Davidson College Top Questions

Great college a lot of hard work. Worth it with intimacy between professors and student. small class size. GPA incredibly tough.

Overall, I love Davidson. Everyone loves Davidson, even though we complain about the workload sometimes. The small, friendly community that allows us to connect with both our peers and professors is something that I wouldn't trade for the world. The best thing about it is definitely the Honor Code. It's not just a piece of paper that we sign that tells us to try not to cheat on tests. It's a lifestyle that everyone on campus follows in order to maintain a mutual bond of trust between peers, between peers/professors, and every other relationship in the community. I can leave my laptop in the Union for 3 hours and ensure that it will still be there. My professors trust me to take a test to the library and abide by time limits and the closed-book rule-that way, I can take it on my own time in the best environment for me. It's the best. The unusual thing about Davidson is just how friendly and open it is. I LOVE the fact that all parties and Union events are open to ALL Davidson students (except for formals). To get into a fraternity/eating-house party, the only thing you need is a Davidson ID. Anyone can come to F. In fact, there is a rule at Davidson against exclusive fraternity/eating house parties unless they are open to the entire campus at some point in the night. So, for example, if Rusk has a sisterhood from 8-11, it is open to the whole campus from 11-2. Eating Houses are open to any girl who wants to be in one-no girl can be denied from joining an eating house, which took off a TON of pressure of rushing. I filled out a form online and got notified at the end of the week. Done. The only thing I would really change about Davidson? I would make quesadillas available in the Union at all hours, and not just from 9-11 PM. When I'm really hungry, I literally stare at the clock until 9...they're that good, especially the black bean and cheese ones. There's nothing worse than eating a small dinner at Commons and 5 and craving a quesadilla at 8. On a more serious note, I might abolish the frats and establish male eating-houses...the girls have it so easy (everyone gets into an eating house, selection is done by an algorithm, you are guaranteed your first or second choice, and you are guaranteed to be with up to 3 of your friends), so why do the guys have to go through rush, pledging, etc? When I tell people I go to Davidson, most ask me, "Oh, where's that?", or "Is that a junior college?" (my personal favorite). That bothered me at first, but then I realized that you'll get that with almost any small liberal arts college, especially if you're traveling halfway across the country for it. But we have so much school pride in our alumni network that it's worth it. A woman on a plane overheard that I go to Davidson, and she offered me an internship and gave me her business card. There aren't as many connections as a state school, but the connections you do get are STRONG. And that's absolutely priceless, something you will not get anywhere else. When you go to Davidson, you come to understand that there is just so much love for this school from al of the people who know it. Davidson is a unique place, and it is an honor to be a student here. When you come here, you recognize that bond. Despite the workload, this bond makes us feel like we're the luckiest students in the country.

Overall, I love Davidson. Everyone loves Davidson, even though we complain about the workload sometimes. The small, friendly community that allows us to connect with both our peers and professors is something that I wouldn't trade for the world. The best thing about it is definitely the Honor Code. It's not just a piece of paper that we sign that tells us to try not to cheat on tests. It's a lifestyle that everyone on campus follows in order to maintain a mutual bond of trust between peers, between peers/professors, and every other relationship in the community. I can leave my laptop in the Union for 3 hours and ensure that it will still be there. My professors trust me to take a test to the library and abide by time limits and the closed-book rule-that way, I can take it on my own time in the best environment for me. It's the best. The unusual thing about Davidson is just how friendly and open it is. I LOVE the fact that all parties and Union events are open to ALL Davidson students (except for formals). To get into a fraternity/eating-house party, the only thing you need is a Davidson ID. Anyone can come to F. In fact, there is a rule at Davidson against exclusive fraternity/eating house parties unless they are open to the entire campus at some point in the night. So, for example, if Rusk has a sisterhood from 8-11, it is open to the whole campus from 11-2. Eating Houses are open to any girl who wants to be in one-no girl can be denied from joining an eating house, which took off a TON of pressure of rushing. I filled out a form online and got notified at the end of the week. Done. The only thing I would really change about Davidson? I would make quesadillas available in the Union at all hours, and not just from 9-11 PM. When I'm really hungry, I literally stare at the clock until 9...they're that good, especially the black bean and cheese ones. There's nothing worse than eating a small dinner at Commons and 5 and craving a quesadilla at 8. On a more serious note, I might abolish the frats and establish male eating-houses...the girls have it so easy (everyone gets into an eating house, selection is done by an algorithm, you are guaranteed your first or second choice, and you are guaranteed to be with up to 3 of your friends), so why do the guys have to go through rush, pledging, etc? When I tell people I go to Davidson, most ask me, "Oh, where's that?", or "Is that a junior college?" (my personal favorite). That bothered me at first, but then I realized that you'll get that with almost any small liberal arts college, especially if you're traveling halfway across the country for it. But we have so much school pride in our alumni network that it's worth it. A woman on a plane overheard that I go to Davidson, and she offered me an internship and gave me her business card. There aren't as many connections as a state school, but the connections you do get are STRONG. And that's absolutely priceless, something you will not get anywhere else. When you go to Davidson, you come to understand that there is just so much love for this school from al of the people who know it. Davidson is a unique place, and it is an honor to be a student here. When you come here, you recognize that bond. Despite the workload, this bond makes us feel like we're the luckiest students in the country.

