Hendrix College

Hendrix College has become more selective in recent admissions cycles while maintaining a steady position on the national stage. In the 2027 U.S. News Best National Liberal Arts Colleges ranking, the college placed 100th, holding its position right on the top-100 threshold. Getting accepted requires solid preparation, as the overall acceptance rate was 55.6% in 2025. Compared with a peer group of similarly ranked private liberal arts colleges, this acceptance rate was higher than 24% of peer schools, showing that Hendrix is more selective than most institutions in its peer cohort. Meanwhile, enrolling admitted applicants presents an ongoing challenge. In 2025, the yield rate stood at 18.1%, meaning fewer than one in five admitted applicants chose to enroll. Even though that yield rate was higher than 83% of peer schools, it indicates that admitted students commonly compare Hendrix against other collegiate options before committing.

Hendrix College follows an admission policy where test scores are optional, considered if submitted. For the 2025 entering class, 50% of enrolled students submitted ACT scores, making it the far more common standardized test on campus. Among those who reported scores that year, the middle 50% of ACT composite scores spanned from 23 to 31. Hendrix also recorded an entering median SAT score of 1240, a level higher than 40% of peer schools in a comparison group of similarly ranked private liberal arts colleges. Score ranges from 2025 indicate that admitted students with submitted testing typically demonstrate solid secondary-school achievement. Because the institution reviews applications under a test-optional framework, prospective students can use these mid-range scores as a practical gauge of academic competitiveness when deciding how their testing compares to enrolled classmates.

Undergraduate education at Hendrix College is concentrated in a handful of programs, with the three largest majors conferring 40.3% of the 283 bachelor's degrees awarded in 2025. Psychology, General is the single largest undergraduate program, graduating 50 students, followed by Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General and Economics, General. International student representation across these primary disciplines is minimal, with few or no international graduates in each department. Early career compensation varies substantially across the college's most popular departments. Based on 2023 earnings data collected one year after graduation, Economics graduates secured the highest median pay among leading majors at $51,353, notably outpacing median returns in Psychology and Health Services. Beyond undergraduate degrees, Hendrix maintains a very small advanced degree footprint centered exclusively on a master's degree in Accounting. Families evaluating academic pathways should note that Hendrix functions primarily as an undergraduate institution centered in health and social sciences, where post-graduation salaries depend heavily on the specific subject studied.

Hendrix College educates a predominantly domestic student body centered almost entirely on undergraduate learning, with an overall enrollment of 1,110 students in 2025. Both Asian and international students represent small proportions across campus cohorts. In the entering first-year class of 318 students, Asian students and international students each account for 5 individuals, representing 1.6% of the incoming class. Domestic white students make up the clear majority of new arrivals, alongside smaller groups of Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Black students. Returning undergraduate cohorts reflect a similar demographic balance, with 33 Asian students enrolled among upperclassmen. Transfer students and graduate students make up only minor segments of campus life. For prospective families and applicants, these figures illustrate an educational environment focused on regional domestic undergraduates. Those considering the college should recognize that international and Asian students form small communities across all four class years.

The student population at Hendrix College consists almost exclusively of young adults attending college immediately after secondary school. In 2025, undergraduates aged 18 to 19 made up 47.2% of the undergraduate population, while students aged 20 to 21 accounted for 43.5%. The college's graduate division is similarly youthful: among the small cohort of graduate students, 90% were between the ages of 22 and 24. With undergraduates and graduate students concentrated within these narrow age bands, campus life is structured around traditional full-time study, with residential housing, social programming, and student support services geared directly to young adults.

International enrollment at Hendrix College is limited and has trended downward over the past decade. By 2025, international students represented 2.1% of the undergraduate population. When evaluated against a peer group of similarly ranked private liberal arts colleges, this proportion was higher than 20% of peer schools. At the graduate level, international representation stood at 0%, with no overseas students enrolled in the college's master's cohort. International representation among graduating seniors is similarly sparse and restricted to a handful of subjects. In 2025, international students received degrees in disciplines such as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, where they accounted for 5.3% of graduates, alongside small numbers in Computer Science and Psychology, General. Major fields like Economics and Health Services awarded no degrees to international students. Prospective international applicants should recognize that Hendrix offers an immersion experience within a largely domestic collegiate setting.

Students considering Hendrix College have several alternative higher education institutions to evaluate within the broader region. Located approximately 42 kilometers away, Harding University is a private institution ranked 276th among National Universities in the 2027 rankings. Further northwest, roughly 118 kilometers from Conway, is the state's flagship public campus, University of Arkansas, which holds a rank of 191st among National Universities. For applicants specifically seeking another private liberal arts environment, Rhodes College is located about 139 kilometers to the east in Tennessee and is ranked 49th on the National Liberal Arts Colleges list. Additionally, University of Memphis is situated 142 kilometers away and ranked 288th among National Universities, giving prospective students both public research and private collegiate options nearby.

Campus safety data for Hendrix College show a substantial decline in overall reported incidents over the past decade. By 2025, the college's crime rate per 1,000 students stood at 11.7. Over the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, the vast majority of documented campus infractions involved disciplinary actions for substance policy violations rather than violent offenses. Specifically, disciplinary referrals for alcohol violations formed the largest category, totaling 74 incidents across those years, followed by 39 drug disciplinary referrals. Direct criminal offenses occurred far less frequently, with 13 reported incidents of theft during the same timeframe, alongside a few arrests related to alcohol and drugs and occasional dating violence reports. For families and students assessing campus life, these records suggest that campus safety issues at Hendrix are primarily centered on internal college policy enforcement regarding alcohol and substance use.