<p>Thank-you so much for the feedback, Mattmom and Faline2. I would like my son to read your posts and some other posts. As it stands now, he is definitely applying to Davidson but we haven’t discussed Furman too much, though it’s been a school I keep looking at again and again. I don’t want him overwhelmed and as he has 11 schools on his list right now (which I think is still too many), if he decided to apply to Furman, I believe Pitt or Baylor would come off the list. He needs some safeties but ones that aren’t just there because they offer good aid; rather, ones where he would be happy and a good fit as best as we can determine.</p>
<p>As far as the Belk Scholarship, well, being that we are homeschoolers, I am his counselor. I don’t know how they handle that. The adcom for our city called me a few months ago and we talked but I haven’t followed up with her. We need to do that and ask about the recommendation. </p>
<p>My son’s been blessed to be able to work with a private college counselor for a few sessions for free and though she’s very supportive and thinks highly of my son, she doesn’t know him well enough to be called his “counselor”.</p>
<p>the premise of humphrey’s post is a bit confusing. he/she’s basically suggesting that lower ranked schools are more desirable on the whole because the student body is less accomplished and thus less likely to be “serious.” Of course, many students choose to attend less well regarded colleges for financial reasons, but I think it’s a bit perplexing why someone would choose a school for a less driven student body. I don’t think that this choice is a very difficult one. These are two similar “feeling” schools, with one quite clearly academically superior. Davidson is what Furman probably hopes to be about 20-30 years down the road. They are in different leagues. It’s like comparing Boston College to Boston University, Amherst to Connecticut College, etc.</p>
<p>really grabler? I thought it was the other way around</p>
<p>seriuosly, they arent in different leagues. Davidson is 1/2 the size of FU so they can be more selective. There are many sites that rank FU ahead of DC</p>
<p>Hi Everyone…I am new to this site…Davidson College is my alma mater and my son is a student at Furman…Faline 2’s post is right on the mark…I love Davidson and Furman, both have rigorous academics…My son was accepted to Davidson and decided to attend Furman…He loved Furman’s science facilities and was very impressed with the chemistry and physics departments…Furman (now twice the student population of DC) increased their student enrollment resulting in their acceptance rate rising from 56% to 68%…Davidson (according to college board) has an acceptance rate of 29% regular decision/over 50% acceptance rate early decision and 78% of students in the top 10% of their highschool class…TheGrabler may be from the Northeast (mentioning BC/BU/Amherst/Conn College in a previous post). I attended Tufts for graduate school and know the New England college culture, where rankings and “numbers” mean everything…Davidson is more selective than Furman, but in the South both are highly respected schools…You will receive an excellent education at either school. There are many Davidson alums whose children attend or have graduated from Furman…My son’s experience has been amazing, and has included an 8 week internship in Europe fully funded by Furman and paid summer research positions…He is working very hard academically, volunteers in the local community, has a fun social life with great friends, loves his school and is happy…Everything a parent could want for their child…I absolutely loved Davidson, nothing but happy memories and I wish the best to TheGrabler at this amazing school as well.</p>
<p>wildpaladn, your son will be well-served at Furman in their chem and physics departments. Only the strong survive there, but the difference at both Davidson and at Furman is that the faculty truly extends themselves to students who make up their minds to excel and who want to tackle difficult things. True at all strong liberal arts colleges in my estimation.
Not saying my Duke and Vanderbilt sons got weak support from faculty relationships but there is a trade-off in a bigger college unless you build a niche in your department. Just saying the nod would go to the kind of amazing relationships students have at Davidson and at Furman with professors.<br>
Davidsonians and Furman students also tend to have life-long relationships with their college mentors. I can still go to Furman and have dinner with faculty and administrators from days gone by and my peers keep up with their mentors at Furman even though we are all aging up now, and I am sorry my sons didn’t have that kind of college family in that regard. </p>
<p>I know one student currently on a full ride to a Chapel Hill MD/Phd track out of the Furman chem dept, a current student excelling in dental school in VA who states he is better prepared than many of his peers, and my own dear friend, who went on to Chicago and Stanford out of the chem department at Furman–who is now Provost at a top three college according to yesterday’s rankings. Another current student at Furman just landed a full ride to top PhD track in graduate school…I won’t name it but it is a stellar grad school. There were almost 100 applicants from many higher ranked colleges and universities for this one position. She was selected based on her extensive research and teaching assistant positions in undergrad school at Furman and based on the rigor of her undergraduate preparation and demonstrated readiness for lab work, and based on the quality of her writing and work ethic. </p>
<p>No one is arguing that Davidsonians are not stronger overall statistically than Furman students from day one. Davidson has a tight and strong program that serves this nation well and deserves respect. I think it is fair to say that no one without a strong work ethic even shows up to enroll in Davidson. </p>
<p>The point is that after four years, Furman does produce great outcomes for its student body as well. Who knows where Furman is going re admissions and evolving student body changes. I can’t say. Davidson has the more national footprint, and Furman would like to be less regional. </p>
<p>I have been spending a lot of time in Charlotte lately and enjoying it. However Greenville’s downtown is to die for re charm and I love Greenville’s upland South Carolina access to those gorgeous North Carolina border towns near the Pisgah Forest and Brevard. Greenville is growing and in a resurgence economically that is a pleasure to take in!</p>
<p>Thank you so much Faline 2 and good luck sbjdorlo on your son’s college journey…Deciding on a college can be anxiety provoking but your son is an exceptionally strong student like mine…He will do well whever he chooses to attend…I was very stressed out by the whole process, thankfully the result has been more than wonderful.</p>