School pride went through the roof with the success of the Men's Basketball team this spring. For the most part, since it is such a small school, students aren't able to make it to many sporting events other than basketball and football because they are either doing their own thing (i think about 1/3 play and inter-collegiate sport) or because they are doing work. The town is small. Charlotte is nearby, but about a 30 minute drive on a major highway. There is really only 1 or 2 bars that students frequent and most of the partying takes place at the Fraternities and Eating Houses on campus. My biggest piece of advice when considering Davidson is that it is not the school for everybody. You tend to hear students these days rave about their schools and tell everybody that their school is the best and everybody should be jealous and want to go there. I firmly believe that if Davidson fits you, you will love it as much as anything else in your life, but if it does not, you have little hope of surviving your 4 years there. The reason for this is 3 fold. First and most predominantly is academics. This might seem like a pointless statement, but if academics is not your number 1 priority do not go to Davidson. The academic demands of Davidson are such that if you are not a determined student, you won't like Davidson. You have to want to study and get a good education. I realize this sounds obvious but a lot of people want to go to school to party or watch good sports, or play a sport, and while you can do all of these at Davidson, they must not outweigh your desire and dedication to being a student or you will undoubtedly hate it their. Second, the honor code is huge at Davidson, and if you don't want to live up to it you are not welcome. Again, this seems like an obvious observation, but cheating, lieing, stealing, decieving etc are not tolerated by the faculty, administration or the student body. The community that the honor code creates is a valued one and if you think you will have trouble adhereing to it know that members of the community wont hesitate to give you the boot so as to preserve what we have. Third, Davidson is small, it is sometimes hard to judge what the size of a school means when you are applying to colleges, but know that Davidson is almost as small as it gets. In fact I think it is the smallest Division one school (but we still made it to the elite eight!!!). This means that you cannot hide. You can't hide in class and you can't hide socially. You will see people you know everyday on campus and will rarely be able to walk to and from class without stoping to talk to a student/professor you know. I and most Davidson students love this but I know some people like to be able to dissappear into the crowd, just know that that is impossible at Davidson. I realize this description probably sounds harsh because I phrase it as a warning. I love davidson for the aformentioned reasons but know that it is only fair to warn those who might hate it for the same reasons.

The best thing about Davidson is the sense of community. Davidson students have a great relationship with the town. For example, many people from the town come cheer on the Davidson basketball team or come watch a concert or theater performance. I will always remember how the Davidson community gathered together to support the Davidson men's basketball team during their incredible run in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

Hmmm... The Davidson Family. Everyone at Davidson has each other's backs, no matter what. With such small classes, and such a closely laid out campus, we sort of have to be. It's not a struggle, though, don't get me wrong. It's just that there's no one out to be a jerk, and everyone takes on every day with the best of intentions. My high school had 220 people in it, and i feel like Davidson, with it's student body of 1,700 is just as close. Theft is unheard of, as is cheating. It's not that people are afraid of getting caught (although our Campus Police are pretty badass), it's just that it wouldn't feel right at Davidson. The honor code isn't imposed, but the students wouldn't want to break the trust of the community.

Davidson is really good in every way. If something is not good, you can tell the administration tries to make it better fast. One thing that makes Davidson unique among high quality colleges is the sense of love on campus. People care about reaching out on a personal level. A student can come to Davidson expected to grow into a very strong but loving person. The town of Davidson compliments the college perfectly. Just walking to CVS, a student can see parents with little children, individuals walking their dogs, and just friendly people going about their lives. Davidson students used to complain that they got no credit for going to Davidson, since the college did not have popular name recognition. However, after the men's basketball team's unbelievable performance in the NCAA, people are beginning to really give Davidson respect.

