Thoughts on Davidson?

[Anonymous]

From the Common Data Set. For the class entering fall of 2011, middle 50%:

Davidson
SAT Critical Reading 630 730
SAT Math 640 720
SAT Writing 630 730
ACT Composite 29 33
Percent in top tenth of graduating class: 82%

Kenyon:
SAT Critical Reading 640 740
SAT Math 610 690
SAT Writing 640 730
ACT Composite 28 32
Percent in top tenth of graduating class: 59%

University of Mary Washington:
SAT Critical Reading 530 640
SAT Math 500 610
SAT Writing 520 620
ACT Composite 22 27
Percent in top tenth of graduating class: Not reported although they indicate that 33% of incoming first-year class had a GPA of 3.75 or above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had never even heard of it until a few years ago. I kept noticing that a steady stream of Big 3 and MoCo graduates were heading that way. Is it considered prestigious and selective? What's it like?

On paper I thought it looked perfect for my daughter, and she did too. Then we visited and there was no magic -- the school seemed nice, but not distinct in any way....other than the student laundry service. It made me realize that the key with these small schools is to visit the campus during the school year-- they have different personalities that are hard to assess from a distance. Plus it helps with admissions. A number of high school kids in our Davidson tour were planning to attend summer programs on campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the Common Data Set. For the class entering fall of 2011, middle 50%:

Davidson
SAT Critical Reading 630 730
SAT Math 640 720
SAT Writing 630 730
ACT Composite 29 33
Percent in top tenth of graduating class: 82%

Kenyon:
SAT Critical Reading 640 740
SAT Math 610 690
SAT Writing 640 730
ACT Composite 28 32
Percent in top tenth of graduating class: 59%

University of Mary Washington:
SAT Critical Reading 530 640
SAT Math 500 610
SAT Writing 520 620
ACT Composite 22 27
Percent in top tenth of graduating class: Not reported although they indicate that 33% of incoming first-year class had a GPA of 3.75 or above.

Pretty much confirms prior observation that Davidson and Kenyon are comparable, and UMW is a tier or two below.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

On paper I thought it looked perfect for my daughter, and she did too. Then we visited and there was no magic -- the school seemed nice, but not distinct in any way....other than the student laundry service. It made me realize that the key with these small schools is to visit the campus during the school year-- they have different personalities that are hard to assess from a distance. Plus it helps with admissions. A number of high school kids in our Davidson tour were planning to attend summer programs on campus.

Quite honestly, that's how I felt about Davidson. I had a relative in NC who really wanted me to apply there, but it didn't really appeal to me the way that schools like Williams and Wesleyan did. But I think the thing to realize is that there aren't a lot of small LAC schools of that caliber in the South, so Davidson stands out even though the campus itself is perhaps a bit under-whelming. The people I know who have gone there have enjoyed it, except for one Jewish friend who realized only after he arrived that he wanted to attend a bigger school with more Jewish students.

[Anonymous]

Alum here. Davidson is a fantastic school. Very rigorous, close-knit student body, strong honor code. It has a southern feel for folks from around here (me included), but there are plenty of students from outside the South. Loved my time there. In my experience, it attracts really solid, good people. I graduated over 10 years ago fwiw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Friends recently looked. Conservative, protestant, not the same look and feel you'd get at a Northeastern LAC. Academically better than Wake Forest but below the "little ivies," whatever they are this week. If you're Virginia, I can't see spending 220,000 on Davidson if you could get Mary Wash for 78,000.

Davidson is a lot more selective than Mary Washington. To pull some other schools now being discussed out of a hat, Davidson is a Southern version of a Kenyon or Colby/Bates. Even if the education is no better, a Davidson degree will get far more attention than a UMW degree. It used to be considered rather conservative, more so than either Duke or UNC. However, as main-line Protestantism moved to the left, so did Davidson. Many graduates are on a pre-professional track, but you'd also find a lot of liberal clergy members in the South who attended Davidson. A kid considered "preppy" in the DC area would fit very comfortably there.

So is there a large private school contingent?

[Anonymous]

If you like Landon, you'll love Davidson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you like Landon, you'll love Davidson.

Lots of Landon-esque types there, yes, but you also get a fair amount of serious students/wonks mostly from small public and independent schools in the South, including quite a few preacher's kids.

[Anonymous]

steph curry!

[Anonymous]

Re Davidson. When people refer to it as conservative they mean in a preppy "I want to move to charleston or Charlotte and join junior league" kind of way, not an evangelical bob jones kind of way.

[Anonymous]

18:06 here: -- Yes, the preacher's kids I know at Davidson are among the most liberal students there.

[Anonymous]

Would a boy from a non-country club type family fit in? DS is at an area independent school, and his college counselor is pushing Davidson as a "good fit." I think this is just code for, it's the best school our son can get into given his stats and the competition. Anyway, DS seems open to it, which I guess is the most important thing, but I'd like to hear thoughts on whether coming from a non-country club family will leave DS feeling out of place at Davidson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would a boy from a non-country club type family fit in? DS is at an area independent school, and his college counselor is pushing Davidson as a "good fit." I think this is just code for, it's the best school our son can get into given his stats and the competition. Anyway, DS seems open to it, which I guess is the most important thing, but I'd like to hear thoughts on whether coming from a non-country club family will leave DS feeling out of place at Davidson.

If the independent school is STA, Landon, Prep, Gonzaga or Potomac, I'd say yes. If it is Sidwell, GDS or Maret, I'd say no. Landon has been something of a feeder for Davidson over the years, so if Landon wouldn't be a good fit for your son Davidson probably wouldn't be either.

[Anonymous]

Our DS visited Davidson 3 times over the past year. While he did not elect to go there we were extremely impressed with the quality of the people running the school. If you attend a DC, NOVa or MoCo independent I don't think you will see a significantly more "country club" feel and we met kids from many backgrounds. A good amount of kids were from Atlanta to DC with a smaller portion of national background. The kids seemed mature and really loved the school. If that's the "best school your son can get into" I would congratulate him on his high school career. Davidson is very strong. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would a boy from a non-country club type family fit in? DS is at an area independent school, and his college counselor is pushing Davidson as a "good fit." I think this is just code for, it's the best school our son can get into given his stats and the competition. Anyway, DS seems open to it, which I guess is the most important thing, but I'd like to hear thoughts on whether coming from a non-country club family will leave DS feeling out of place at Davidson.

Seriously? No.