<p>I am seriously looking at Davidson College for the class of 2018 (I will apply this fall), I visited the campus, loved it, it seems like it has everything going for it in terms of a college, all except the dreaded grade deflation. My question is, how accurate is this rumor? I realize it is a challenging school, I'm up for that. What I'm NOT up for is being compared to other students and being graded based off of their talent. Does this happen? </p>
<p>If professors are so caring and helpful, how is grade deflation such an issue? This does not make sense to me. </p>
<p>Anyone with credible info on this subject- your help is much appreciated!! Thanks!</p>
<p>Grade deflation is a very real thing at Davidson but not in the way that you are thinking. All Davidson students are subjected to the same rigorous grading standards. A’s are not easy to come by here. I remember at my daughter’s orientation, the president of the school stood up and spoke to the parents. He said “You parents of these new Davidson freshmen are used to seeing straight A report cards. I can say with great certainty that the vast majority of you will never see a straight A report card again while your child is at Davidson college.” The year my daughter graduated, there was not one student who graduated Magna Cum Laude. I think my daughter was a junior before she got her first A at Davidson! and she worked far harder than her state school friends.
The problem arises when applying to grad school and your Davidson 3.2 that you bled out your eyeballs for is up against State U applicants 3.9 that they got by taking gut classes and yoga. There are no guts at Davidson. Some grad schools know about Davidson and that it is basically an Ivy, and give you a bump. But some do not. There are editorials by seniors every year in the Davidsonian (college paper) complaining about grade deflation as they face the competition in applying to grad school. So it’s real. The good news is that you DO get a superior education and you will have unforgettable professors who will inspire you. My daughter calls Davidson the best kept secret among top colleges.She LOVED it!</p>
<p>I have a long history of connections to Davidson College, and I believe it is becoming a stronger, more vibrant and amazing institution each year. DO NOT let the prospect of grade deflation dissuade you from choosing Davidson. I know professors in several high-ranked universities in the Southeast who say they fight hard for Davidson grad school applicants, though they often lose out to Ivies. Graduate programs, by and large, understand the rigor and high demand entailed in a Davidson experience, and they recognize that graduates leave with unusually refined critical thinking and communication skills. Yes, it is very tough to graduate with a 4.0 (and the few students in each class who maintain 4.0’s are known to everyone), but you can live a rich, active life at Davidson with plenty of extracurriculars and socializing and still pull off a 3.2-3.5-- and that diploma will carry a great deal of weight and membership into a powerful network for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>This is actually something that’s causing me a lot of distress right now. On the one hand, I’ve had admissions officers say with a lot of understanding, “It’s okay, we know Davidson,” but it’s hard to stare at top law school mid-ranges that start in the high 3.7’s for the 25th percentile and think “Yeah, I’ve got a shot at this place.”</p>
<p>I worked really hard for my 3.5, especially after blowing my freshman year (do not try to be premed if you’ve never been good at science!), so the hardest realization of all is to hear that while yes, there are Davidson grads who have gotten into Harvard/Yale/Stanford law, they actually managed that 3.8, 3.9. So…that leads me to think that those very top schools probably holding Davidson students to the same standards, regardless of the fact that the average Davidson alum applying to law school has a 3.22. At the same time, I don’t think a lot of Davidson students tend to apply to the HYS sort of top school as much as to Duke, UNC, etc. who know Davidson better on the whole because of regional affiliations–so really, who knows. I definitely feel a need to overcompensate on the LSAT if I can, though.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to say all of this to deter you because truly, I loved Davidson’s academic scene and I highly value the education I received there. It often strikes me as much more substantive than what I hear from friends who went to other top schools for undergraduate. You just have to be very strategic in your course selection. Pick courses that are challenging–but challenging in a way you can take. You don’t need to take calculus if you struggle with algebra…but if you’re really good at writing, you should take the upper level courses in the English Department, if that’s your major. </p>
<p>The alumni network is excellent, as well, and I do think that on the whole, grad schools probably do “know Davidson” and its reputation for not inflating grades. (I phrase it this way, because I actually don’t really believe Davidson has grade deflation–it just has a marked absence of inflation and you really have to work for the top grades)</p>
<p>Believe it or not but this thread has reinforced my perspective of Davidson, my son’s 2nd in-state choice. My son’ has always been a good student but is not a “straight A” student. His have been a mix of A’s and B’s and (I think) a C in there somewhere in his high school years so he’s something like a 3.61 GPA. </p>
<p>That is JUST FINE with me because real life has taught me that the ones making the straight A’s aren’t always the “best” students, people or anything. I know my boy and am fairly certain that he would hold a similar GPA no matter HOW tough the curriculum may be. As long as he likes his school, his teachers and his classes, a Davidson degree (no matter the final GPA) is what REALLY matters. I know that a lot of students on here THINK that they HAVE to get straight A’s but I am here to tell you that is hogwash.</p>
<p>It’s the PERSON you are that makes ALL the difference. How you treat people and how you interact with them. In the end, an employer is going to look at YOU and won’t give a passing thought as to whether your GPA was a 4.0 or a 3.0. It DOES NOT matter. What matters is your ability to do the job. Grades are (mostly) left on the table when you graduate.</p>