Great academic school if you are looking for: scientific research directly with professors, one-on-one interaction with professors, challenge in the classroom, grant funding for travel research (use this!). People who know the school are impressed when you tell them you go to Davidson, but for those who don't (and that pool is a lot smaller since the men's basketball team made the Elite 8 this year), it's disappointing they don't realize what a rigorous school you made it through. The size is fine - I actually feel like I know most people on campus - it's the fact that it's 95{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} residential that makes the difference - parties are the same and there's little more than partying in closed dorm rooms and dancing down on the Court, but if you have great friends it's always fun anyway. Bottom line is you can make it fun but the school isn't going to do it for you. College town is sweet - ultra supportive and friendly, always hanging signs and banners congratulating teams and such, very involved and tolerant. The Union is amazing - newly redone and perfect for work and socializing. It took me a long time to learn that Davidson may not have had everything I thought I wanted, but I could really use the things it did have and appreciate it for what it was, rather than being disappointed in what it wasn't.

Too small, honor code is the best thing, unknown, rigorous, segregated, town too small, lots of school pride, laundry service, deflation of grades.

Davidson is a small school and that has both positive and negative sides. It's really nice when you come in as a freshman and get to meet some seniors or juniors. The community is small enough that you make a lot of friends in different years. I do think, however, the more time you spend there, the smaller it feels because those friends you made freshman year have graduated. I really enjoy the small community because you can't walk anywhere on campus without someone you know stopping to say hi. Davidson is all about the small classes with good professors. The professors are all about making you really adept in whatever subject you're studying. There isn't really an opportunity to just skip class without some sort of consequence because the teachers know who's in the class by the end of the second week usually. The town of Davidson is very cute, but it doesn't really have too many options for food. You can basically go to Brickhouse for drinks if you're old enough and Bonzai for an asian fusion and the soda shop for a burger or a sandwich and a shake. That can get old really fast. Luckily there are a lot of options an exit or 2 down from the school. That definitely doesn't mean you need a car either because enough people on campus will have a car and it's always fun to go out for a midnight cookout run for shakes with a group. Davidson is definitely a school with a lot of pride, and it doesn't disappear when you graduate either. Basketball is definitely our big sport, and when we made it into the sweet sixteen, our trustees paid for the students to get on buses and go watch the games. I can't think of another school where the trustees/alumns are still so proud of their alma mater that they would pay for the students to go to the game.

I love davidson because all of the students trust each other because of the honor code. the honor code breeds a sense of respect and trust amongst all students and professors, but be warned, the administration does not have to follow the honor code (which I found surprising and frustrating.) Davidson is just the right size. Davidson currently is REALLY REALLY striving for diversity, which I think is a wonderful idea being enacted in all of the wrong ways. Instead of looking at diversity as a complex factor (religious, sexual orientation, socio economic background, internationally, etc) Davidson appears to be focusing entirely on racial diversity. There is an optional minority pre-orientation here that even several minority students complain about because they feel it extremely isolates them before they meet the rest of their class. Davidson is working really hard, but in my opinion, has a long way to go in fostering a community that openly accepts diverse sexual orientations. For a school of 1700 students, I only know 15 or so gay students, 5 of whom are not openly gay, a number that is very low given the statistics. Almost all students spend their time on campus; parties rarely happen elsewhere, and if they do they are within walking distance (I LOVE THIS...no driving.) Drugs are frowned upon at Davidson by the majority, but there is a drug culture at campus for a very small student minority. The town is amazing, everybody is really nice towards the students, and cops aren't an issue at all (thinking specifically of underage drinking and moderate speeding). Everybody now knows Davidson because of basketball, which is amazing, but don't expect too much more knowledge unless you are talking to someone from the South. I hate the administration at this school, save the college president. The administration is known to make brash, unthoughtful moves and, most students would agree, are attempting to remove the male greek system from campus to decrease liability and promote favorable statistics to parents. There is a ton of student pride and virtually all students on campus are incredibly friendly.

Davidson may not be the most selective school in the nation, but it is very likely the most demanding school in the nation. At Davidson, you will probably not do as well as you had in high school. You will also probably not do as well at Davidson as you might have at a different school. But you will undoubtedly leave Davidson with an education that is truly "greater," if not simply better, than that of any college or university in the nation. The Davidson education cannot be quantified by a number or a GPA because the Davidson education is more than just academics. The real Davidson education is about the individual, it's about being challenged and forced to expect the best from yourself. thats why they say, davidson is not always a great place to be, but its always a great place to be from.

