What a friend would tell you
What Hendrix is looking for
Hendrix's Odyssey Program (mandatory engaged learning in six categories: artistic creativity, global awareness, professional internship, service, research, and special projects) is the school's identity. Your application should show you've already started doing these things. Name the Odyssey categories that match your experience. Hendrix rewards students who are active, curious, and willing to try things outside their comfort zone.
What students wish they'd known
Conway, Arkansas is not a cultural destination. Little Rock is nearby but modest by city standards. Hendrix's name recognition outside Arkansas and the South is minimal. At 1,100 students with 35% Greek life, the social scene can feel small and repetitive. The United Methodist affiliation is light but present. Students seeking strong pre-professional pipelines to major coastal employers may find the alumni network insufficient.
Hendrix might be a fit if...
- You want a small Southern LAC where engaged learning (research, service, creative work, travel) is required, not optional
- You're drawn to Arkansas's affordability and a campus where intellectual curiosity is valued over prestige-chasing
- You prefer a collaborative academic culture where professors know your name and your goals
Hendrix Admissions Strategy
Application Info
Plans: EA, RD
Deadlines: EA November 15 · RD February 1
Deadlines: EA November 15 · RD February 1
Test Policy
Test-optional
You choose whether to send scores. A strong score helps your case; a weak one is better left off.
Demonstrated Interest
Not Tracked
Not tracked. Skip the info-session circuit and put those hours into the application itself.
Interview
Recommended
Yield Rate
31%
Only 31% of admits choose to enroll. The waitlist moves more than you'd think; if you land on it, make your interest loud.
Want the strongest possible application to Hendrix, plus better odds and merit offers everywhere else you apply?
Join the free one-hour workshop from two Harvard grads who have helped 3,000+ students get in. Parents welcome.
Cost & Financial Aid at Hendrix
$56,500
Sticker Price
$14,000
Avg Merit Aid
Need-aware admissions. Meets 100% of demonstrated need. 88% receive financial aid.
What you get for it: Hendrix spends about $18,000 per student per year on instruction and student resources, well above the $15K national average.
What Hendrix Graduates Get
$49,000
Avg Starting Salary
89%
Employed or in Grad School
64%
Graduate in 4 Years
The 4-year number is the on-time rate; the 6-year rate (72%) is the one schools usually advertise. A wide gap means many students pay for extra semesters.
Hendrix Campus & Culture
The Campus
Hendrix's 170-acre campus in Conway, Arkansas (pop. 67,000) features red-brick Colonial Revival buildings arranged around a central pecan grove. The Trieschmann Fine Arts Building and the newer Student Life and Technology Center anchor campus life. Bailey Library sits at the heart of the quad. Conway is 30 miles north of Little Rock, in the Arkansas River Valley. The campus is flat, shaded, and walkable, with a distinctly Southern small-college feel.
The Social Scene
Methodist values balanced with modern social scene, Conway access to Little Rock
Hendrix Traditions & Trivia
Shirttails
Dating to 1913 when students paraded in pajamas through Conway after a football win, Shirttails is now a fall dance competition between residence halls; competitors wear white Oxford shirts with ties and shorts, and the crowd treats it like a championship.
Your Hendrix Odyssey
Every student completes experiences across six categories from undergraduate research to service learning before graduating, making the Odyssey the shape of an entire Hendrix education.
Academics at Hendrix
What Hendrix is known for
Methodist education, affordability, Arkansas roots, community service
Most popular majors at Hendrix
Standout programs
Business, Biology, Chemistry, Psychology
How the curriculum works
General Education (30 credits), major (36-48), electives
Recommended high school courses
4 years English, 3 Math, 3 Science, 2-3 Social Studies, 2 Foreign Language
Notable Hendrix Alumni
Mary Steenburgen
Oscar-winning actress, Hendrix class of 1972
Hays Mershon
Prominent civil rights attorney in Arkansas
Bobby Roberts
Director of the Central Arkansas Library System and public historian
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Governor of Arkansas, attended Hendrix before transferring
James McDougal
Whitewater figure, Hendrix graduate
If you like Hendrix, also consider
Rhodes College
Memphis LAC with stronger national reputation and urban access
Centre College
comparable Southern LAC in Kentucky with law school pipeline
Sewanee
The University of the South: Tennessee mountaintop LAC with Episcopal identity
Millsaps College (not in DB)
similar Methodist LAC in Jackson, Mississippi
Furman University
stronger Southern LAC in Greenville, South Carolina