Davidson College Top Questions

Davidson students looove to start organizations. And to raise money. We have more new organizations and more fundraisers than we know what to do with. I think that the size and the administration encourage it. My favorite fundraiser of the year was "Benchpress for Breastcancer," held by a bunch of meat-head, frat boys. The college pairs freshmen roommates according to their Myers-Briggs types. Most of the pairs work out really well, but every once in a while there's a disaster. Apparently 4 letters doesn't tell you everything you need about your potential for compatability.

Davidson has a wide variety of activities that people can join and a lot do join. You will find it hard to find someone who is not involved in anything. Davidson students really like to get involved on campus and there are a lot of opportunities for that. One thing I really like about the social scene on campus are the eating houses for women versus the sororities that one usually finds in Greek life. There are fraternities but women have eating houses which you could make as much or as little a part of your life as you would like. I would never join a sorority but the eating houses are much more chill and a lot of fun. One of the highlights of my Davidson experience was Self-Selection night when I found out that I was in Warner Hall and all of the new freshmen got covered in ice cream toppings and then had a dance party in the house. It was so much fun! The social scene revolves a lot around the eating houses and fraternities but also around the Union where there are other activities going on on weekends such as movies being shown or Casino Night or After Midnight when you get free Chick-fil-a or the Pancake Breakfast. The Union is a really fun place to hang out on weekends and especially during the week to eat, or to study, or just to hang out with friends.

Because of honor code, no one worries about anything when it comes to their property. I will frequently leave my car keys, laptop, and wallet on a library table while I go to lab for a few hours. I have never had anything stolen. The social scene is centered around the fraternities and eating houses. The school tries to fight this from being the case, but at the end of the day you will come to the frats or eating houses if you want to have fun. That's my perspective anyway, I'm sure many classmates would swear that this wasn't true - but I've never scene them outside the classroom. They go to their caves I think.

Greek life does not encompass the social life of Davidson. Many students join frats and eating houses (there are no sororities), but plenty of students do not. Parties are mostly open to everyone, and all the frats/eating houses are welcoming to everyone. So the social life is somewhat communal and open, which is really nice. I'm not affiliated with any social group, but I've been to plenty of parties on and off campus, and people everywhere have been welcoming, friendly, fun. The party life would not stand up to most campuses in intensity, but it's certainly available and usually fun. It would be hard to 'go out' on a weekend and not drink, but plenty of people hang out on the weekends sober.

The basketball team is our big team on campus and so for the winter they occupy the sports schedule for most people. But everyone here seems to do something: triathlons, soccer, crew, track, football, theater, singing, arts. Anything you could want to do we have and if not it seems pretty easy to make your own activity. We have frats and eating houses (our version of sororities) but their parties are always open and I've never felt pressured to join. People here party when the can which usually ends up being only Friday, Saturday and occasionally Wednesday. The school is small though so any drunken mistakes will not stay secret. The main rule of thumb here is "You get in trouble for doing stupid things". If you party reasonably, don't cause problems, are discreet and safe then you should be cool.

I love my Methodist College Fellowship group. It spans all classes at Davidson and provides me the opportunity for spiritual growth in an environment that sometimes seems only academic. Dorm life is fantastic. My hall is substance-free (no alcohol on the hall, you cannot return intoxicated) and I love the people here. Doors are definitely always open, and never ever locked. My best friends are on the hall, it is a great way to meet people as a freshman. The guest speakers are phenomenal; for such a small school Davidson brings in some really impressive people. I have been to at least a dozen guest lectures this year, and loved every single one. Nobel Prize winners, research scientists, humanitarians, playwrights, diplomats, businesspeople- you name it, we've seen it. Also popular among students is theater and Dance Ensemble. Both are open to anyone, you don't have to be theater major to auditon, for example. Weekend events are varied, there are of course parties (fraternities and eating houses), but plenty of other options if that is not your idea of fun. I don't frequent the court, and I still have a great time. The Union Board puts on movies, brings in entertainment (eg. free paint-your-own-pottery, ice skating rink set up in the Union, casino night...) so there is plenty to do without alcohol. The dating scene is pretty nice, I have been asked out by three guys since I got here in the fall. The guy I'm dating is wonderful, and about half of my friends have a boyfriend or girlfriend.

As far as the social scene goes, about 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of guys join fraternities, while about 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of girls join eating houses (similar to sororities, except that incoming girls pick the eating house, not the other way around, and they are not nationally affiliated). I am in a fraternity, and I have friends who are in fraternities and who are independent. Almost all parties are open to everyone.

one bar. Frat parties, aka blackout drunk masses of people grinding up together and getting sweaty. Not a very good social scene.

There are many various actives to participate. I play varsity soccer, so that takes up the majority of my time. As for the social life there is the court. The court is comprised of eating houses and frats. Every weekend there is at least two parties. Nobody is ever turned away. The only time houses are closed are for semi or formals and then they are always open up to everyone at midnight. The court is a lot of fun, however after three years it can kind of get old. One thing that many people might find strange is the fact there is always a Davidson cop at every party. His/her purpose is not to stop underage drinking, but rather make sure that nothing gets outta hand aka fights. There is only one bar near the campus. Whoever opens up another one would make a fortune. Another huge hang out place is F. This is an apartment complex where the majority of beer pong and other typical college activities take place. Partying is mainly limited to wed, fri, and sat.

