Hi everyone! I’m an international student who luckily got admitted to these two amazing colleges. My current COA is 22k for Centre and 16k for Rhodes each year. I will most likely major in econ/poli sci. After graduation, I plan to go to grad school or find a job in the US if possible. I’m a perfectionist and self-demanding person who can be a little on edge at times. I am also very outgoing and sensitive. I love to make new friends and build deep connections with people.
Centre and Rhodes are very similar in many ways which makes the decision kind of hard to make. They both have great academic resources and study-abroad opportunities. Perhaps Centre is a bit more rigorous from what I’ve seen. They also have similar study bodies while Rhodes can be more diverse. The biggest difference might be the location. (probably not that big cause they’re both in the south with a 6hr drive from each other lol) Rhodes is in Memphis where more internships and community engagement will be available while Centre is in Danville, KY which is a beautiful small town with less to navigate but also with a much lower crime rate.
I would love to visit these colleges myself, but the plane tickets are very expensive. Please give me some advice!
You have done a pretty good analysis of both schools.
Centre is a smaller than Rhodes, and the location in downtown Danville is idyllic. It is a little more sports-centric IMO given its smaller size, so the percentage of student athletes is fairly high. Its academics are good and it places students well into graduate school. Centre also touts its study abroad opportunities. Lexington is close to Danville. Students go there a lot to have fun, and that’s where you would fly to get to the school.
Rhodes probably does have better internships given the fact that it’s the only selective school in a large city with numerous corporate headquarters. It also has a more diverse student body. Internship opportunities in business and medical fields are particularly good. The small campus is beautiful and secure, but Memphis is a big city with typical crime issues.
We did the drive and visited both schools (plus Sewanee) with our daughter seven years ago. It’s a haul! The campuses have a very different feel. Centre is an integral part of a beautiful small town and Rhodes’ campus is self-contained and located in a nice older neighborhood near downtown Memphis.
Congratulations on two stellar acceptances. Both schools are generous with merit scholarships and have great academics.
If you are international, you are unlikely to find an internship (at least paid) and as a poli sci major, extremely unlikely to find a position here and moreso given the current environment. You might ask each school for outcomes for their international students, but I’d assume to be going home.
Both will get you where you want to be. You might check with Centre for travel connections via Lexington - they might have a shuttle. Then it’s city vs. small town.
@momsearcheng has a student at Rhodes and perhaps has some insight (or not) into being international.
How much does the $22K vs. $16K impact your decision? It would be best to see them but of course you can do so on video. I would not say Rhodes is in a better area - and I would not assume they have better internships - and most intern in summer.
Your challenge will be finding internships - plain and simple and that’s the discussion I would have with the career center.
A friend’s daughter is graduating from Rhodes this year w/ an economics degree and was very happy with her experience there. She felt that she got a lot of personal attention from faculty (and is planning on going to grad school). She had some impressive DC internships. We found the campus is lovely and the students were very friendly. There’s not a ton to do in the immediate area (one nice cafe that the students can walk to; a zoo/park across the street but not a lot of walkable retail.) Memphis can be a bit dodgy in places and the campus is basically locked down to outsiders, even though the surrounding neighborhoods seem calm (tree-lined residential streets). (Having grown up near a college campus that we basically used as a backyard, I found this notable.) My friend’s daughter said her life there got a lot easier once she had a car.
Centre is about 45 minutes from Lexington, and the Lexington airport is not that big. Centre will probably be more difficult to travel to and from. I’d google flights to see what your routes will look like at both, but Centre is definitely more remote. The areas outside of Lexington are more conservative, and Danville is not very diverse. There will be more racial diversity in Memphis. The campus at Rhodes is surrounded by a wall, they have security as well- it’s not in a particularly safe area. You’ll get more in depth info from current students on Reddit, I’d post on there to get more insight
I think your summary of the two colleges is correct and to be honest I think the two are more similar than different. Ofcourse there are differences: being close to a city is different from being in Danville. But what you prefer is very much a personal decision. I too have doubts how easy it is for internationals to find an internship…… If financials count I would chose the cheapest option without a doubt given the fact the schools are so similar.
