Anonymous wrote:Students absolutely cannot live off campus at Rhodes.

A Rhodes college student, Drew Rainer, was murdered in 2021 living just off campus with 4 other Rhodes College students. His girlfriend was shot in the hand.

People on this forum may try to sugarcoat it, but Rhodes is located right in the middle of one of the worst urban crime areas in the United States.

Worrying about crime- if not being an actual victim of it- will be a significant part of your child's experience there.

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/crime/2025/04/07/drew-rainer-memphis-case-suspect-plea-deal/82979274007/

I attended Rhodes and it's a well-known issue for anyone who attends. Not sure who's trying to sugarcoat it.

Anonymous wrote:Students absolutely cannot live off campus at Rhodes.

A Rhodes college student, Drew Rainer, was murdered in 2021 living just off campus with 4 other Rhodes College students. His girlfriend was shot in the hand.

People on this forum may try to sugarcoat it, but Rhodes is located right in the middle of one of the worst urban crime areas in the United States.

Worrying about crime- if not being an actual victim of it- will be a significant part of your child's experience there.

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/crime/2025/04/07/drew-rainer-memphis-case-suspect-plea-deal/82979274007/

A PP, I'm not sugarcoating it. I would tell my DD not to leave campus at night and I wouldn't let her live off campus. The majority of students I knew were extremely cautious about leaving campus at night, even during the day going into unfamiliar neighborhoods or known dangerous areas, and no one ventured into the surrounding neighborhood by foot.

Anonymous wrote:Just as being located in the wrong part of town killed Birmingham Southern, being located in the wrong part of Memphis (which is most of Memphis) will eventually kill Rhodes.

Location didn't kill BSC. Years of financial mismanagement did.

Students absolutely cannot live off campus at Rhodes.

A Rhodes college student, Drew Rainer, was murdered in 2021 living just off campus with 4 other Rhodes College students. His girlfriend was shot in the hand.

People on this forum may try to sugarcoat it, but Rhodes is located right in the middle of one of the worst urban crime areas in the United States.

Worrying about crime- if not being an actual victim of it- will be a significant part of your child's experience there.

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/crime/2025/04/07/drew-rainer-memphis-case-suspect-plea-deal/82979274007/

Is Rhodes really right smack in the middle of such a terrible and crime ridden area? I had no idea.

When discussing Rhodes, the Memphis crime situation cannot be ignored. Applicants & parents will want to study the Memphis murder map linked below.

Looks like only 13 homicides within a 1 mile radius of the center of campus in 2024!

https://wreg.com/news/local/memphis-murders-and-homicides-2024-map/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Rhodes and tell my kids I would pack up and go back tomorrow. It's true - I treasured my time there and still credit a lot of the skills I learned there with my success (in many ways).

Extremely supportive environment, engaged professors and a great campus. You are assigned an advisor and likely stay with them your entire time - they get to know you and help you choose your classes. To quote a co-worker when describing Rhodes, "They teach you how to think there." Strong career services department that you can utilize for internships and post graduation.

I lived on campus all 4 years, and that is very common. I think it contributes to the close-knit community and feeling there on campus. Excellent outcomes for post-Grads in many fields (Med, Law, etc).

I will say (at least when I was there), politics are not as prevalent as they are in this area. To be sure, there are student groups for those passionate about certain things, but there are many different viewpoints on campus. There is an excellent course series called "Search" (you choose Search or Life for 4 total semesters) that all freshmen and sophomores take that teaches you how to engage in discourse with people unlike you/from different backgrounds, but in a polite and respectful way. It really opened my eyes to many different viewpoints and how to listen and discuss differing viewpoints and ideas.

This is so nice to hear. And sounds great for dc. He’s a good kid, very into service (from a religious ‘light’ high school) and smart but I think he’d get lost in a large environment.

Random question. Is it incredibly hot all the time??

