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.