Davidson College -- conservative?

Parents Forum
81

<p>DSC- If my points were simply a "rehash," then you should have understood that in my earlier post, I wasn't "mocking" the eating clubs. (For what it's worth, your own posts are certainly not fresh and illuminating-- just my opinion.)</p>

<p>W/regard to fraternities being allowed and not sororities, you still didn't address/answer my question. That's okay; I realize there's no justifiable reason why non-residential sororities would not also be allowed.. (I am aware that Davidson fraternities aren't residential.) Again, co-ed eating clubs do exist there. If the fraternities are "essentially meeting places with membership, the same as the eating clubs," why not eliminate the fraternities? No need to answer, just something for you to ponder.</p>

82

<p>Fair enough. I think I came off more attacking than I should have and meant to. And yes, I haven't added much knowledge about Davidson, as I've been mostly asking questions.</p>

83

<p>Why not eliminate fraternities?- because students enjoy and participate in them? Also, there aren't any co-ed eating houses left at Davidson.</p>

84

<p>Aha, this thread was originally about political inclination of schools, but you all are talking about Greek life now. Alrite, I have no control of follow-up of threads, but personally I view Greek life as a little too secretive, reminding me of the Skull and crossbones, which Bush was a member (but again that isn't technically Greek).</p>

85

<p>This is my first post, so I'm not sure how to do this, but I'll try. DSC & John Ellison's questions about Davidson & political inclinations of schools are things that I've wondered about so I've very much appreciated the comments & insights. I've decided that I'd prefer attending a college that is at least middle-of-the-road politically</p>

<p>I'm curious about DSC's reaction to Bowdoin, and would love to hear more of your thoughts (or other people's thoughts) on Bowdoin. Does it compare well to Davidson or Williams academically? Did it feel too small & insular? Concerns about breadth of course selections? For DSC, how did you think the Bowdoin students were like high school students? Did the Bowdoin students seem less mature than other college students that you met?</p>

<p>I also did a NE "tour" & particularly liked Bowdoin & Williams. If you all were to pick the top strengths of those schools (please add Amherst, too :)) & the biggest weak areas of those schools, what would you all think?</p>

<p>I'm not sure how to best this on the appropriate thread.... but, my other question relates to AP credit. Are some of the more well-known almost-Ivy LACs starting to not give actual credit for the AP work (even with a 4 or 5), but just using the AP course & "number" of 4 or 5 to place students? </p>

<p>At any rate, thanks so much for all of your excellent & helpful comments.</p>

<p>Kat</p>

86

<p>The fraternities at Davidson are social organizations that sponsor campus wide parties for students and serve as centers of community service. They are not secretive societies as exist at Yale(of which, John Kerry was a member). Although I was a member of a Davidson fraternity, my 3 best friends and roomates were not, and it was never an issue. I joined one as I felt it was part of the 'college experience' and wanted to partake of it. No regrets. But fraternities at Davidson are nothing like the huge, residential mansions that exist at many large, univerities like University of Maryland, UT etc..</p>

<p>Janieblue is playing "Davidson whack-a-mole', she will respond to any positive comment about LAC's in general and Davidson in particular with a negative comment to fulfill some deeply engrained bias about these type of schools. Whether its a political agenda or perhaps that she was denied admission by one of these schools or that she was not breastfed, it's hard to tell.</p>

<p>Katja, I think your questions would be best answered by starting a new thread on your particular questions. Perhaps "AP credits at Top LACS"-I think that it would attract more attention and specific answers to your query. You might also check the Bowdoin board itself.</p>

87

<p>Katja - Please do not take my thoughts as the be all, but I'll try to explain my thoughts about Bowdoin: The campus felt small and out of date relative to Middlebury and Dartmouth. The tour guides seemed very excited and impressed with 'Blackboard' online technology, which I have used at my HS and we stopped using due to the poor interface and high expense. The Hockey arena looked worn down. The staff in the admissions office seemed standoffish, and of the 'well that's not our job' demeanor. Almost every 'We are cool and weird because we do this' thing mentioned seemed to be a repeat of other schools(Dance Marathon, those types of things). Also the surrounding area seemed like sprawl. They had one giant viewbook, but a lack of supplementary, more specific information. Then for almost any question asked we were told either 'It's in the Viewbook' or 'I don't know, never heard that one before'. The smallness, sprawl, outdatedness, and Blackboard reminded me of HS. And I'm sure that Bowdoin really isn't like that, but it was enough that I can't see myself attending.</p>

<p>Now, I'm sure that I just had a worse visit than most, but I have to judge on these tiny segments, and Bowdoin had one of the worst 'bites' of the schools I visited.</p>