And what’s the school culture for sports? Dc is an athlete

Why would the fact that he went to a religious high school be proof that he’s very into service? That has to come from within and certainly not all religious schools or people are service minded.

You’re a troll but service is a heavy part of the curriculum at certain religious schools. My dc chose this environment and yes, he’s into it. It’s not proof but it’s a correlation that I am confirming. Move on. You’re not going to convince anyone of your nonsense.

NP. I mean, it is telling that you say "he's into service (goes to a religious school)" like public school kids somehow can't be into service. It's a little, well, prejudiced.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Rhodes and tell my kids I would pack up and go back tomorrow. It's true - I treasured my time there and still credit a lot of the skills I learned there with my success (in many ways).

Extremely supportive environment, engaged professors and a great campus. You are assigned an advisor and likely stay with them your entire time - they get to know you and help you choose your classes. To quote a co-worker when describing Rhodes, "They teach you how to think there." Strong career services department that you can utilize for internships and post graduation.

I lived on campus all 4 years, and that is very common. I think it contributes to the close-knit community and feeling there on campus. Excellent outcomes for post-Grads in many fields (Med, Law, etc).

I will say (at least when I was there), politics are not as prevalent as they are in this area. To be sure, there are student groups for those passionate about certain things, but there are many different viewpoints on campus. There is an excellent course series called "Search" (you choose Search or Life for 4 total semesters) that all freshmen and sophomores take that teaches you how to engage in discourse with people unlike you/from different backgrounds, but in a polite and respectful way. It really opened my eyes to many different viewpoints and how to listen and discuss differing viewpoints and ideas.

This is so nice to hear. And sounds great for dc. He’s a good kid, very into service (from a religious ‘light’ high school) and smart but I think he’d get lost in a large environment.

Random question. Is it incredibly hot all the time??

And what’s the school culture for sports? Dc is an athlete

Why would the fact that he went to a religious high school be proof that he’s very into service? That has to come from within and certainly not all religious schools or people are service minded.

You’re a troll but service is a heavy part of the curriculum at certain religious schools. My dc chose this environment and yes, he’s into it. It’s not proof but it’s a correlation that I am confirming. Move on. You’re not going to convince anyone of your nonsense.

Glad your son finds it important. That is really great. That is definitely not the case with some private religious school kids who just go through the motions and are actually quite horrid in how they think about others (plenty of public school kids are like that too, but you called out religious school, like it means something, it doesn't.).

Anonymous wrote:I went to Rhodes and tell my kids I would pack up and go back tomorrow. It's true - I treasured my time there and still credit a lot of the skills I learned there with my success (in many ways).

Extremely supportive environment, engaged professors and a great campus. You are assigned an advisor and likely stay with them your entire time - they get to know you and help you choose your classes. To quote a co-worker when describing Rhodes, "They teach you how to think there." Strong career services department that you can utilize for internships and post graduation.

I lived on campus all 4 years, and that is very common. I think it contributes to the close-knit community and feeling there on campus. Excellent outcomes for post-Grads in many fields (Med, Law, etc).

I will say (at least when I was there), politics are not as prevalent as they are in this area. To be sure, there are student groups for those passionate about certain things, but there are many different viewpoints on campus. There is an excellent course series called "Search" (you choose Search or Life for 4 total semesters) that all freshmen and sophomores take that teaches you how to engage in discourse with people unlike you/from different backgrounds, but in a polite and respectful way. It really opened my eyes to many different viewpoints and how to listen and discuss differing viewpoints and ideas.

Yes, because it is too dangerous to live off campus anywhere near Rhodes College. Do NOT leave campus after dark if walking !

Anonymous wrote:Just as being located in the wrong part of town killed Birmingham Southern, being located in the wrong part of Memphis (which is most of Memphis) will eventually kill Rhodes.

There's no comparison between the two schools. Rhodes is much more financially secure and always had a much better academic reputation and more qualified student body. And I say this as someone who wouldn't send a kid to either.

