@lakealto you should run the net price calculator and see if you can afford Davidson without merit aid if you want to apply ED. If you apply ED and are accepted then you are expected to attend. Getting merit later in April will be additional but you obviously won’t know until after you’ve committed. For us, we know our EFC is larger than the full price at Davidson so if our son applies ED, we have to be comfortable paying full price. If he got merit later, that would be awesome. Just FYI, these merit awards are VERY hard to get. Super competitive. I think there are only eight Belk Scholars each year and each of the other named merit awards on the website only go to a few kids.
Homerdog-thanks for your reply. We won’t qualify for any need based aid. Can afford some tuition but not the full price of Davidson. I’m hoping she’ll get a partial scholarship. If not, we can stay in state (Florida) and she will get a
Bright Futures scholarship, which will cover 100% of tuition. That’s always nice to know. As for the kid…I think she’ll be a competitor for the scholarship. SAT 1530, GPA 4.6, and tons of EC’s and sports (volleyball and weightlifting). But the best part is that she is a genuinely nice kid. I’m hoping that part comes through during interviews (if she is granted one). We are still touring colleges so we will see what other colleges she falls in love with. Right now, Davidson is at the top of her list. But now I know that she should not apply ED. We will wait for the regular application deadline.
@LakAlto – Davidson doesn’t do interviews; however, they have a written peer review by a friend of your child. And a book list. Those are different from most LACs. We waited for RD for same reason – needed to see where the $$ came in. As a ‘bubble’ family in terms of need-based aid we were worried about ED round coming back at full pay which would be tough for us . Davidson was more generous than we expected and gave some need aid, so it’s in reach (but kinda barely – she’d be passing up some great merit packages at other great places so that’s the decision point right now.)
I will say, however, that in terms of acceptances, ED is where it’s at across the board at all highly selective colleges. You probably know this, but it usually at least doubles your chance of getting in.
Finally, you’re right – Davidson really emphasizes character and community – and my D could really sense it when she did an overnight. That’s what made her fall in love with the college, along with the academic rigor.
Good luck!!!
@AlmostThere2018 --this was helpful. I assume your daughter is a senior this year? When she makes her decision, please post where she ultimately decides to go. I am curious where all these kids end up going!
Yes, she’s a senior and will let you know! 
@lakealto if you apply to Davidson make sure you research the deadlines for merit scholarships, particularly the Belk. You must be nominated by your school and the date is very early (October maybe?).
@AlmostThere2018 - Were you able to get through to Davidson last week about whether they were still waiting to award the other lesser scholarships? I have a D who is considering applying next year, but we want her to pursue merit aid. I’m just wondering how difficult the smaller scholarships are. My D has very high stats, but she isn’t from an underrepresented group or underrepresented geographic region (which I know some schools - like Wash U - uses as an unstated criteria for their merit scholarships).
@MomofJ5 – I did not get through last week. I have seen stats that Davidson offers merit to about 10% of students so not many. It appears most you have to apply or be nominated for. (My D. was nominated for the Belk but did not progress.)
We were looking for merit in this process too and had good success with many colleges, but not Davidson. What I think I posted earlier, however, is of the two privates where D was accepted but without merit (well, the other provided a very small NMF scholarship), Davidson provided more generous need aid compared to the other. Not huge but not insignificant either, and as a grant not a loan which is a big advantage.
Good luck!!
@AlmostThere2018 that’s too bad that you don’t have a final answer on merit. That doesn’t look great for them. At the very least, they should return your call and say that the financial package is either final or they are still reviewing for merit.
@homerdog - Yes, left a message but no return call last week. I didn’t call again. The acceptance letter says merit decisions by tomorrow, but I’m pretty sure if a student were in the running they would already have been notified. We haven’t been expecting it, so have been moving forward with decision making with the info in hand! I could have pushed more for an answer but didn’t.
@AlmostThere2018 I think you would know if your D got one of the named competitive merit awards (Iike Belk or Pepper) but the website says that there are other smaller merit awards that are just given on the strength of the app so you never know what info you may get tomorrow!
@homerdog - I like your positive attitude! Tks!!
Hi everyone! I participated in the Belk program this year, and thought I should share my experience. I got a call mid-February that I was a semi-finalist for the Belk Scholarship at Davidson. I had applied RD. I then had a phone interview, and got another call that I was a finalist. I attended Belk weekend in late March for an interview, and then later that week got a call on my standing for the scholarship. Now, the timing of all these events varies year to year depending on many factors, but like I said before, this was my own experience and I hope it helps in some way for future applicants. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
@irishfancyfeet09 thx! Any chance you would be willing to share your stats and tell us a little about yourself?
In State or Out of State: Out of State (AL)
SAT I: 1500
ACT: 34
SAT II: I took Molecular Bio and USH, but didnt do well on either so didn’t send them
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Weighted GPA: 4.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A but in top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Lit (4), AP Bio (5), AP Gov (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Comparative, AP Latin, AP English Lit, AP BC Calc, Chamber Choir, AP Econ/AP Gov, Outreach in Special Education Classroom
Subjective:
I have a ton of extracurriculars, mainly volunteering (top youth volunteer in AL in 2017), and also I worked at a statewide autism nonprofit for two years. I am also a competitive irish dancer that competed nationally and taught for 4 years.
Essays: I’d say strongest part of application! Really loved writing them.
Teacher Recommendation: Pretty strong
Counselor Rec: Very good
Additional Rec: My good friend wrote mine, so I think it was pretty strong!
School Type: Public, but competitive and intense
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
I hope this helps some!
@irishfancyfeet09 did your high school nominated you for Belk Scholarship. or you self nominated your self. Thanks. This is very helpful.
@homerdog I just saw that your kido is applying in 2019 also.
@infinityprep1234 our S will be a 2019 high school grad. He will apply to Davidson this upcoming year.
thanks. We have to tell our high school which full ride scholarship she is interested. They nominate seven different kids for seven different full ride scholarships at different colleges (each kid can be only nominated for one scholarship by high school). She can only be considered for one scholarship that is why I am asking all these questions now. The high school has excellent track record as lots of nominee become recipient of the scholarships unless they decide to enroll to other equally competitive colleges.
@homerdog Does your kid’s high school nominate students or you are looking for self nomination for Belk scholaships?