Thoughts on Davidson?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree that Davidson is worth a look. My older kid turned down Davidson for a different LAC and sometimes wonders what might have been. The D1 sports and associated campus spirit was a huge selling point.

Ours also wonders what might have been. She was all set to attend Davidson but a surprise acceptance from Amherst had her torn. After much drama that I posted about on a thread here, she chose Amherst. Suffice to say, her college experience has not lived up to her high expectations. She even contemplated applying to transfer to Davidson.

So OP, financial situation permitting, please have your child do careful research beyond the brochures and rankings, do visit the final contending schools for more than a 75 min info session/campus tour and then trust your child to make their choice.

Are you willing to elaborate on why your she was not happy at Amherst ? Thanks in advance.

Clarification: she's not unhappy but is disappointed college life just hasn't lived up to her lofty (and likely unrealistic) expectations. Academically, Amherst has been good to great. She has enjoyed almost all of her classes and finds most professors impressively intelligent and approachable. She did have an issue w/her first year advisor who was a newish professor and was a bit clueless so gave her less than helpful advice on course selection.

Socially, however, she has confided that Amherst is oddly segregated and stilted. For example, many athletes/teams hang out, eat and party separately from their non-athlete classmates. Various identity groups self-segregate socially as well, and the college seems to leave the rest of the kids to themselves to figure things out socially. She told me more than once that she and her Amherst friends are extroverts in a sea of introverts. The college has also clamped down on large student organized parties due to some dorm damage incidents so there haven't been too many opportunities for the students to mix organically outside of class. And there are too many weekend nights where the campus is quiet. She is hopeful that the new administration will focus more on improving student life. She has visited her high school besties at UVA and Duke and sees their grass as greener. Her former HS teammate who is a senior at Davidson has also encouraged her to transfer though she's decided to stay put for now. Those friends seem to enjoy a more lively college scene that Amherst lacks. She is also a warm weather kid so it has taken her awhile to adjust to the longer winters. With all that, she is still very much looking forward to the start of fall semester and is determined to make the most of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree that Davidson is worth a look. My older kid turned down Davidson for a different LAC and sometimes wonders what might have been. The D1 sports and associated campus spirit was a huge selling point.

Ours also wonders what might have been. She was all set to attend Davidson but a surprise acceptance from Amherst had her torn. After much drama that I posted about on a thread here, she chose Amherst. Suffice to say, her college experience has not lived up to her high expectations. She even contemplated applying to transfer to Davidson.

So OP, financial situation permitting, please have your child do careful research beyond the brochures and rankings, do visit the final contending schools for more than a 75 min info session/campus tour and then trust your child to make their choice.

Are you willing to elaborate on why your she was not happy at Amherst ? Thanks in advance.

Clarification: she's not unhappy but is disappointed college life just hasn't lived up to her lofty (and likely unrealistic) expectations. Academically, Amherst has been good to great. She has enjoyed almost all of her classes and finds most professors impressively intelligent and approachable. She did have an issue w/her first year advisor who was a newish professor and was a bit clueless so gave her less than helpful advice on course selection.

Socially, however, she has confided that Amherst is oddly segregated and stilted. For example, many athletes/teams hang out, eat and party separately from their non-athlete classmates. Various identity groups self-segregate socially as well, and the college seems to leave the rest of the kids to themselves to figure things out socially. She told me more than once that she and her Amherst friends are extroverts in a sea of introverts. The college has also clamped down on large student organized parties due to some dorm damage incidents so there haven't been too many opportunities for the students to mix organically outside of class. And there are too many weekend nights where the campus is quiet. She is hopeful that the new administration will focus more on improving student life. She has visited her high school besties at UVA and Duke and sees their grass as greener. Her former HS teammate who is a senior at Davidson has also encouraged her to transfer though she's decided to stay put for now. Those friends seem to enjoy a more lively college scene that Amherst lacks. She is also a warm weather kid so it has taken her awhile to adjust to the longer winters. With all that, she is still very much looking forward to the start of fall semester and is determined to make the most of it.

That’s too bad. Sounds kinda lame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree that Davidson is worth a look. My older kid turned down Davidson for a different LAC and sometimes wonders what might have been. The D1 sports and associated campus spirit was a huge selling point.

Ours also wonders what might have been. She was all set to attend Davidson but a surprise acceptance from Amherst had her torn. After much drama that I posted about on a thread here, she chose Amherst. Suffice to say, her college experience has not lived up to her high expectations. She even contemplated applying to transfer to Davidson.

So OP, financial situation permitting, please have your child do careful research beyond the brochures and rankings, do visit the final contending schools for more than a 75 min info session/campus tour and then trust your child to make their choice.

Are you willing to elaborate on why your she was not happy at Amherst ? Thanks in advance.

Clarification: she's not unhappy but is disappointed college life just hasn't lived up to her lofty (and likely unrealistic) expectations. Academically, Amherst has been good to great. She has enjoyed almost all of her classes and finds most professors impressively intelligent and approachable. She did have an issue w/her first year advisor who was a newish professor and was a bit clueless so gave her less than helpful advice on course selection.

Socially, however, she has confided that Amherst is oddly segregated and stilted. For example, many athletes/teams hang out, eat and party separately from their non-athlete classmates. Various identity groups self-segregate socially as well, and the college seems to leave the rest of the kids to themselves to figure things out socially. She told me more than once that she and her Amherst friends are extroverts in a sea of introverts. The college has also clamped down on large student organized parties due to some dorm damage incidents so there haven't been too many opportunities for the students to mix organically outside of class. And there are too many weekend nights where the campus is quiet. She is hopeful that the new administration will focus more on improving student life. She has visited her high school besties at UVA and Duke and sees their grass as greener. Her former HS teammate who is a senior at Davidson has also encouraged her to transfer though she's decided to stay put for now. Those friends seem to enjoy a more lively college scene that Amherst lacks. She is also a warm weather kid so it has taken her awhile to adjust to the longer winters. With all that, she is still very much looking forward to the start of fall semester and is determined to make the most of it.