<p>And regarding Bowdoin students compared to other schools students, I wouldn't use the word maturity, maybe a sense of self or something like that. The Bowdoin kids I saw seemed more 'bubble-ized' if I had to commit to an image.</p>

<p>And Strengths/Weaknesses, I both think that those depend on the person, and I'm not exactly sure what you are asking.</p>

88

<p>hubbelgardner: My posts regarding Davidson have been factual; sorry if you view those facts as negatives. To my knowledge, I have also made no comments about "LACs in general" on this thread. For your information, I also never applied to Davidson as I didn't need or want a school that small, for a variety of reasons.</p>

<p>I will also add that the second paragraph in your post above does not reflect well on you, either as a thoughtful, educated person or, perhaps more relevant to this thread, as a Davidson alum.</p>

89

<p>hg, I agree with you. And your "whack-a-mole" reference was an inspired choice but the "breast fed" reference, well, son....that'll get you in trouble most everywhere, most every time.


Uhhh... How's that again? LOL. Nope. No comments at all. Can't think of any. Nary a one. My D, OTOH, had no need or desire to apply to a big state school...for an even larger variety of better reasons. So there. ;)</p>

<p>Bias is O.K. janie. Without it, choosing anything from a college to a lunch stop would be awful tough. Just don't get in a huff when someone points it out. You like big schools better than small schools. You don't like Davidson. That's a legitimate choice for some. But you as an independent arbiter? Hardly. I prefer small uni's. My kid likes LAC's. There are plenty of schools to choose from, in each category, and Davidson is an exceptionally fine one, worthy of great respect.</p>

90

<p>I'd never heard of Davidson until a few years ago when a friend from DC wrote that her daughter was going there. At the time I thought, "oh, and I thought that was the bright one. Oh well." Then I cracked open Time magazine and Davidson was highlighted as being a top college. (this is pre-CC days) THEN I realised that the college guidance counselor at my kids' private school went there, as did his son....the list goes on where Davidson keeps popping up. The womens' tennis team came down here for something at my kids' school (one girl was an alum, I guess) and they were the most wholesome NICE young women I'd seen in a LONG LONG time. Well spoken, sense of humor....just the kind of girl I'd want my daughter to be friends with. Anyway, for what its worth, my friend's daughter who went there is now in law school.</p>

91

<p>curmugeon: I am not privy to where your D chose to attend school. If you can point out to me where I made negative comments about LACs in general, I would appreciate it. In fact, I encouraged one of these posters (either the OP or DSC) that if he was making the trip to visit Davidson, he should also take time out (if he hasn't done so before) to visit Duke, UNC, and Wake Forest. I also pointed out, as did one other poster, that Wake Forest is very similar to Davidson, in both student profile, stellar academics, and size. In my opinion, Davidson and WF are so similar, that to not take the time to research or visit WF as well (if bothering to make the trip), would be foolish. I also pointed out that Wake Forest has a similarly old and well-respected honor code. Duke is obviously larger (though still smaller than a public, with the exception of W&M), but really does have the more outstanding facilities, academics, and reputation (not just in this area, but nationally). Obviously, schools exist outside the South that are equal to any of these, but since the focus for one or two posters seemed to be this particular Southeastern region, I kept my suggestions limited to those schools in the same geographic area-- easy enough to visit all in one or two days.. </p>

<p>Most of my posts dealt with the facts about diversity, financial aid, and Greek life. (See links above.) Looking back over all of them just now, I see that I did make an earlier comment that the very real positives of small schools can also, quite often, be the reason for any negative aspects. I do believe that most schools with 1500 or fewer students will probably have one dominant culture. That's great if it's the culture one wants; if it's not, then it's hard to change or move away from that culture in a school so small. That's why to carefully research a school is of value, and ask questions such as the OP did (ie, how conservative?). Obviously, the answers to that question will be in the form of facts, experience, and opinion. While opinions and first-hand experience are worthwhile to hear, the facts really speak for themselves.</p>

<p>Obviously, a big school with a large undergraduate and graduate population can have a multitude of positives, too. However, I can certainly appreciate the negative aspects of a large campus and completely understand what would make them unappealing for many. That's why to have so many types of schools from which to choose, is great.</p>

<p>You see, that's the thing about diverse viewpoints and opinions, curmudgeon. We can respectfully listen to, respond, and perhaps even appreciate those differing viewpoints. We can then carefully mull over what we've heard or read, separating out what might be fact, fiction, or merely opinion-- without resorting to sophomoric, thoughtless reactions. If one only wants to hear what he/she already believes and thinks, then it's probably not best to post on an anonymous forum such as this, don't you think?</p>

