Longtime lurker here!!! My S just got into Davidson ED. Obviously was his first choice, we couldn’t be more proud.
I am an immigrant to the US and to be honest had no idea about Davidson before S’s school counselor recommended. He did his own research and really loved this school, so we support him all the way!!!
My only question is if he will have any problems fitting in as a lean-Democrat kid from the West Coast. We are from Seattle and a minority race, though not underrepresented (ok, Asian). S has always been in “majority-minority” places, so of course has many friends who are white but also black, Latino, etc! I think it will be a surprise for him to see very few Asian students, and maybe the ones are international students!!!
Could any parents or students who are POC talk about what their experiences have been at Davidson? Also anyone who was new to the South about what culture surprised you? Thank you.
Congratulations thats great! Davidsons president Carol Quillen is wonderful. At parent weekend she talked a lot about davidson and making sure all feel welcome and learning to have civil discourse. There are plenty of liberals there but you will also find a few people who arent as woke. Two recommendations: join the parent group for accepted students and read the Davidsonian online. The student newspaper the Davidsonian has a lot of articles written by POC at Davidson about their experiences. You will see a lot of comments in both the paper and the parent page.
Also i recommend the summer odyssey program as a way to meet people.
He will definitely fit in and love it!
Congrats to your son!!
I hope a POC of their parent posts, but in the meantime, my D – who is not a person of color but she’s left-leaning (thinking about a nose ring soon!) – thought seriously about more liberal schools like Grinnell, Carleton and Reed. She likes that Davidson is not a complete liberal ‘group think’ bubble and that it does have some more conservative voices b/c that creates more robust and rigorous discourse. (That said, the student Republican party club released a statement b4 the 2016 election saying they did NOT support/endorse Donald Trump so there’s that.) Campus overall is moderate/left, and I think Davidson is up to 30-something percent non-white.
Agree the president is awesome, and the students are not only really bright but also kind and warm. I think your S will not have any problem finding his people on campus. There are so many ways to be involved and the overall vibe is inclusive and friendly.
And, yes, encourage Summer Odyssey!
In terms of the south remember charlotte is a major international banking center. So my D says she sometimes forgets shes in the south.
Thank you for the suggestion to read the Davidsonian, after reading I’m now even happier about him going!!! I was very impressed with how these kids (they are really adults now) deal with racism problems, with writing thoughtful opinions and organizing. Like this one: http://www.davidsonian.com/a-call-for-unity/
Yes, I think it’s very good for him to be outside of a liberal bubble. I think it’s one of the reasons he chose Davidson. He is not the type to assume all conservatives are wrong or horrible, he likes to make Republican friends and listens to everyone. And there are always some crazy people in the country. Here the students learn how to deal with these problems.
@klbmom18 – lol at your post. I miswrote – it’s actually a tiny nose stud that she’s interested in, not ring, which is better I suppose. Still not my fav for her, but she’s expressing herself which I get! At least she’s not interested in a tatoo which is forever. . . 
Ha! Yes studs are better than rings!!
@newtodavidson – Congrats to both you and your daughter on her acceptance! We have one daughter currently at Davidson, now a sophomore and another who has applied ED-2 (finger’s crossed on her getting in). Our daughters mixed race, Asian/White. We’re from Southern California (liberal area, in a very diverse community), with the majority/minority being Asian. Most all of their friends are poc. My daughter loves it there and feels very comfortable. There are tons of clubs and organizations that she can join to help her feel as welcomed as possible…I’m sure she’ll thrive just like my daughter has.