<p>I absolutely LOVE both W&L and Davidson, however many people seem to think that if you like to social seen at one you will hate it at the other. Because these two schools are so similar in most other senses (academically, size, town) I am not quite sure what to think. I am socially comfortable wherever and I get along with most people very well, so I am lost. I love my pearls and preppy clothes, but these are just things; the actual social seen is what I am concerned with. The one thing that biases me is the fact that W&L has sororities and sorority houses that one may choose can live in, I think this type of "sisterhood" is far more intimate than eating houses at Davidson.</p>
<p>I agree that liking one place does not suggest that you will dislike the other by default. I also agree that the sorority houses at W&L are pretty amazing. </p>
<p>Have you visited both? While they do share a number of things in common, I think there are enough persuasive distinctions between the two of them to assist a prospective student’s decision-making.</p>
<p>Thank you for your response FLVADAD.</p>
<p>Yes, I have visited both. In your opinion what do you think these “persuasive distinctions” include??</p>
<p>Davidson has very little social scene whatsoever, whereas Washington and Lee has a pretty impressive social scene. Everyone I know who has partied at both school vastly prefers W&L’s social scene, for obvious reasons.</p>
<p>On paper Davidson and W&L are as similar as any two schools that you will find, and you cannot go wrong with either. Both are great schools, there are however some concrete differences:</p>
<p>Housing - Davidson generally you are on campus in a dorm or apartment all four years while at W&L you will likely do one year in a dorm, one year in a sorority house and two years in an off-campus house. Living on campus vs. off-campus is a major driver in terms of social life, who you see every day… Don’t underestimate how much impact this has.</p>
<p>Majors - Davidson is a traditional Liberal Arts school. Look at the course catalog and majors offered. W&L is more of a very (very) small University in that it has a Business School, Journalism School and a very large pre-med program. This has an impact on the type of students that you will be around, and the tone of the faculty (business school faculty tends to be more conservative and less “academia oriented” than liberal arts faculty).</p>
<p>Student Body - Davidson has a higher percentage of students from the southeast while W&L has more from the NE. </p>
<p>You have already hit on the social differences.</p>
<p>In the end it is a personal choice. However, I think that if you go to each school and spend the night in the dorms, you will figure out pretty quickly which one fits you better. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I would just like to thank everyone who posted replies, y’all were very helpful. In October I plan to spend the night and attend classes at both schools. At this point I will most likely be applying ED I to W&L because it has been my love for the past 17 years, and continues to be the school that I truly love. Thanks again!!</p>