Davidson 2022 RD Applicants

Colleges and Universities A-Z Davidson College
41

@ASKMother agreed on that! I thought my daughter may have a shot next year, but the number 3 student was just waitlisted from my daughter’s school.

STEAM school, Graduated with AA from University of Texas (DE/DC no AP’s offered), 400hrs volunteer hospital, 3.92UW, NMSF, 35 ACT one sitting, 150 volunteer hours special needs clinic, 250 hours tutoring at local elementary school, plays 2 instruments, CPR/BLS certified, 80 hours ambulance volunteer…etc etc.

My daughter doesn’t have a shot if she didn’t get in.

42

@ChefHoovisan Thx, that makes sense

43

@hannuhylu both of these girls had similar stats just top notch. But they both also had EA decisions that work good for them… it’s just a sting to be rejected. But I must say don’t let your D not apply; schools definitely have a holistic approach and I feel like everyone (within reason) has just as much of a shot as the next person. No school wants only a bunch of pre-law/pre-med/business majors. My D18 did cast wide net (but not at Davidson) which helped our piece mind lot; plus she is interested in studying Chemistry. I highly recommended applying EA to all your schools that offer that. D18 applied to 6 more competive schools; 3 were are RD. The wait has been less painful because she has 2 excellent acceptances already. She also doesn’t have just one dream school… there are 3-4 could truly see herself at and would thrive. Good luck next year!

44

@hannuhylu “My daughter doesn’t have a shot if she didn’t get in.”

I don’t think that is true. I think Davidson wants to admit students who get what Davidson is, and what it offers, as well as students who are “impactful” in specific ways.

45

@katespeare – I agree with this. There are so many kids with great stats so I think above a certain threshold colleges put aside the numbers and focus on essays and recs more than perhaps some folks realize. So three students with more or less same stats on paper, and the one selected is based on non-number factors. So to dismiss one’s chances based on an applicant with similar stats who didn’t get admitted is not understanding what ‘holistic’ review is really about.

I think this is where CC and other sites skew things – you can’t reduce applicants to their numbers. And thank heavens b/c these are all wonderful, creative kids whose future, by the way, will be more defined by WHAT they do in college – not WHERE they go.

46

@AlmostThere2018 I’ve told our S19 exactly that. He’s done his job with high grades and stats and now essays and recs will be the deciding factor. Demonstrating interest is also important. We are visiting Davidson next week and he’s sitting in on a class. He’s also met with the admissions officer when she came to our high school and he’s keeping it touch. I have a feeling he’s going to love it.

47

We got Davidson’s financial aid award yesterday and were pleasantly surprised! We weren’t expecting much b/c we’re a bubble family in terms of need but the whole no loans thing is fantastic! D is excited to visit again soon during a Senior Day! Posting this for future applicants who think they might not qualify for aid – don’t lose hope! (She still has some larger merit scholarships at other great colleges, but Davidson is awesome and this aid puts it in reach for our family, so we’ll see. . .

48

D was accepted. Pre-med aspirations. 4.4 weighted. 1470 SAT. Decent ECs such as tutoring and varsity basketball. Older sibling is currently at Davidson. Assume that helped. Very excited.

49

Waitlisted (4.0 UW, ACT 33, OOS) but got into Harvard EA, so in the words of Bill Murray - I’ve got that going for me ;- .

50

For future Davidson applicants: S was waitlisted RD and, I must admit, I was surprised. 36 ACT (one and done), GPA 3.9/4.3, highest rigor, no ranking, 12 APs, AP Scholar with Distinction (5 5s and 2 4s), SAT Subject Tests, Chemistry 800, Math 2 790, NMF, Varsity 2 season athlete all 4 years with state awards, Captain of nationally qualifying Science Bowl team, several other ECs. I assume recommendations and Common App essay were good enough since S was admitted to several competitive schools, some with merit. S is not an especially strong writer, but I thought his Davidson specific essays were good.

I suggest future applicants officially visit the campus and show interest. Not sure if this hurt S, but we had no official visits, even though we self-toured the campus twice. We could only get there when campus was closed. Son would have shown more interest if we had thought it would matter.

Not sure if S will take place on waitlist as we do not know what the FA offer would be. Too bad, I thought Davidson would be a good fit for my son.

51

My D. just came back from her Senior Visit and really loved it! Felt like she could really see herself there and had pretty much only positive things to same about the students, professors, and facilities. She met lots of students and several hung out with her not only all evening but even grabbed coffee again after the classes she attended today.

