Davidson College Top Questions

The Honor Code is the best thing about Davidson and most students would agree its most distinguishing feature as well. It allows us to take unproctored, self-scheduled exams and not have to worry about our property or security. Some people would think Davidson is too small, but I realize that I still don't know the entire campus. I really wouldn't change a thing about this place! Best experience with being in a small school with small classes and close relationships with professors: I had to miss almost a full week for my Conference Championship meet and my Eng. professor sent me all of the notes that I had missed (typed up) and then called me to go over everything in full detail when I returned that Sunday from Conference so that I would be caught up before coming abck to class on Monday. That doesn't happen just anywhere.

I have absolutely loved my freshman year at Davidson. There is not much I would change. It was easy to get into the classes that I wanted, however, I wish that there were more offerings. I really want to do business and that is not a major here. I like the school size, but it could be bigger. People here are very friendly. I have had visitors, both friends and family, who comment on how kind and helpful everyone is. People helped them find certain buildings on campus and one student even offered to help my dad jump start my car.

If you go to Davidson, everyone will ask you "where is that?" Just tell them we're 20 miles north of Charlotte, NC. I wish it were closer to more action, like closer to Charlotte, but they are building a lightrail train in the next few years that should make transportation alot easier. However, Davidson is intense in the academia realm, so being isolated helps focus on school. If I could change one thing about Davidson, I would make Main Street (of the Town of Davidson) more interactive- alot of storefronts are empty. I wish there were more little, cheap restaurants and bars. The college needs more professors and more options for Majors.

Davidson is situated in a wonderful little town that supports the college in many ways. The Davidson townspeople will come to basketball games, trick-or-treat down the residence halls, hang signs rooting for the Wildcats from their houses, and are generally very welcoming to students. Davidson College is just down the highway from any restaurant or store you can imagine (Target, Walmart, fast food, mall, etc.) The size of the student body is great. I tend to recognize most people I pass on a day-to-day basis but am still meeting new people each day. Recently, school pride has grown tremendously. No one goes to the football games, but the basketball games are always packed! Davidson has great academics and strong, dedicated faculty. You have numerous opportunities to talk with faculty outside the classroom setting, go over to their house for dinner, cheer with them at basketball games, or even babysit their kids. Most people still have no idea where Davidson is, even people who live twenty minutes away in the adjacent towns. Locally, Davidson has a great reputation with companies, but I think farther away in other parts of the country Davidson's reputation doesn't yet precede it. I will never forget the experience of going to Detroit to cheer on the Davidson Wildcats in the Elite Eight game against Kansas. I couldn't be more grateful to the Board of Trustees for giving us that opportunity. It was eye-opening to see the nation-wide support for our little school and I was overwhelmed with a sense of Davidson pride that I had never felt before. I came back to Davidson with a new appreciation for this school and all it has to offer.

Davidson has a great honor code where honestly anything you leave will be there for weeks until you go pick it up again. I like that, but I don't trust the honor code as much when it comes to taking tests because kids are under too much pressure to get good grades at a school where getting good grades is nearly impossible. The school is probably a bit too small as everyone knows everything about one another (even if they have never met). A lot of kids spend weekdays in the library and weekends down on the court drinking. There was a lot of school pride during the NCAA tourney, but not a lot of school pride during other times of the year. The most frequent complaints in the workload, the fact that Davidson grades so difficulty, and how Davidson is not well known as a one of the top liberal arts school throughout the whole country.

The best thing about Davidson is that you could drop your credit card in the middle of the Student Union and somehow it would make it back to your room, on your pillow, with a little chocolate next to it. All in all, I love how homey the whole campus is, even during a gross rainy day/

Davidson's greatest attribute is the people here. We truly are a community that cares about each other. Most people probably won't have heard of Davidson; however, we have more name recognition since we made it to the elite eight. The biggest complaint is the workload. The biggest controversy this semester involved a racial slander written on a bathroom door. Though this incident was regrettable, the campus' reaction demonstrates the integrity and values of Davidson well. At most other schools, this incident wouldn't even have phased the student population, but it threw the Davidson campus into an uproar. Several campus-wide emails were sent out immediately after the incident and several discussions about racism and tolerance were held. A committee was also founded to look deeper into the issue of racism on campus.

Davidson is a little on the small side for me, but that definitely has its advantages. Professors I had over a year ago still remember my name, and I feel like I'm friends with the profs in my major department. You know most the people you see walking around, and that makes you feel good. The town is cute and small, but definitely not in the middle of nowhere. Anything you need is just short walk or drive away. The campus is beautiful. There's no shortage of things to do, just time to do them.

If you don't want a small school, then Davidson is not for you. But I think Davidson has been the best possible college for me. I have been pushed hard and still had a great time. It was a little annoying for the first couple of years when no one I talked to had heard of the school I go to, but I got over that. You learn quickly that the people that matter know what kind of school Davidson is. When it came time to apply to grad schools, they had all heard of our reputation. I think the best part of Davidson is the faculty. They spend a lot of one on one time with their students and take a sincere interest in our success.

Davidson is just the right size, big enough that after 3 years here I am sure I will still be meeting new people, but small enough that if you do meet someone, you are guaranteed to see them again either in class, at the snack bar, at a party, or in the dinning hall. Best things about Davidson are the people (so nice, interesting, genuine) and the honor code (everyone follows it, we have such an amazing life style here - leaving doors unlocked, bags lying around) and most importantly - BASKETBALL!!