Campus Visit Impressions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Davidson College
1

Last Saturday, we visited Davidson College for S2 who is a senior this year. For context, we have previously visited

– UNC Chapel Hill
– Duke
– University of Michigan (S1 is a currently a senior there)

S3 is currently a sophomore in high school, so we will probably have to do this all over again in a couple of year. We currently live in Charlotte, the closest city to the campus.

  1. The campus is gorgeous. Parts of it reminded me of Harvard Yard.
  2. The students are extremely friendly and outgoing. Everyone seems to say Hi, to a greater degree than other places.
  3. The facilities are good, but not extraordinary. They seem to be about on par with UNC but lag those at Duke.
  4. The student guide was not on par with the ones we had elsewhere. She didn't try and make the sale. Also, she talked about the Eating Clubs, without telling us that they were for women only.
  5. The admission counselor was much worse. There was no information during the presentation received that didn't duplicate what we heard from the tour, and no audio visual presentation. This lackluster presentation detracted from my impression of Davidson as an institution.
  6. Students can keep a car on campus, which is a big plus for us.
  7. Students generally spend all 4 years on campus, which is also a positive in our view.
  8. Presentation didn't really speak about pre-professional programs. They cited some numbers to the effect that 80% of applicants to Med school are accepted, but couldn't point me to a source. Without that, I view this as one of the 97% of statistics that are made up.
  9. Grade deflation is a concern, as this will not be my son's terminal degree. He will have to compete for admission to professional and graduate schools with students without deflated grades.
  10. Son is not thrilled about the lack of a nationally known NCAA D1A program he can brag about. Also, the lack of a national footprint for Davidson.
  11. I didn't like the fact that the Admission Counselor went over Financial Aid in such a perfunctory fashion. We are at an income level where we count on it, especially trying to put 3 children through college.

At the end of the trip, Davidson is on the list, but is probably not our first choice. Again, these are my impressions and I encourage you to form your own.

2

My son is a current freshman and we too are from Charlotte (AKHS). So far, he’s loving it. Let me try and go though your points from my perspective:

  1. I agree...cannot believe the number of bricks used for sidewalks. Don't forget, they also have a 110 acre recreational area at Lake Norman.
  2. My son is fairly outgoing. In the short time he's been there, he's got nothing but nice things to say for everyone he's met. He's already made a ton of friends and many of those are OOS.
  3. The new science building opens next year and it will be fantastic. As for the existing facilities, I agree, it's about on par with UNC. Food options are rather limited, but that's to be expected for such a small school.
  4. It's unfortunate that your guide was sub par. Ours was outstanding. I guess this will be hit or miss. You're close enough, that you can try it again. Look to get an overnight stay if possible.
  5. Ours wasn't the best either, but it was on-par with UNC (for us).
  6. The car thing is awesome, especially so close to home.
  7. My son's dorm experience thus far has been great. They match roommates using the Myers Briggs personality type indicator. Their track record for making good matches is very high.
  8. They do have both pre-med and pre-law programs that are very challenging. Try contacting the facilitators of those programs (look through the website).
  9. This is still a concern of mine as well, though the reputation of Davidson is typically accounted for in graduate programs (from what I hear).
  10. The basketball program is somewhat big time (D1), but football is FCS (DII) and not as big on campus.
  11. We got great need based aid and a scholarship thrown in with our aid package. We got nothing from UNC. Ultimately, the aid given brought our tuition lower than the in-state rate at UNC.
3

One minor correction to @Bigchipper’s post #3–the Wall science building opened last month & is absolutely incredible. It’s very cutting edge. The renovation of the Martin Chemistry building in front of the new building is what will be completed by next year.

http://davidsonian.com/new-additions-to-campus-strengthen-liberal-arts-focus/