Thoughts on Davidson?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Haverford is rife with anti-Semitism, Davidson is not. If you're Jewish, no question Davidson is the best choice.

DS is not a D1 athlete, although he enjoys club sports. He has a wide friend group at Davidson that includes multiple D1 athletes. D1 athletes do not have their own dorms or eating areas and mix with the non-athletes; the campus is super integrated. Doesn't seem to be a huge divide socially.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haverford is rife with anti-Semitism, Davidson is not. If you're Jewish, no question Davidson is the best choice.

DS is not a D1 athlete, although he enjoys club sports. He has a wide friend group at Davidson that includes multiple D1 athletes. D1 athletes do not have their own dorms or eating areas and mix with the non-athletes; the campus is super integrated. Doesn't seem to be a huge divide socially.

My rising senior DC would agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.davidson.edu/offices-and-services/student-activities/student-organizations/fraternity-sorority-life-patterson-court-council

That’s said I don’t think it’s a very “fratty” culture. My kids were very interested but in the end didn’t apply. Would’ve had to do ED to have a chance. We did visit and loved it.

Are there only 3 sororities? Two of these are historically black sororities, and we don’t party much At most PWI black greeks are thought to be lameand boring, probably Because we focus on service and education.

If Davidson College has less than 10% black students (generously, let’s say 5% black women) and 66% of the sororities are African American, Then I would say MOST are not in a sorority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.davidson.edu/offices-and-services/student-activities/student-organizations/fraternity-sorority-life-patterson-court-council

That’s said I don’t think it’s a very “fratty” culture. My kids were very interested but in the end didn’t apply. Would’ve had to do ED to have a chance. We did visit and loved it.

Are there only 3 sororities? Two of these are historically black sororities, and we don’t party much At most PWI black greeks are thought to be lameand boring, probably Because we focus on service and education.

If Davidson College has less than 10% black students (generously, let’s say 5% black women) and 66% of the sororities are African American, Then I would say MOST are not in a sorority.

There are also Eating Houses at Davidson but anyone who wants to join can join one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If anyone has a HS junior with a strong interest in attending Davidson, there might be a secret sauce to improving their chances of getting admitted-- Davidson's July Experience program where rising seniors live on campus and take 2 classes taught by Davidson professors. July Experience has been put on hold since 2020 but hopefully will start up again next summer. The program gives high school students a taste of what the college experience is like at Davidson, and Davidson gets to evaluate potential applicants up close and personal for 3 weeks. In the past, the great majority of students who successfully completed JE and later applied early decision were admitted.

Unfortunately, Davidson has done away with July Experience for good. It was a great program and my daughter attended the last July Experience in 2019. JE changed her life b/c she chose to apply ED to Davidson and just graduated. She absolutely loved her 4 years there. She and most of her friends have all found employment all over the East Coast with one taking a job in LA. Wonderful school with a strong focus on the student experience! It's growing in popularity and acceptance rates will likely approach Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore levels in the very near future. The Class of 2028 supposedly had an acceptance rate around 12%. We'll miss being Davidson parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haverford is rife with anti-Semitism, Davidson is not. If you're Jewish, no question Davidson is the best choice.

DS is not a D1 athlete, although he enjoys club sports. He has a wide friend group at Davidson that includes multiple D1 athletes. D1 athletes do not have their own dorms or eating areas and mix with the non-athletes; the campus is super integrated. Doesn't seem to be a huge divide socially.

I don’t have personal experience but dd’s friends are athletes and claim they only socialize with the athletes because the other kids are nerdy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haverford is rife with anti-Semitism, Davidson is not. If you're Jewish, no question Davidson is the best choice.

DS is not a D1 athlete, although he enjoys club sports. He has a wide friend group at Davidson that includes multiple D1 athletes. D1 athletes do not have their own dorms or eating areas and mix with the non-athletes; the campus is super integrated. Doesn't seem to be a huge divide socially.

I don’t have personal experience but dd’s friends are athletes and claim they only socialize with the athletes because the other kids are nerdy.

As a Davidson parent, I’m happy to report this is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haverford is rife with anti-Semitism, Davidson is not. If you're Jewish, no question Davidson is the best choice.

DS is not a D1 athlete, although he enjoys club sports. He has a wide friend group at Davidson that includes multiple D1 athletes. D1 athletes do not have their own dorms or eating areas and mix with the non-athletes; the campus is super integrated. Doesn't seem to be a huge divide socially.

I don’t have personal experience but dd’s friends are athletes and claim they only socialize with the athletes because the other kids are nerdy.

As a Davidson parent, I’m happy to report this is ridiculous.

And yet what her friends report. FWIW, hear the same about Northwestern. Not sure why kids would make this up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haverford is rife with anti-Semitism, Davidson is not. If you're Jewish, no question Davidson is the best choice.

DS is not a D1 athlete, although he enjoys club sports. He has a wide friend group at Davidson that includes multiple D1 athletes. D1 athletes do not have their own dorms or eating areas and mix with the non-athletes; the campus is super integrated. Doesn't seem to be a huge divide socially.

I don’t have personal experience but dd’s friends are athletes and claim they only socialize with the athletes because the other kids are nerdy.

As a Davidson parent, I’m happy to report this is ridiculous.

You wouldn’t know, unless you attend parties on a regular basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haverford is rife with anti-Semitism, Davidson is not. If you're Jewish, no question Davidson is the best choice.