<p>As an aside, I was never "in a huff," nor did I respond to HG in that way. Perhaps you should re-read my earlier posts? ;)</p>

92

<p>curmudgeon: I see that you edited your comments on your last post, so I only just read your last sentence. </p>

<p>Let me reiterate yet again that Davidson is a top-notch school academically; I agree. I greatly respect all the people I know personally who have graduated from there, young and old alike. My main "bias" against the school is its definite lack of diversity (economically and otherwise), along with its rather conservative student body and administration. Hopefully, with their new "no loan" financial aid initiative, which is to be admired, that will be changing. And since the Board is now allowing (in the last year or so?) non-Christians as members, and they have a new University President, perhaps things will change there for the better on the diversity front.</p>

93

<p>Janie - Davidson has about 1650-1700 students.</p>

<p>Also, I mentioned that UNC both didn't appeal(as I was looking for a SMALL school), AND that even if it did, I have UMich as a better option cheaper. Then, I mentioned that the prevalent residential fraternity life of Wake Forest made it not very appealing to me. Then that Duke did not appeal due to Durham.</p>

<p>So, your insistence on repeating these schools after mentioning my reasons for not looking into them comes off as bias and lack of respect for Davidson.</p>

<p>If you were buying a car, a Jetta Diesel let's say, and go to the dealer and ask to hear about the Jetta and what you heard was 'Yeah, that's a nice car but in the 70's Diesel's sucked, so look at this Toureg.' You would think this person to be both biased and out of line. That is how your comments came off to me. Which I'm sure was not intended, but nonetheless the truth.</p>

94

<p>janie, pssst. Wake is a uni. Not an LAC.</p>

95

<p>Janie, your comment that Wake is very much similar to Davidson surprises the heck out of me. It just goes to show that OPINION is exactly that!!! I see few similarities --- and many differences (imagine that).</p>

<p>The whole point to soliciting opinions is to be able to get a variety of responses & cull through them to take from them what the reader needs. None of us is "right," and arguing points will never make it so. </p>

<p>And for what it's worth, curmudgeon rules.</p>

96

<p>OOOHHH ... I just noticed that I am now a SENIOR member. Guess my opinion carries more weight now, eh?!</p>

97

<p>I found what Hubbell found that even in a diverse environment, people of similar backgrounds tended to stick together. Anybody else notice that? My kids are noticing it too at their high school.</p>

98

<p>dke, I agree. I don't know if it is human nature, but it happens so often. At one medium sized, well respected university my daughter & I visited, we were practically smacked in the face with self-division. Even the large Asian population was grouped by country of origin. To be fair, though, it's not just races --- I didn't see many Prada-wearing girls hanging with girls in sweats, either. We simply seek out those with whom we have the most in common. Are we missing out by doing so? Yes. Do some schools seem to be able to break down these barriers to some extent? Yes. Where do you feel most comfortable? And are you the type who will go out of your comfort zone to break existing barriers? There is no right or wrong answer, but it's something to consider.</p>

99

<p>kelsmom: I didn't realize this was some sort of competition. I have no idea how to respond to your post, but I'll just say that I'm happy that "curmudgeon rules" for you. ??</p>

<p>I agree with your second paragraph in your post (95), which sounds strikingly similar to my own comments in my post (91), 4th paragraph. </p>

<p>As far as the similarities between WF and Davidson, they are both private small schools (though, admittedly, WF is somewhat larger) in the same geographic region; both are known for stellar academics with little to no grade inflation (and possibly active grade deflation)-- Wake Forest being known as "Work Forest." They have very similar student profiles, academically and otherwise, and both are fairly conservative. Both started out as small schools connected to a Protestant religion (WF being Baptist). The both have outstanding sports teams, most especially for small schools. WF also has a well-respected honor code, as does Davidson, which was mentioned before.</p>

<p>There are obvious differences, of course. WF is a university, not really a LAC, and it does have professional schools attached to it. But it is known (and ranked highly) for its quality undergraduate teaching/education, as is Davidson. The other similarities mentioned above make it appealing for students who want a small private school in this region. Students I know who are interested in one are usually interested in the other, and do apply to both. This certainly may not be true for OOS students who are not that familiar with both schools; that's why I suggested visiting both, if making the trip.</p>

100

<p>DSC: Sorry, just saw your comment. My posts about WF and other schools have not been made solely for you. In fact, after you initially told me you had no interest in these other schools, they weren't made for you at all. ;)</p>

<p>curmudgeon: Yes, I am well aware that WF is a university. See my post #99. :)</p>