<p>We only live 8 miles from campus and it was one of the college’s I would have applied for if my parents had been financially able so instead I went to a more affordable alternative. Now, all I have to do is figure out how to pay about double (UNC Chapel Hill) should he get accepted to Davidson…</p>
<p>I couldn’t agree more but it’s worth noting that adcoms get accused of all sorts of things if they don’t concentrate on stats. Certain partisans consider only grades & scores to be evidence of ‘merit’ when there is much more to the equation in the real world.</p>
<p>I am a current freshman at Davidson College and I have remained unscathed from any feeling of grade deflation. Like you, I feared that I was taking on more than I could manage when I chose Davidson while my friends entered state schools; however, my GPA is equivalent, if not higher than my friends who selected state schools (3.85). I might’ve gotten lucky, but none of my classes felt like it would be impossible to get and A. The bottom line is the teachers at Davidson make you learn the information which is all you could ask for in an institution. I certainty learned my chemistry inside and out this first semester and couldn’t be more pleased with the experience.</p>
<p>As a Davidson grad, I have no idea whether or not average grades at Davidson are higher or lower than elsewhere. If you find a field of study that you like, and if you work hard at it, you’ll do fine, whatever the average grades at the school are. </p>
<p>Sidenote:
I must strongly, strongly disagree with the post below, at least in my career (as a lawyer). I went to an Ivy for law school after Davidson. Grades certainly counted in hiring, and they even matter now for some law firms, no matter how much revenue I can bring in and no matter how I perform now, ages after having graduated.</p>
<p>“It’s the PERSON you are that makes ALL the difference. How you treat people and how you interact with them. In the end, an employer is going to look at YOU and won’t give a passing thought as to whether your GPA was a 4.0 or a 3.0. It DOES NOT matter. What matters is your ability to do the job. Grades are (mostly) left on the table when you graduate.”</p>
<p>Reed is “virtually unknown”? Aside from regional differences, I would think both Reed and Davidson are unknown to the vast majority of people, while well known and highly regarded by grad schools and students interested in elite liberal arts colleges. </p>
<p>This GPA thing is so frustrating for folks considering professional schools after graduation. If you believe the Bama forum, a 3.8 from there is far superior to a 3.2 from Davidson or Reed, and that is both likely true and completely disheartening. </p>
<p>CityEntrepreneur - Thanks for the insight as a Davidson grad. Employers that understand that right up front are the successful ones that are worthy of your efforts. Personally, I would confront any employer that asked about my GPA. They are competing for MY SKILLS, I am not competing for their “employment”. At least that is the way I have always viewed it and I’ve been extremely successful over the years.</p>
<p>@LucieTheLakie Davidson is MUCH better known than Reed… I lived in the Northeast for a long time and always heard about kids at the local high school going to Davidson. Plus Davidson is ranked much higher than Reed in US News, the holy grail for many frantic mothers trying to get their kids into college. Keep in mind that Davidson has a good D1 basketball team, which surely helps with it’s familiarity…</p>
<p>Sorry to come in late to this discussion but I just wanted to let @popgal101 know that her limited experience does not sufficiently back up the claim that Davidson is “much better known” than Reed. From talking to quite a few people from around the west coast, it seems that Reed is quite well known… and these people don’t even know what Williams is. The prestige of liberal arts colleges is mostly limited regionally, and it would be a big mistake to think that Davidson is better known than Reed because of the US News rankings (Reed’s ranking is artificially lowered because it has, consistently since 1995, refused to participate in US News’ survey. Before that time, Reed used to be ranked #10). Reed is a very, very special place, and is very well regarded in graduate school admissions. Indeed, Reed ranks #4 amongst all colleges in the US for producing high percentages of graduates that go on to get a PhD (<a href=“http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08311/?govDel=USNSF_178%20-%20tab2”>http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08311/?govDel=USNSF_178%20-%20tab2</a>). Davidson does not even make it into the top 50. This is not a slight towards Davidson, but rather a defense of Reed’s prestige in academia. </p>
<p>In any case, when it comes to liberal arts colleges, it’s stupid to consider prestige while making a decision. Except for, perhaps, Vassar or Amherst, most liberal arts colleges are unknown by the masses, therefore making fit a far, far more important consideration. </p>
<p>PS Reed and Davidson attract very different people, so it’s not very surprising that there is a small overlap between applicants to Reed and Davison. </p>
<p>Luciethelakie- don’t get me started on grade inflation at U of Alabama! They give an A+ (4.33) and have an entire dead week before finals where no test or assignments are allowed. </p>
<p>I’m a bit late to this forum, but I laughed out loud at the assertion that “Davidson is much better known than Reed.” Maybe in the Carolinas. Anyway, Reed has produced something like 88 fulbrights and 30-odd Rhodes scholars–not bad for small college out in the wilds.</p>
<p>zzzmmm, Reed is ranked #74 in US News. Davidson is ranked #9. Davidson is also ranked much more highly than Reed in ranking after ranking. </p>
<p>Every podunk school can find something to brag about, but third-party rankings speak for themselves.</p>
<p>And for the record, I’m certainly not a promoter of Davidson. I went there and would not go there again, but I can see clearly that it’s a better school than Reed.</p>
<p>^ " I went there and would not go there again"</p>
<p>Can you elaborate on your reasons that you would not choose Davidson if you had to do it over again, so that high school students/parents can use the information? Thanks.</p>