Davidson College Top Questions

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.