Rhodes College is an excellent small school, but Memphis is extremely dangerous with respect to violent crime. Actually, Memphis is the most violent city in the nation by a wide margin (twice as dangerous as Baltimore !):

https://security.org/resources/most-dangerous-cities/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Rhodes and tell my kids I would pack up and go back tomorrow. It's true - I treasured my time there and still credit a lot of the skills I learned there with my success (in many ways).

Extremely supportive environment, engaged professors and a great campus. You are assigned an advisor and likely stay with them your entire time - they get to know you and help you choose your classes. To quote a co-worker when describing Rhodes, "They teach you how to think there." Strong career services department that you can utilize for internships and post graduation.

I lived on campus all 4 years, and that is very common. I think it contributes to the close-knit community and feeling there on campus. Excellent outcomes for post-Grads in many fields (Med, Law, etc).

I will say (at least when I was there), politics are not as prevalent as they are in this area. To be sure, there are student groups for those passionate about certain things, but there are many different viewpoints on campus. There is an excellent course series called "Search" (you choose Search or Life for 4 total semesters) that all freshmen and sophomores take that teaches you how to engage in discourse with people unlike you/from different backgrounds, but in a polite and respectful way. It really opened my eyes to many different viewpoints and how to listen and discuss differing viewpoints and ideas.

This is so nice to hear. And sounds great for dc. He’s a good kid, very into service (from a religious ‘light’ high school) and smart but I think he’d get lost in a large environment.

Random question. Is it incredibly hot all the time??

And what’s the school culture for sports? Dc is an athlete

Why would the fact that he went to a religious high school be proof that he’s very into service? That has to come from within and certainly not all religious schools or people are service minded.

You’re a troll but service is a heavy part of the curriculum at certain religious schools. My dc chose this environment and yes, he’s into it. It’s not proof but it’s a correlation that I am confirming. Move on. You’re not going to convince anyone of your nonsense.

My husband and I both went to Rhodes and had great experiences. We aren't from the South and don't currently live in the South, which I'd say is somewhat of an exception. Most of our classmates went on to pursue graduate degrees, though we did not, but I think we've had excellent outcomes. I was a charity case and am extremely grateful for the opportunities Rhodes provided and the incredible education I received.

In my experience, professors were very student-focused and writing/critical thinking was a huge component. Another poster mentioned the Search requirements, which plays into setting the groundwork for heavy writing (though I majored in a humanities subject, so that's a factor).

As I recall, Greek life was definitely prevalent, but not in the same way as an SEC school. I was in a sorority and we occasionally visited chapters at SEC schools - it was very, very different and not my experience at all. I knew plenty of people in sororities and fraternities that weren't overly engaged, and since it's a small school, most students socialized with (or knew) everyone.

From a safety perspective, I came from an impoverished community and Memphis wasn't a shock. Not sure what the stats are, but most people I knew lived on campus all 4 years, so there was/is an element of things being self-contained. Common sense is helpful and goes pretty far, though I acknowledge there have been tragic incidents in Memphis.

Politically, the vast majority of my classmates were moderate or liberal. Yeah, there's absolutely conservatives, but I don't personally know of a single person I'd characterize as MAGA or who's an outspoken Republican.

My husband would LOVE for DD to attend Rhodes, though she prefers to go to school closer to home and they don't have the type of programs she's interested in. Academically, and from an overall student experience, I'd love it too, but we aren't pushing her.

I have two dear friends who are Rhodes alumni and they loved their time there and still talk about how great it was 25 years later. They are both smart and successful. Based on their experiences, I’ve tried to interest DS in looking at Rhodes, but he wants a large football school. Rhodes really seems like an amazing place and I with I had considered a school like that instead of a large state school where I was lost in the crowd.

Anonymous wrote:Just as being located in the wrong part of town killed Birmingham Southern, being located in the wrong part of Memphis (which is most of Memphis) will eventually kill Rhodes.

Did you go to Rhodes?