I worked for someone who went to Rhodes and met many of their friends who also graduated from that school. They were some of the most learned, accomplished, civic-minded and intellectually curious people I've ever met. Solid citizens and then some. Their discussions of their time there gave me the impression that it is a center of intellectual pursuit first and foremost - like an old-fashioned Dead Poet's Society-esque setting. All were proud Southern Democrats with (albeit distant but frequently mentioned) ties to the Clintons. I'm always surprised when I hear people think Southerners are all Republicans. Anyway, it seems like an interesting school.

Do you need a car to go there?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t go to Rhodes, but we live near there and a bunch of Rhodes students live in our apartment building. It’s a fun city with a lot of cool things going on! And the parks here are awesome — Rhodes is just north of Overton Park, which has the zoo, tons of outdoor concerts, and great trails. I think the biggest issue in terms of safety is just that Memphis isn’t walkable and public transportation is bad, so getting off campus requires having a car or depending on Lyft/Uber. (If anyone wants to go to a huge football game, University of Memphis is here too.)

Is it really as unsafe as people make it sound? Or is it like many cities where there are good and bad parts?

FBI crime stats reveal that Memphis is clearly the most dangerous city in the US for violent crime.

Anonymous wrote:Like other big cities! But, like I said, not walkable. Most of the crime I hear about in our neighborhood is car break ins. We’ve never had any issues.

Car break-ins occur on campus at Rhodes College.

Rhodes College borders an unsafe area, but the area around Temple is probably a bit more dangerous.

Like other big cities! But, like I said, not walkable. Most of the crime I hear about in our neighborhood is car break ins. We’ve never had any issues.

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t go to Rhodes, but we live near there and a bunch of Rhodes students live in our apartment building. It’s a fun city with a lot of cool things going on! And the parks here are awesome — Rhodes is just north of Overton Park, which has the zoo, tons of outdoor concerts, and great trails. I think the biggest issue in terms of safety is just that Memphis isn’t walkable and public transportation is bad, so getting off campus requires having a car or depending on Lyft/Uber. (If anyone wants to go to a huge football game, University of Memphis is here too.)

Is it really as unsafe as people make it sound? Or is it like many cities where there are good and bad parts?

I didn’t go to Rhodes, but we live near there and a bunch of Rhodes students live in our apartment building. It’s a fun city with a lot of cool things going on! And the parks here are awesome — Rhodes is just north of Overton Park, which has the zoo, tons of outdoor concerts, and great trails. I think the biggest issue in terms of safety is just that Memphis isn’t walkable and public transportation is bad, so getting off campus requires having a car or depending on Lyft/Uber. (If anyone wants to go to a huge football game, University of Memphis is here too.)

Not sure how your son's political views tie into it. My SIL went there and liked it, she is liberal. One of my law school classmates who is conservative also liked it. It's a good school, and not overtly political.

How does the crime situation and surrounding neighborhood compare to Temple? Now that's a campus you shouldn't wander off of at night if you don't want to get kilt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amy Coney Barrett’s alma mater. Your “moderate” son may like it. Could you try to wake him up a little, though?

I mean, I don’t like her views on everything but she has a magnificent brain. I don’t think this is the insult you think it is

+100

You'd be more persuasive if you changed "everything" to "anything."

People might consider your opinions occasionally if you weren’t such a left wing extremist. No one wants to talk with wackos like you.
DP

My daughter's friend graduated from there. He was a high stat student who got an almost full ride. Majored in neuroscience. Did very well and loved his time there. He's is a research scientist at St. Jude's now.

My niece just graduated in May. Although personally not very politically involved, she comes from a Democrat-voting family with immigrant parents. I think she really enjoyed her time there, although the safety concerns were only discovered by her parents as an issue after she committed. She was raised in multiple states, including 2 southern states, so the culture was familiar to her. She did join Greek Life and that seems to have gone better than her time at a southern all-girls boarding school where she didn't fit in at all and struggled socially.

Also look into Sewanee.

Memphis has a sky-high murder/homicide rate -

Whomever is posting all of these links, we get it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

They have a nationally-ranked mock trial program - the campus is lovely, but even the school tells you to be extremely cautious going off campus. Memphis has a sky-high murder/homicide rate - https://www.memphisflyer.com/homicide-capital-maybe; https://www.security.org/resources/most-dangerous-cities/

Best to just stay out of the jungle.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

They have a nationally-ranked mock trial program - the campus is lovely, but even the school tells you to be extremely cautious going off campus. Memphis has a sky-high murder/homicide rate - https://www.memphisflyer.com/homicide-capital-maybe; https://www.security.org/resources/most-dangerous-cities/