RELEASED: June 16, 2005

DANVILLE, KY—On a recent visit to the admission office, we caught up with three Centre College student tour guides—seniors Dary Picken from Ann Arbor, Mich., Trey Janes from Pawleys Island, S.C., and Rebecca Bush from Brooksville, Ky.—and found out some of the frequently asked and more unusual questions prospective students and their parents ask while on a campus tour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there anything to do in Danville?
Janes: I first thought I'd be driving to Lexington a lot to have fun, but I don't. There's plenty to do on campus.

Picken: There are over 100 clubs and organizations from the Baptist Student Union to the Student Activities Council.

Bush: It's not a suitcase campus. Students aren't trying to get away as soon as classes are over. There are always plenty of people to talk to and hang out with. Campus always has something going on.

What about study abroad?
Bush: Well, Dary, Trey and I just got back from [Centre's program in] Strasbourg, France, so we talk about that. We also talk about the other long-term options in the spring and fall, and the shorter CentreTerm trips.

Janes: And you can go abroad and the cost is not in excess of your regular tuition.

Bush: We're in the top-10 in the nation in the number of students who study abroad. Last CentreTerm [Centre's three-week January term] students studied in the Bahamas, Ireland, Cameroon, New Zealand and Spain, 75 percent go abroad at least once during their four years.

Picken: It's part of the Centre Commitment (http://www.centre.edu/web/admission/publications/centrecommitment.html). There are also a lot of classes that travel stateside visiting, Washington, D.C., Florida, and New Orleans, for example.

What's the food like?
Janes: The Grille [located in the Combs Warehouse] is a great place to hang out with friends, and so is Cowan [Dining Commons, Centre's main cafeteria]. And Cowan offers a big variety of foods.

Picken: After living abroad and working in the summers, it's great not to have to cook for yourself.

Bush: I actually started to miss Cowan in France, especially the ice cream machine.

What's the profile of a Centre student?
Bush: If you're looking for a school where everyone fits into a stereotype, then Centre isn't the place to be. We're really diverse.

Janes: Top-tier students, but not overwhelmingly dorky.

Picken: Serious academics, but not so serious to where people don't have fun and are stuck up in the library all the time.

What's the relationship like between the professors and the students?
Picken: The student/faculty ratio is 10:1 and the average class size is 18—the deeper you get into your major, the smaller the classes get. I've eaten dinner at professors' homes, played tennis with them and even watched BillyBlues, featuring Centre professor Mark Lucas, Centre director of communications Mike Norris, and local physician Colin Raitiere.

Bush: You're not going to be anonymous. [The faculty] really care about my personal progress. They don't want to make college miserable for you—they want to help you enjoy it.

Picken: I have a funny story about this. One time my freshman year, there was a student who had skipped a few classes, and the professor asked where he was. So the whole class took a field trip to this student's room, woke him up and brought him to class.

Janes: At Centre, you are more of a name and a face than a number.

How many students live in the first-year men's and women's residence halls?
Janes: There are about 50 rooms in each of the freshman dorms and most have laundry facilities in the basement.

What's the weather like?
Picken: The winters are pretty mild.

Janes: The summers are the same as southern states.

Bush: We get three to four snowfalls a year, but they are not that significant compared to northern states.

What's impressive about Centre's history?
Picken: Most people are impressed with the fact that Old Centre once served as a hospital during the Civil War. They also make comments about some of the buildings having several names. I tell them that has something to do with the fact that Centre has had so many generous alumni over the years who have contributed to making Centre No. 1 in alumni-giving percentage.

Can you really take classes with internationally famous glass artist Stephen Powell?
Bush: I get asked this question a lot after the prospective students see his blown-glass artwork in the buildings. Yes, you can. He even offers classes to non-majors.

Is it tough to get the classes you need to graduate on time?
Janes: It's never really a problem.

Picken: You have an advisor who helps you get all of your classes in, and Centre allows you to spread out the general education requirements.

Bush: We have the highest graduation rate in Kentucky, around 80 percent.

What's the setup of the typical dorm room?
Janes: Rooms at Centre have movable furniture and beds that can be bunked. I always tell parents and students to call their roommates before they come to make sure items aren't duplicated.

Picken: They might look small, but they are large enough for what you need. If you get crowded, there are always the lobbies and the computer labs.

Bush: You can put a lot more in the room than what you might think.

Can you bring cars?
Picken: There are no restrictions on cars, but you really don't need one.

Bush: Maybe half of my friends had cars freshman year. There's always someone to tag along with when you need to go somewhere.

What's campus security like?
Janes: The department of public safety (DPS) at Centre provides an escort service to walk you to your dorm at night and they are more than willing to help out, but Danville isn't a high-crime community.

Bush: Sometimes I tell people that I leave my stuff on the table in the cafeteria before getting in line and don't think twice. I've never felt uncomfortable.

Picken: DPS officer Brad Hundley learned my name my freshman year and still knew who I was six months later, and no, it wasn't because of an offense.

Janes: Like Dary said, half of the time they come to talk to you it's not because of an offense.

What types of housing does Centre offer?
Janes: Someone asked me this recently and I got to thinking that we have a lot of options. We have the regular dorm style, suites, apartments, Greek houses, and theme housing.

What is the athletic conference like?
Picken: Centre plays other non-athletic scholarship schools in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC).

Bush: Approximately 60 percent of the student body plays a sport or participates in intramurals.

Janes: We play schools all over the country, from Atlanta to San Antonio to Northern Indiana.

Do people support the teams?
Picken: We have a lot of support from fans.

Janes: And you always see teachers or staff members at the games, including Centre President John Roush.

What's CentreTerm like?
Janes: You take classes that are in the interest of your professors.

Bush: Like the Art of Walking

Picken: Basketball as Religion

Bush: Cafes and Public Life

Picken: You don't just take traditional topics—you expand outside the box.

What are the Norton Center shows like?
Picken: I tell them about the Vice Presidential Debate in 2000, and the other shows including James Earl Jones, Boston Pops, STOMP and Ben Folds.

Bush: Don't forget Steel Magnolias and next year is….

Picken and Bush: Menopause the Musical

What about the new athletic and recreation center, Sutcliffe Hall?
Picken: Students are always interested in this. For a school the size of Centre to have that sort of complex is impressive. It's really clean and high tech, with 12 TVs upstairs in the cardio area.

What should a prospective student bring on their tour?
Picken: Questions, lots of questions.

And now for some of the more unusual questions our tour guides have heard while on duty . . .

Is there ever any tension between students from the north and students from the south?
Picken: No, being from the north, I've enjoyed seeing a lot of southern hospitality. Although, there is the re-enactment at Perryville [located 10 miles from Centre and a scene of a pivotal Civil War battle].

Bush: And around 30 percent of Centre students are from out of state.

Why is the Norton Center for the Arts orange?
Bush: The Norton Center was designed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Centre can only re-tile, re-carpet and paint the building that exact color. It's considered a work of art.

Can you bring a cable splitter to that both roommates could have their own TV?
Picken: I didn't know such existed.

What about motorcycle parking?
Bush: Just park in a regular spot I guess.

To ask these students more questions, see http://www.centre.edu/web/admission/askastudent/. Or schedule a visit to Centre's campus this summer, log on to http://www.centre.edu/web/admission/visit.html or call 1-800-423-6236.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.

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