<p>I’m an entering freshman as well and am too a bit concerned. However, I’ve visitited Davidson three times, two for visits and one for Decision Davidson. During those, I believe I was around at least 15 students who addressed this question and all of them had the same response. All of them said the academics are tough and all of them said they have never learned so much. However, they all said professors want nobody to fail and will never purposely ‘deflate’ a students grade. You get what you earn. They also said the way to avoid freaking out about this sterotype is to take courses which interest you, work hard, and you will be find. They each said they know many students who have high GPAs, 3.5+ and still have time for the social aspect of Davidson. I can definately understand the worry as a future student myself, however, I think its safe to say that hard work, perseverance, and a good course selection will stabilize the stress level.</p>