Hi there,
I’m applying ED1 to Davidson. Thought I’d create a thread. Does anyone have useful information about Davidson’s Academics. I’ve heard from several sources that it incredibly tough, how true is this? Also, what’s the campus and food like?
PM me if you’re also an ED applicant!
Hey!
Current Davidson First Year here. I applied ED1, and could not be more happy with my decision. I absolutely love it here.
The academics are tough but manageable (more work and harder than high school, but remember just about everyone is in the same boat). The professors are truly amazing and want to see you understand the content they are teaching. I would take anything regarding grade deflation with a grain of salt.
The campus is beautiful as well (especially right now with fall colors). The campus itself does not really have a small school feel, yet the size is manageable. If you’re into running/nature, the college has a nature preserve with cross country trails (5k and 8k) adjacent to campus. The town of Davidson is also nice, although COVID has really prevented me from being able to do to much there. There’s also farmers market on weekends with a bunch of local vendors. Overall, even with COVID, it does not feel like I’m trapped here as there’s always plenty to do on campus (Black Panther movie night and the Bob Ross Painting Class have been some of my favorites so far).
Food is generally good. There’s 3 options on campus. Commons is buffet/cafeteria style with a daily rotating menu, which can be hit or miss. There’s also Davis Café (known to most as Union) which is open every day for breakfast/lunch/dinner. They have pizza, quesadillas, burgers, a couple of sandwiches, sushi, etc. Wildcat Den is the other option, only open for lunch on weekdays. It’s pretty exclusively sandwiches and salads, although they’re all pretty good.
Davidson has handled COVID incredibly well, if that is of any interest. We all get tested weekly, and as a result have been able to stay on campus. The admin and faculty here seem to really care for the students wellbeing, and honestly that makes all the difference.
Let me know if you or anyone else has any other questions 
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Thanks for your response. Another question is, what’s computer science like? What’s the strength of their faculty if you have an idea?
Most departments here are pretty strong, and I doubt CS is an exception honestly. I want to go down that track/something similar (there’s an interdisciplinary bioinformatics major here), but was unable to fit in CS into my schedule this semester. If it means anything, I’ve heard good things from friends in both Math and CS classes, and am trying to take 2 courses in the department next semester.
Related to CS, data science is really strong here. There’s a couple student groups on campus that do some really cool stuff, and I’d recommend researching some of them. I’ve attached some links to some if you’re interested.
- https://catsstats.timchartier.com/ (Sports Data Analytics, perhaps most well known group. Has been written about by The New York Times, FiveThirtyEight, NPR)
- https://collegecrisis.org/ (Done by another group on campus)
Thanks for your response. If you don’t mind my asking, what do acceptance letters look like and is there anything you don’t like about Davidson?
Also, could you explain the concept of interdisciplinary majors?