Bloomingdale High School Counseling Department

Centre College, the only independent school in Kentucky with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, has produced two-thirds of the state’s Rhodes scholars over the last 40 years. But the school is not all work and no play. It’s also a throwback to the way college used to be, with Friday night parties on fraternity row and Saturday afternoon football games. Centre’s small size offers “the ability to get involved and have a direct hand in making improvements,” says a biology major. And its liberal arts focus means that despite Centre’s southern location, students are progressive, intellectual, and perhaps more well-rounded than their peers at neighboring schools. “We have an amazing balance of ‘Northern academics’ paired with ‘Southern hospitalities,’” says a sophomore.

Located in the heart of Kentucky Bluegrass country, Centre’s campus is a mix of old Greek Revival and attractive modern buildings. More than 14 of them are listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, a fact that’s less surprising when you know that Centre is the 48th oldest college in the United States. The college is home to four LEED-certified buildings, including two at the Gold level.

General education requirements include basic skills in expository writing, math, and foreign language and two courses in four contexts—aesthetic, social, scientific, and fundamental questions. Students are also required to take a computer seminar. The freshman seminar is offered during the three-week January “CentreTerm.” These courses are required and are capped at 15 students each, and they offer a chance to explore topics such as cloning, baseball in American politics, and coffee and culture.

Centre’s most popular majors are history, economics, English, biology, and government; not coincidentally, these are among the school’s best departments. Art is also strong, and glassblowing enthusiasts will find one of the few fully equipped undergraduate facilities for their pursuit in the nation. “The academic climate is challenging, but incredibly supportive. Professors expect the best out of every student, but are also always there to provide any possible assistance,” reports one senior. No course taken by a Centre freshman has more than 50 students, and 60 percent have 19 or fewer. Professors are “experts in their fields and are also excellent at transmitting their knowledge to students,” says a psychology and Spanish double major. Another student adds, “With the focus on undergraduate students, Centre students have the opportunity to do research with professors as early as the summer after their freshman year.”

Eighty-five percent of any given class takes advantage of those study abroad programs, which offer travel to London, France, Mexico, Japan, and Ireland during the semester, and to New Zealand, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, and India during the January term. Centre also belongs to the Associated Colleges of the South*, through which students may select programs in Central America. A 3–2 program sends aspiring engineers on to one of four major universities, including Columbia and Vanderbilt. About one-fifth of students perform collaborative research with faculty, and the John C. Young Scholars program allows select seniors to participate in a year of guided research.

“Centre students are versatile; we are athletic, intelligent, ambitious, and skeptical of the status quo,” says one freshman. “At the risk of sounding brash, Centre students are simply higher achievers than the students at our rival college.” Fifty-four percent of Centre students hail from Kentucky, and three-quarters graduated from public high school. African American, Asian American, and Hispanic students together make up 10 percent of the student body. “Although Centre students have a reputation for being apathetic, there is a large number who are socially and politically engaged,” a senior says. “Thanks in part to the college’s robust study abroad program, students are politically engaged and aware of international concerns,” says a junior. Centre offers merit scholarships and the “Centre commitment” guarantees students an internship or research experience, study abroad, and a degree in four years. 

Ninety-nine percent of students live in Centre’s dorms, which are “comfortable and clean,” according to a senior. There are three main clusters of halls on campus—North Side, Old Centre, and the Old Quad—and each has all of the necessities of college life. Freshmen live in single-sex halls, while upperclassmen may choose buildings that are co-ed by floor. Room draw is described as “confusing,” and it can be difficult to get into the most highly desired housing. Centre has also purchased and remodeled an apartment building to provide additional housing for upperclassmen, though the 41 percent of men and 38 percent of the women who go Greek may bunk in fraternity or sorority houses, respectively. Campus dining receives a hearty thumbs-up from students. “The dining hall has soup, sandwiches, pizza, pasta, a salad bar, bagels, fresh fruit, cereal, and desserts every day. Most students like the food and enjoy the atmosphere of the dining hall,” notes one sated student.

“People stay on campus for the weekends,” says a mathematics major. “Greek life is huge, but very inclusive.”  That said, Lexington and Louisville are within an hour’s drive, and it’s easy to get to the countryside for camping, fishing, and other outdoor pursuits. Students also get free admission to Centre’s separately endowed Norton Center for the Arts, which brings touring musicals, plays, and other performances to campus. Eighty percent of the student body does community service through the Greek system, Habitat for Humanity, and the Humane Society.

Centre’s football team has been around for more than a century, and while it now competes against regional opponents in Division III, that wasn’t always the case. In 1921 the Colonels beat then-powerhouse Harvard, six to zero, a triumph that has been called the greatest sports upset in the first half of the 20th century. Men’s basketball, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s golf, and men’s cross-country have all competed in the NCAA championships recently. Seventy percent of the student body regularly takes advantage of the intramural program, with flag football, softball, and soccer drawing a lot of players. Centre’s archrival is nearby Transylvania University, but it’s other traditions that really get students going. Those include faculty Christmas caroling for the freshmen and the “Running the Flame,” which has students dashing from the fraternity houses, around a sculpture, and back—“naked, of course.” Another student says, “Recently, people have started putting pennies on the new statue of Lincoln for good luck on exams.”

What Centre College lacks in size, it more than makes up for in quality. With a safe, bucolic campus, an emphasis on academic excellence, and faculty and students who care about forming lasting friendships with each other, this undiscovered gem may be worth a look. “The people and just the feel of the campus were what really won me over,” one satisfied junior says.

 

Deadlines & Requirements

Centre: Early action: Dec. 1. Regular admissions: Jan. 15. Application fee: $40 (paper), free (online). Campus and alumni interviews: optional, informational. SATs or ACTs: required. No Subject Tests. Accepts the Common Application. Essay question: Common Application questions.