Davidson College Top Questions

The classes are small at Davidson and probably more than half take roll, or at least note who missed class. This is great in some senses because every professor I have had knows my name and always takes the time to talk to me outside of class, and some have even invited me to their houses for dinner. This also means that you can't just slip by in class. If your struggling, and seem to be ignoring the fact, the teacher will approach you and make an effort to help you succeed. Students at Davidson might be focused a bit too much on getting good grades rather than learning, but that is fairly indicative of the typical Davidson student- used to being rewarded (in terms of grades) for working hard.

I love my professors and I love that because we are at a small school the professors are here to teach you. You can always get a hold of them and they are always willing to help. Once again my biggest complaint is that our teachers cannot give an A if someone deserves it because of grade deflation. If a teacher gives out too many good grades, even if they earn it, they will get fired. that makes sense for most classes, but for advanced classes usually everyone knows what they are talking about.

I love the small classes. Next semester I will be in two classes with less than ten people in them. I love that I can be competitive with myself but dont have to worry about other students being competitive with me. They are very very hard, but it all works out. The teachers all know my name and I have most of their home phone numbers.

Professors always know your name. Students are always studying. Class participation is very common. Students have intellectual converesations ALL OF THE TIME. Students are competitive but generally understand that learning is a collaborative effort. The History major has some GREAT teachers.

Very difficult, almost too difficult. Stressful

Academics are on the difficult side and often lend themselves to frustration. Students here often feel that the amount of work they put in does not line up with the grades they get. Professors are generally very approachable and eager to share their knowledge.

academics at davidson are... difficult. to say the least. i have never been so busy in my entire life. i have also never been so proud at the amount of workload i can handle, and my ability to succeed when faced with a challenging work load. when you push yourself, it pays off. you can be lazy and scared of davidson's workload, or you can tackle it head on, having a great experience on the way, and be proud of yourself.

The classes are small, with the biggest class being around 40 (usually they are 20). Academics here involve a lot of work so to attend, you must be prepared to work hard.

All my professors know my name. Classes are small and sometimes I feel like I'm back in boarding school. They're also very interactive and most of the time they are engaging and fascinating. Students are not competitive with each other which is such a relief. The competitiveness on campus comes from students competing with themselves to try and do better on their next assignment. I do feel that there are too many requirements because there are soooo many interesting classes I want to take, but won't be able to because of the core requirements. Education at Davidson is definitely geared toward learning for the sake of learning, and encourage students to remain students for the rest of their lives.

Hard! Students have to put in a lot of work to do well. You can't come to Davidson and expect all A's. Well at least I can't. But the work is definitely manageable and the professors want everyone to be involved outside of academics.