Academics is first here for the students, athletes, and teachers. The school is too small but I wouldn't change it because it defines Davidson. Social life and academic life are close together since the school is so small too. Downtown Davidson is short enough to yell to the other end but the townies love the college. The administration is decent, students dictate a lot of what happens. I will never forget when the trustees offered to pay for students to go to Detroit for the Sweet Sixteen.

Davidson has a free laundry service that is included in tuition. It's a wonderful service; however, more students do their own laundry than the college realizes, so there are not many washing machines on campus, and it can be difficult to find a free one.

Davidson is awesome if you want a small, work-intensive, liberal arts school. It definitely doesn't have the reputation of many schools of similar caliber, and I've gotten a lot of blank stares when I tell people that I go here, but when people do know about Davidson, they all look impressed. Davidson has a large workload that's pretty hard to keep up with at times, but we also have a ton of cool things to do in your spare time, and they do your laundry for you so you don't have to spend that spare time washing your underwear. What else...we have a lot of school pride (especially for basketball). The biggest complaint is definitely the workload, and I know that the small size gets to some people. Davidson has a very cool administration as far as I can tell (the board of trustees payed for approx 600 students to go to Detroit to watch the basketball team's Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games).

Davidson is unique in that students can obtain an elite liberal arts education while supporting and/or competing on big-time Division I athletic teams. When I decided to go to Davidson during my senior year of high school, most of my friends and teachers had never heard of it. But, over the last few years, Davidson's notoriety has grown due to the success of our basketball team as well as the press we received when Newsweek hailed Davidson as one of "the New Ivies." People no longer shoot me a blank stare when I tell them that I go to Davidson.

From the friendly people, to the honor code; from the beautiful buildings and landscape, to the academic excellence; from our basketball team (as well as the other 20 NCAA Division 1 sports), to the RSC residency, Davidson College promotes ideals of integrity, well-roundedness, academic excellence, service, and leadership – the very same values that I personally regard as being most important.

The only time Davidson's small size is really a disadvantage would be if you want to major is something a little obscure. It does however offer a unique "create your own major" program for people who are looking for something outside the offered majors. Well, it also gets annoying when you tell people you go to Davidson and all you get is a blank stare. Other than that Davidson is able to provide its students with all the awesome things a larger school - including a top notch basketball program for those who are interested in athletics. The town of Davidon is also tiny, but it's only a twenty minute ride to Charlotte, with miles of suburbia in between. Anything from Wal-Mart, to Starbucks, to any chain restaurant can be found within a short drive away from campus. There is tons of school pride here, and the basketball team's run in the NCAA tournament only brought out more school spirit. The most unique thing about Davidson is probably it's honor code, which is taken one hundred percent seriously, and as a result all final exams are self scheduled, tests are not proctored, and no one feels the need to lock their doors.

I love the small school atmosphere at Davidson. Sometime I feel like because we are small we don't get enough recognition or exposure but honestly I wouldn't trade the small school atmosphere for anything. Plus things like our basketball team and successful graduates are really starting to give us lots of national exposure. At this point I still get the response "Where is Davidson?" or "Did you say Dickinson?" when I tell people I go here but it is definitely getting better. Everyone is very close to each other, inside the classroom and out. Teachers give as much extra attention as you could ever want. Now having said that, everyone knowning everyone on campus can have its drawbacks as well, such as how quickly word can spread of a bad hookup, fight, or some other thing you may want to keep under wraps. And good luck avoiding people you don't want to see. But aside from that this is truely a special place. Davidson is a very small historic town, with a huge city and a lake right nearby, which suits me perfect. The town has a GREAT atmosphere but you're also never too far from the complete opposite. The administration is incredible and cares about the students on a personal level that cannot be matched. They make themselves seen and know a huge majority of the students by first name. There is little controversy, although there was an incident on the court (the main party area) involving off campus students that sparked a racial tolerance rally, but no worries the incident was all verbal and merely involved people being "uncomfortable." It does not take much to make the campus pull together and unite and there is a huge amount of school pride, especially for how small we are. The unity and openness on campus is a truely unique aspect that I have never witnessed at any other school. Complaints rarely escalate beyond the regular "I have SO much work!" and "I got to bed at 4 last night..." ? If you choose to come here, you will never regret it. I have so many friends that visit and say "Wow, I wish I had known about this school when I was applying."

School is pretty good. I might change some of the professor's grading styles and some of the dorms need some work, but most of it is very good.