<p>for some strange reason today, i began to worry that davidson has a "bro" atmosphere full of jocks and preps. </p>
<p>can anyone confirm or ellate my worries? it would be most appreciated.</p>
<p>I'm listening to the Davidson Basketball game right now... but I have friends who were worried about an emphasis on sports and were relieved that it hasn't been an issue for them. As far as prepiness, there is some of that at Davidson like most top tier colleges. On both of these issues it is best to visit and see how comfortable the atmosphere is for you.</p>
<p>Davidson is very diverse. The majority of students coming from a number of different states and countries. Of course because of the variation of geographical regions, the sense of style differs. For instance as you travel more north, the preppy style is more dominant and whatnot. As far as the your question about jocks...well yes, there are a lot of varsity athletes at Davidson. Don't quote me on the exact percentage but I believe 40% of the student body plays in a varsity sport. As I am sure you are aware, every varsity sport at Davidson is Division 1A with the exception of football in Division 1AA. </p>
<p>As orangelights said, you need to visit the campus and get a feel of the college for your own. I am sure you will notice many similarities between Davidson and any other elite schools you are looking into in terms of the number of preps and such.</p>
<p>Where are you from? If you are from the south, I doubt Davidson will seem especially preppy to you. We are from the midwest & it is preppier than most schools around us ... but it isn't THAT preppy. I didn't see any goth or emo kids when we visited, so if that's what you are looking for you might want to visit & see if you feel comfortable. :)</p>
<p>There's a pretty sizeable prep element at DC - plenty of dresses & pearls and lime green shorts & button-down oxfords. </p>
<p>We're from SoCal. My DC Y1 S went to a prep school but the prep school kids out here don't adopt that look. Out here its more Volcom than Polo, Vans than Topsidders, surf/skate brands than alligator logos. But his SoCal style has been absolutely no problem at DC. No pressure for him to conform to the prep look or vice versa. And my sense is that the preps are the minority - a sizeable minority but less than 50%.</p>
<p>And definitely a large percentage of students participate in varsity athletics - I mean, hey, there's only 1800 students to field all those D1 teams. But my son says there isn't a jock culture, mostly likely due to the fact that the school is small, the fraternities are non-residential and everyone lives on campus. It's hard to be too exclusive on that basis. And the athletes aren't deified except maybe the basketball players.</p>
<p>My S was, however, surprised by one thing. As he expressed it, "I expected everyone to study pretty hard, and most do, but these kids reallyknow how to party - hard!" He wasn't complaining - he likes to have fun - but don't expect a conservative tea-totaling environment.</p>
<p>
[quote]
for some strange reason today, i began to worry that davidson has a "bro" atmosphere full of jocks and preps.
[/quote]
Yes, it does.</p>
<p>I go to Davidson, and there is definitely NOT a jock atmosphere. There is some preppyness but that really only applies to what someone is wearing, and maybe how much money they have. That said, there are plenty of people that don't fall into either of those stereotypes whatsoever. Deep down, we're all nerds at some level, haha.</p>
<p>On our tour we were quoted 25% of students are athletes. I was pleasantly surprised at the diversity I saw on campus. We live in the south but originally are from the midwest. No more preppies than any other campus we have been on so far. I have been to a lot of campuses between both of my kids mostly midwest and southeast.</p>
<p>I definitely don't think Davidson has a jock environment, while a lot of people play sports there isn't some exclusive club for the athletes...everyone pretty much knows everyone. People tend to dress prep-ish, however there is a lot of diversity in style. There will be just as many people in sweat pants in a given class as there are in polos.
As far as the party quotation - I would say that is assuredly true. I think everyone works hard and the academic rigor of classes is undisputed, however, weekends are sacred time for fun.</p>
<p>My brother's good friend went to Davidson, so off the bat I don't proclaim myself to be an expert, but from what he's told me the biggest change for him was what he termed "strong, conservative Southern traditions" that seemed to permeate campus. We're from überliberal granola-oriented Portland, so it was a big change.</p>
<p>last time i visited it, they were everywhere in their j crew shorts, and polo shirts, it was like an all you can bro buffet. One bro invited me to play gamecube, I kindly refused stating I was scheduled to do something else that day. Oh well, I guess I could of been chilling with the bros but...</p>
<p>btw I always play gamecube with my shorts off so I hope that's not a problem bro.</p>