary. On the positive side, most people seem to view Rhodes students as smart and highly motivated, constantly busy and involved around campus and the Memphis community. The negative stereotypes usually include that all Rhodes students are very wealthy, somewhat snobby, and drive nicer cars than most of the professors.

    Read all  5 answers
  12. What are the most popular student activities/groups?

    greek life=50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of student body but it can feel like more when the only thing to do on campus on a friday night is a frat party. that much said the college is getting better about having/sponsoring other events and those are becoming increasingly more well attended. athletics are some but not a lot. there's stuff to do in the city of memphis too so the weekends are a good time to get out of the rhodes bubble and blow off some steam before hitting the books again. In freshman dorms students often leave their doors open, and some on the weekends too. Athletic events aren't that big a deal; guest speakers get some people because they're usually sponsored by a department that makes its intro level students go but i've learned interesting stuff from those. theater, or the improv group on campus at least is pretty good. dating scene-depends on who you ask. met my closest friends by living near them or in an organization with them freshman year. if awake at 2 am on a tuesday probably studying, maybe pulling an all-nighter for your paper due the next day that you just started or cramming for a hard test. traditions and events are usually parties/concert-themed. people party in varying amounts. last weekend, hmm, parents weekend, nothing to exciting to report back on, but it was good to see my parents. on a saturday night without drinking you can go to dinner with friends, go see a show at the orpheum (theater downtown) go to a party sober and laugh at all the people who won't remember anything the next day, catch up on sleep, get ahead for classes (yea right...)

    Read all  5 answers
  13. What are the academics like at your school?

    Small classes, good professors who innvite you to their homes and want you to do well. All try to learn your name, but the hard part is remembering it years after you've had them. Class participation is often required. Some, but not much intellectual discussion outside of class, but it depends on the people. Students are competitive by department, bio majors, a lot of whom are pre-med can be pretty cut throat, but they usually all end up getting what they want so it's ok. Education at Rhodes is to prepare you for after Rhodes be that entering the real world or continuing your education

    Read all  5 answers
  14. Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

    Well, I am a texan (there's a lot at Rhodes) and I am a biology major, but other than that Rhodes is pretty diverse and is working on their commitment to diversity. There are rich and poor students, smart and less well educated people and people from all over with lots of different interests and life stories.

    Read all  5 answers
  15. What's unique about your campus?

    It's small and the students are welcoming and friendly. There is a lot of student teacher interaction, and it's possible to learn a lot if you take it seriously.

    Read all  4 answers
  16. What kind of person should not attend this school?

    there are some artistic, liberal people here on campus, but the majority of people here are rich, "fratty," and conservative.

    Read all  4 answers
  17. What kind of person should attend this school?

    This school is perfect for people who want an intimate campus environment. You'll get to know pretty much everyone by face, if not by name. The class size is also a huge plus--my intro biology class was the only class I had that was over 20 people, and most were less than that. Also, if a student has an interest in studying abroad, Rhodes has many wonderful opportunities. Most students study abroad for at least a semester.

    Read all  3 answers
  18. What's the most frustrating thing about your school?

    I was under the impression that there was more racial diversity at Rhodes than there really is. It bothers me that the school gives that impression when it's false. If there isn't the diversity advertised then the school should not hide it. They shoud encourage more diversity. If Rhodes lies about school numbers then the students who apply are under false pretenses and this is a horrible way to attract potential students.

    Read all  3 answers

Student Body

Students

56%

female

44%

male

1,999

Total Undergrad Enrollment

30

Total Grad Students

68%

Out-Of-State

29%

In-State

3%

International

Organizations

103

Student Organizations

8

Fraternities

7

Sororities

Housing

Yes

On-Campus Housing

76%

of students living on campus

Student Diversity

% American Indian/Alaskan Native
N/A
% Asian/Pacific Islander
6%
% Black or African-American
8%
% Hispanic/Latino
5%
% White or Caucasian
72%

TUITION & AID

All students must apply yearly for financial aid. This process starts with the FAFSA. Though financial aid deadlines vary by school, it is a good idea to apply as soon as possible. For the upcoming school year, you can apply as early as October 1 for the FAFSA. Additional school aid will be dependent on the FAFSA results.

94% of students attending Rhodes College receive some sort of financial aid. 13% were awarded federal grants. While 45% received federal loans. Many students do also need to apply for additional private student loans.

Cost Out of State

$44,942

Tuition and fees(Out of state)

$1,125

Books and Supplies

$11,068

Room and Board

57,135

Total On Campus

Actual Cost By Income Level(W/Financial Aid)

Family Income
Cost
$0 - $30K
$16,979
$30 - $48K
$15,466
$48 - $75K
$24,675
$75 - $110K
$26,744
$110K & UP
$31,385

We use student reviews and the most current publicly available data on our school pages. As such, we don't typically remove or edit college information. Sources for school statistics and data include the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Portions of college data include copyrighted material, which is reproduced on this website by permission of Wintergreen Orchard House, a division of Carnegie Communications. © 2009-2016 by Wintergreen Orchard House. All rights reserved.

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