She had to sleep on the floor with just a quilt under her sleeping bag, but she managed just fine. If it were me I’d be creaky and cranky all day! Youth!! :0.

I’m not sure I ever posted her stats for future applicants: 4.0 UW in top public HS, 8 APs, NMF, 33 ACT, 3 SAT IIs with 700+ scores, lots of leadership and awards and ECs mostly in Model UN, global health, and newspaper. Captain of XC team, camp counselor over the summer at sleep away camp. Selected to be an online student in our state’s public, statewide STEM high school – took an extra 5 courses over two years in advanced math, genetics, computational science, etc. Lots of kids apply to Davidson with similar stats – in the end I think that her essay and recs helped a lot.

52

Accepted!

GPA: 4.0/4.0 (UW), 4.681/5.0 (W)
SAT: 1350
ACT: 29
APs: APUSGOV (5), APHUG (5), APUSH (4), APLANG (3)
Awards: AP Scholar w/ Honor, Peak Scholar w/ Distinction, Academic Lettering, Community Service Awards
ECs: Lots of family responsibilities, managerial positions, church, and volunteering
Essays/Supplementals: Really good; I had so much to write about
Recommendations: IDK; I wasn’t allowed to read them

Comments:
I actually discovered Davidson through QuestBridge, which I got rejected from twice. I was so, so, so happy when I got into their MVP after getting so many rejections. The college was amazing! I loved the people, the professors, the academics, the campus, and maybe not so much the weather as I hail from cold, dry Colorado. My hooks would include being URM, low-income, first-gen, child of immigrants, and a student from the West (since about 7% of the student body comes from the West or something). I showed my interest by really talking with my admissions officer and the regional admissions officer. I also probably made a good impression on them. Either way, I really loved the people at Davidson. I also got an amazing student financial aid package from them with 0 loans. From this thread, I see a lot of people talking about being waitlisted even though they have even more exceptional accomplishments than I do. From what I learned by attending MVP, one of the biggest things for the admission officers to do is to find a qualified student who’ll be more than likely to attend. In one of the mock admissions counsel I participated in with an actual admissions counselor leading, one of the biggest thing is demonstrated interest. The best chances for admissions is ED. Otherwise, for RD, exceptional grades, test scores, and ECs may not exactly help one out because there are potentially more prestigious schools that may accept this individual. As with many colleges, being waitlisted does happen due colleges wanting to gain the greatest amount of enrollment. If Davidson is really your top choice, I personally think connecting to a admissions officer, the regional officer, or a Davidson student would be extremely beneficial and boost your chances. Up to that point, admissions for the group of waitlisted students really might depend on who shows the most interest. Again, this is my perspective, but I’m am so glad to have gotten into Davidson College. I’m not committed just yet, but it is a most likely now. I apologize for the terrible grammar or writing. Congrats to all who got accepted! Don’t give up yet to those who were waitlisted! You are still awesome and have more things to come—to those who got rejected! I feel you! I was recently rejected from a scholarship that I made to the finalist round. When I received the notice this morning, I was shaking and trembling, but not crying for about 1-2 hours. I been through so many rejections, but I’ve learned it is important to embrace the emotions and to continue to move on. I know there will be so many open doors and opportunities with the rejection, as it happened to me. Best wishes to you all!!!

53

Acceptance letter said merit aid notifications would go out by April 10. Do you think if a student is in the running for a merit scholarship they would already know? I would think so, but thought I’d ask. Tks!

54

No they don’t.

55

@Volunteerism – okay, thanks for keeping hope alive! :slight_smile:

56

@kchen0514 Thank you for a very helpful and encouraging post!

57

@kchen0514 – agreed! Davidson would be lucky to have you as you seem like a real stand up person! Good luck in making your final decision!!

58

Attended the Davidson accepted student program with my daughter on Saturday. Some of the key presenters attitudes towards others was problematic (spoke poorly about parents of denied students and other schools), and my daughter decided to attend Furman. So, if you are waitlisted for Davidson, at least one spot has opened up. I suspect others made similar decisions. They seem to have lost their niche appeal.

59

@Rascalous you mean the students were saying negative things about other schools? Or students at those schools? Like the Davidson kids thought they were better? Ugh.

60

@Rascalous. Did we attend the same Decision Davidson? I know what comment that you were referring to and by no means were the Davidson adults (as a parent, I did not attend the student panels) speaking disparagingly of other students. My daughter was impressed, as were several of the prospective students that she met, and she committed yesterday.

As for losing its “niche appeal,” given that the acceptance rate was an all-time low of 18.7% (inclusive of the Division I sports recruits), I find your comments puzzling. Good god.