DAVIDSON OUTDOORS, Dance Ensemble, athletic events (particularly basketball) are well attended. 1/4 of students here are Varsity athletes so not only are students active on campus, their classmates support them. 3/4 of students choose to play an intramural/club sport as well, so athletic events are incredibly popular. That being said, students here are multi-talented and often appear in dance clubs, art groups, theatre, and athletic teams (sometimes in the same season)

So much to do, so little time. There is always something to do...seriously. I could spend an entire week doing nothing but activities and socializing and be completely entertatined. This is where time management come in to play!

We only have fraternities. Instead of sororities, we have "eating houses" for girls, which aren't greek but are just like sororities, pretty much. All the social houses (frat and eating houses) are located along the same small street "the court" on campus, so all the parties happen right next to each other, and it's one big party. People also party in senior apartments, but you're more likely to get caught by police there if you're underage. It's a very very safe campus, and I'm a girl saying that. Theater is good, especially when we host outside performers like the ROyal Shakespeare Company. We have great guest speakers, like Derek Walcott, and performers like Black Eyed Peas and Jason Mraz. Traditions are huge here. Every spring we have "spring frolics" right before final week, so everyone hangs out in the "court" and we party all weekend. The frats' and sorority parties are an annual thing to, and most everyone looks forward to the best parties every year. The basketball team is awesome - Go Cats! - so sports really influence the school spirit in a positive way.

There are more activities on campus than anyone could ever possibly participate in, which is part of the reason Davidson students are so busy and ALWAYS stressed out. Freshman halls are really fun, everyone leaves their doors open, and they are great places to hang out. The main social scene on the weekends is the Court, with fraternity and eating house parties, or parties at senior apartments. There is a lot of alcohol use. Drugs, mainly marijuana, are used but are not broadcast as much. There are also many options for students who choose not to drink. Many students go off campus to shop, watch movies, or go out to eat. The Student Union also hosts free events on Friday and Saturday nights for students such as Paint Your Own Pottery, Build-a-Bear, Ice-Skating, Karaoke, and a carnival. If you are awake at 2am on a Tuesday, you are likely to be pulling an all-nighter to finish your 15 page history paper. You could also be hanging out with your friends on your residence hall. If it's a Thursday night, it's much more likely that you are down at a senior apartment playing beer pong and drinking beer.

Eating houses are popular on campus for girls and fraternities are even more popular than boys. Eating houses are fun but can be cliquey. Students always leave their dorms open due to our honor code and also my freshman hall dorm was extremely nice to one another. My closest friends lived on my freshman hall because before going to davidson you take the Myers Briggs personality test so that you can be matched to your roommate and hallmates. People party on the weekends and go out on Wednesday nights to the frats. Also if you are 21 there is a bar to go to on Thursday night and the student center also has a 21 year old night on Tuesday. People put their work before going out and frequently turn down going out on weekends and weekends to study. There are substance free options on weekends, but I do not choose to participate.

During the week its mostly work, but they do have bands in the Student Union every Thursday and Wednesday night, a 21 year old night on Tuesdays, and every night of the weekend there are noth Union Board sponsored events and allegedly "Greek" parties. The dating scene sucks, most people do not want to get married right after college because they are either Pre-Med or Pre-Law. Last weekend? I took a Greyhound Bus to Chattanooga to visit a friend, but this weekend is the spring all weekend long "Frolick". Oh, and we have a lake campus with a beach.

Davidson sports, especially basketball, are very much supported by the school and the student body. Davidson also has guest speakers very frequently from all different disciplines. These generally have high attendance rates. Davidson has the "work hard play hard" mentality. Students work through the week, so there aren't many parties on weeknights. The weekends are a different story. There are always multiple parties to go to as well as activities planned for those who aren't into the partying/drinking scene.

Patterson Court is where the parties are. They get old after about a year, but can still be entertaining every once in a while. The Union Board comes up with endless amounts of fun activities, like paint your own pottery, ice skating, etc. Freshman halls are really close and promote a sense of community and comfort that I really valued. There is plenty to do on campus, both if you drink and if you don't. There are always entertainers and speakers coming to campus, even though a lot of the time you don't have the free time to go to them.

Social life here isn't as exciting as it is at big state schools, but we find ways to amuse ourselves. On the tours and whatnot they tell prospective students about all the trivia nights and movie nights they have in the union. They probably have a bunch of stuff like that. But as nerdy as we are, a lot of us still like to go out and just get pretty drunk.

Parties are great, not scary at all, all of them are so open. The eating house/fraternity system is great, it is not nearly as scary/exclusive as at other schools.

The dating scene sucks. There are two kinds of relationships: meaningless hookups and preludes to marriage. The social scene tends to center around the Court, but if that's not your scene you can always find other stuff to do. Overall there's a pretty good balance between frats and other groups.