<p>i've visited 15 schools and it's come down to davidson vs wesleyan. I'd love to apply early decision and because I'm an average-but not stellar- candidate for these schools it'd be advantageous but I want to be completely sure.
I'm a social, very outgoing and friendly person who likes to have a good time. I think it's important to have a sense of school pride and spirit. At the same time, I love art and indie music, I'm pretty liberal and laid back, and I seek a diverse intellectual environment. I come from a very preppy, wealthy and conservative private school of 200 students and though I've had a good experience there, I seek something very different.
I did an overnight at Wesleyan and loved it. The people there went out of their way to be friendly and welcoming, which surprised me. Many that I hung out with that night told me I'd "fit in perfectly" there. I went to an earth house meeting and an open mic night and I thought it was the best. I like the slightly larger size of Wesleyan's student body and the engaged atmosphere there.
I visited Davidson during Discover Davidson. Initially in my college visits, I'd visited more southern schools like Wake Forest and was turned off by them, but thought Davidson might be the perfect combination between Southern school pride and the genuine, diverse intellectual environment I liked in northern schools. I was right. However I visited on an open house day that felt very manufactured by the admissions department. I feel like I didn't get to see Davidson in the same way and since it's 7 hours away from where I live, it's not convenient to visit again. I liked that it was a primarily intellectual environment but still had division I sports...even though I wouldn't consider myself an athlete I love watching sports.
Would I be able to find the sense of diversity and intellectual awareness at Davidson? Would there be the same kind of school pride at Wesleyan? and which one would be a better fit cause I really want to go to both of them and don't want to miss out</p>
<p>Davidson is preppy, moderately wealthy, and more conservative than your average liberal arts school. In this sense, it won’t be so different from your high school experience.
But I’d challenge you to avoid choosing colleges based on these superficial factors which really neglect the essence of Davidson. What has become so clear to me throughout my 4 years at this college is that it commands the most remarkable aura, it inspires the most amazing love in its students and alumni, and it challenges us in the most poignant and genuine ways. I think that the Davidson experience is the most difficult and evocative college experience in the country (of course, with the caveat that I have never experienced another school first-hand). What makes Davidson so challenging–beyond the rigorous and demanding academics–and ultimately so rewarding is that the school refuses any singular definition and forces us to confront a huge range of experiences. Ultimately, Davidson is a fundamentally conflicted and beautiful experiment. It is a Southern school, stained by the unfortunate history of the region, yet it also boasts one of the most socially conscious and thoroughly tolerant student bodies. It has its old-money roots, yet it also was the first liberal arts college in the country to eliminate loans and allow students to graduate 100% debt free. It is a tiny school that is notorious for its bubble, yet the student body is one of the most outward focused and service oriented in the country. It is conservative and liberal, athletic and artistic, Greek and independent, frustrating and liberating. It seeks to grow and change with the modern world, but it also strives to remain the same. What I love about Davidson is that it is constantly turning inward, improving upon itself, and it demands that its students help in the hard process of a cultivating a real identity.
What’s evident about Davidson is that it makes people look. When people hear about it, they want to know more. A lot of them decide that they want to be a part of it, like I did. I think this came out so clearly during the Wildcats’ improbable run to the Elite 8 in 2008. Of course, everyone loves an underdog story. But it seems to me that when Davidson captured the heart of the country for that brief moment during the tournament, more was at play. People saw an impossibly tiny school accomplish something extraordinary. They saw a self-effacing star (Curry) who embodied Davidson’s quietly confident humility. When they looked closely, they saw genuine student athletes who were serious about being in college, 99% of whom would go on to graduate (make that 100%, now, as Steph’s back on campus finishing his degree). They saw fans in the stands interrupting their gut-wrenching tears with glances at their Chemistry homework, and they knew that something was special about the school. Sometimes, it’s so hard to capture in words an experience that is so emotional and ephemeral. All I can say is that Davidson, to me, is different. And it makes people look.
I love this place. I suppose this post, perhaps in the wrong forum, is my way of coping with my years here coming to an end. I’m sure that there are any number of Wesleyan students who feel the same way about their school, and I wish you the best of luck in deciding between two great colleges.</p>
<p>I loved your post. thank you.</p>