DS is not a D1 athlete, although he enjoys club sports. He has a wide friend group at Davidson that includes multiple D1 athletes. D1 athletes do not have their own dorms or eating areas and mix with the non-athletes; the campus is super integrated. Doesn't seem to be a huge divide socially.

I don’t have personal experience but dd’s friends are athletes and claim they only socialize with the athletes because the other kids are nerdy.

As a Davidson parent, I’m happy to report this is ridiculous.

You wouldn’t know, unless you attend parties on a regular basis.

I have met about a dozen Davidson students through my DC, on campus and during the summers locally, and most (including my DC) play club sports even thought they are not on a Varsity team, are social and are happy with who they are, even if the PP’s daughter divides students in her mind as if she were still in middle school. Not a good look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haverford is rife with anti-Semitism, Davidson is not. If you're Jewish, no question Davidson is the best choice.

DS is not a D1 athlete, although he enjoys club sports. He has a wide friend group at Davidson that includes multiple D1 athletes. D1 athletes do not have their own dorms or eating areas and mix with the non-athletes; the campus is super integrated. Doesn't seem to be a huge divide socially.

I don’t have personal experience but dd’s friends are athletes and claim they only socialize with the athletes because the other kids are nerdy.

As a Davidson parent, I’m happy to report this is ridiculous.

You wouldn’t know, unless you attend parties on a regular basis.

I have met about a dozen Davidson students through my DC, on campus and during the summers locally, and most (including my DC) play club sports even thought they are not on a Varsity team, are social and are happy with who they are, even if the PP’s daughter divides students in her mind as if she were still in middle school. Not a good look.

This is a common criticism of SLACs with a high percentage of athletes. Not unique to Davidson, but weird that you are so invested in downplaying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Off topic but besides Steph curry, who are famous alums of Davidson?

it seems like a wonderful school with strong academics but doesn’t seem to place well in nyc/dc like Nescacs/swat/haverford etc?

Do most Davidson kids just stick around the south east after graduation?

Well, you probably haven't heard of these folks... Woodrow Wilson (President of the United States), Patricia Cornwell (she wrote a few best selling books), Dean Rusk (US Secretary of State), Thomas Marshburn (he went on a few space flights with NASA), James Batten (CEO of Knight-Ridder), John Chidsey (CEO of Subway), and a few dozen more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Davidson_College_people

Davidson grads go all over the world. Many Fulbright Scholars. Very high number go to grad school. Lots head to DC. And, there are quite a few on Wall Street, although Charlotte has a thriving financial services and banking sector. My DS went to work at a well known tech company in Northern California.

Add William Styron, Vincent Foster, and GW Bush White House Press Secretary Tony Snow. I think Styron transferred to Duke, but whatever.

I've worked across the US and internationally (but never in NC) and Davidson has absolutely opened doors. I work in healthcare though, and one of Davidson's greatest strengths is preparing students for med school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Off topic but besides Steph curry, who are famous alums of Davidson?

it seems like a wonderful school with strong academics but doesn’t seem to place well in nyc/dc like Nescacs/swat/haverford etc?

Do most Davidson kids just stick around the south east after graduation?

Well, you probably haven't heard of these folks... Woodrow Wilson (President of the United States), Patricia Cornwell (she wrote a few best selling books), Dean Rusk (US Secretary of State), Thomas Marshburn (he went on a few space flights with NASA), James Batten (CEO of Knight-Ridder), John Chidsey (CEO of Subway), and a few dozen more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Davidson_College_people

Davidson grads go all over the world. Many Fulbright Scholars. Very high number go to grad school. Lots head to DC. And, there are quite a few on Wall Street, although Charlotte has a thriving financial services and banking sector. My DS went to work at a well known tech company in Northern California.

Add William Styron, Vincent Foster, and GW Bush White House Press Secretary Tony Snow. I think Styron transferred to Duke, but whatever.

I've worked across the US and internationally (but never in NC) and Davidson has absolutely opened doors. I work in healthcare though, and one of Davidson's greatest strengths is preparing students for med school.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be fair to the parent with the daughter who chose Amherst over Davidson, I believe the majority of kids given the choice would have chosen Amherst. Also, I wouldn't want my daughter choosing a school in large part because a boyfriend was nearby. No parent wants their child to be unhappy at college, and this comes through in the mom's post yesterday stating why Amherst hasn't been the greatest experience for her daughter.

Dc area kids are more southern than northeastern at heart (unless they are Jewish or Asian)

I can totally see the median dc kid just liking SEC or sec adjacent schools to nescac.

There is a huge difference between the outlook of philly and tri state kids vs dc kids

The data disagrees with you on that.

This does not describe my MD kid or any of her friends.

Someone growing up in Bethesda is unlikely to feel comfortable in a classic southern setting.

I’m the parent of 3 Walt Whitman HS (Bethesda) graduates. I can tell you as a fact that LOTS of Bethesda kids go to colleges “in a classic southern setting.” UVA, UNC, USC, Ole Miss, Tennessee, etc. all get Bethesda kids every single year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And I have to add these kids who are afraid of Greek culture really need to keep an open mind. There are houses for everyone including those girls who are not big party kids.

This is true but “RushTok” culture amplified the Greek vibe at Bama or Ole miss and then inspires copycats and pretty soon every group thinks this is the expected experience that incoming members have. Self-fulfilling death spiral, obviously because it’s a huge turnoff to actual membership outside of large southern state schools plus Arizona and California.