With 1450 undergrads, Centre College is a classic liberal arts college. Located in, well, the exact center of the state of Kentucky, Centre College is one of the Colleges That Change Lives. A whopping 85% of Centre students are involved in some type of community service. Interestingly, 42% are involved in artistic activities, and 42% are involved in sports (there’s probably some overlap among those three!).
The most popular majors at Centre are economics and finance, with international relations coming close behind. Centre College also allows students to build their own program of study, and several of their interesting majors have grown out of students doing this:
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Social justice
- Data science
- Biochem and molecular bio
- Glass blowing
- Drama fairly strong
- Global commerce
- Linguistics
Additonally, Centre offers all varieties of pre-professional programs and advising, and about two-thirds of Centre College students go on to earn an advanced degree. Centre College has a 4-1-4 schedule, meaning a four-week break in January between semesters, and many students choose that ‘Jan term’ to go abroad, sometimes on faculty-led programs. About 85% of students go abroad at some point during their time here, and about a third go abroad more than once!
Everyone lives on campus here, and there’s an even split between men and women (which is a bit unusual today, as about 60% of college students are women nationwide). The four year grad rate is very high, as is alumni giving, which is a clear reflection on student and alumni satisfaction.
Admission is very holistic here; test scores are number 4 on the list of things the admission office considers. Most important: the rigor of your high school schedule! They’re looking for intellectual students who have proven to be successful when challenging themselves. Finally, Centre’s all-in cost of attendance is lower than many schools’ cost today – it’s about $54k including tuition and room & board – and Centre College also has generous merit scholarships.
Evelyn, Lesa, Diane and Debbie visited Centre College in fall, 2019. You can scroll through all of the photos from our visit below.