I know off topic but is she still with her HS boyfriend who was going to college in Charlotte? I followed your thread from last year and was curious how that worked out.

[Anonymous]

The PP didn't mention the boyfriend so I'm betting that the relationship didn't survive the first year of college like most HS relationships.

I know Amherst has a wonderful reputation but it sounds like a pretty dull place to spend 4 years. I was one of the minority of posters recommending that the daughter attend Davidson. Amherst, Davidson and for that matter Haverford exist in the same world of elite liberal arts colleges, and, in the end, fit means a lot more than a handful of spots in USNews rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree that Davidson is worth a look. My older kid turned down Davidson for a different LAC and sometimes wonders what might have been. The D1 sports and associated campus spirit was a huge selling point.

Ours also wonders what might have been. She was all set to attend Davidson but a surprise acceptance from Amherst had her torn. After much drama that I posted about on a thread here, she chose Amherst. Suffice to say, her college experience has not lived up to her high expectations. She even contemplated applying to transfer to Davidson.

So OP, financial situation permitting, please have your child do careful research beyond the brochures and rankings, do visit the final contending schools for more than a 75 min info session/campus tour and then trust your child to make their choice.

I remember this thread too, the posting parent did not want the child to attend Davidson and was looking for ways to convince her to attend Amherst, which they perceived to be a “better” school. Perhaps this is a reminder to let kids go with their gut feelings about schools rather than imposing our own preferences.

+1 - the “best” college is the one that’s best for that particular kid. I appreciate the reminder.

Right. Don’t delegate the decision to USNWR!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree that Davidson is worth a look. My older kid turned down Davidson for a different LAC and sometimes wonders what might have been. The D1 sports and associated campus spirit was a huge selling point.

Ours also wonders what might have been. She was all set to attend Davidson but a surprise acceptance from Amherst had her torn. After much drama that I posted about on a thread here, she chose Amherst. Suffice to say, her college experience has not lived up to her high expectations. She even contemplated applying to transfer to Davidson.

So OP, financial situation permitting, please have your child do careful research beyond the brochures and rankings, do visit the final contending schools for more than a 75 min info session/campus tour and then trust your child to make their choice.

I remember this thread too, the posting parent did not want the child to attend Davidson and was looking for ways to convince her to attend Amherst, which they perceived to be a “better” school. Perhaps this is a reminder to let kids go with their gut feelings about schools rather than imposing our own preferences.

+1 - the “best” college is the one that’s best for that particular kid. I appreciate the reminder.

Right. Don’t delegate the decision to USNWR!

To this point, whatever marginal benefit being higher ranked offers in terms of “outcomes” likely pales in comparison to the impact on outcomes that being happy and comfortable might have versus being demoralized and regretful. I think Amherst has a stronger reputation, certainly in the northeast, but is an unhappy Amherst student going to do better than a happy Davidson student? The problem is you don’t really know if the culture is a fit until you attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree that Davidson is worth a look. My older kid turned down Davidson for a different LAC and sometimes wonders what might have been. The D1 sports and associated campus spirit was a huge selling point.

Ours also wonders what might have been. She was all set to attend Davidson but a surprise acceptance from Amherst had her torn. After much drama that I posted about on a thread here, she chose Amherst. Suffice to say, her college experience has not lived up to her high expectations. She even contemplated applying to transfer to Davidson.

So OP, financial situation permitting, please have your child do careful research beyond the brochures and rankings, do visit the final contending schools for more than a 75 min info session/campus tour and then trust your child to make their choice.

I remember this thread too, the posting parent did not want the child to attend Davidson and was looking for ways to convince her to attend Amherst, which they perceived to be a “better” school. Perhaps this is a reminder to let kids go with their gut feelings about schools rather than imposing our own preferences.

+1 - the “best” college is the one that’s best for that particular kid. I appreciate the reminder.

Right. Don’t delegate the decision to USNWR!

To this point, whatever marginal benefit being higher ranked offers in terms of “outcomes” likely pales in comparison to the impact on outcomes that being happy and comfortable might have versus being demoralized and regretful. I think Amherst has a stronger reputation, certainly in the northeast, but is an unhappy Amherst student going to do better than a happy Davidson student? The problem is you don’t really know if the culture is a fit until you attend.

100%. That's why spending the time and expense to visit w/a current student for a night or two at your final college choices is a worthwhile investment.

[Anonymous]

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?

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree that Davidson is worth a look. My older kid turned down Davidson for a different LAC and sometimes wonders what might have been. The D1 sports and associated campus spirit was a huge selling point.

Ours also wonders what might have been. She was all set to attend Davidson but a surprise acceptance from Amherst had her torn. After much drama that I posted about on a thread here, she chose Amherst. Suffice to say, her college experience has not lived up to her high expectations. She even contemplated applying to transfer to Davidson.

So OP, financial situation permitting, please have your child do careful research beyond the brochures and rankings, do visit the final contending schools for more than a 75 min info session/campus tour and then trust your child to make their choice.

Are you willing to elaborate on why your she was not happy at Amherst ? Thanks in advance.

Clarification: she's not unhappy but is disappointed college life just hasn't lived up to her lofty (and likely unrealistic) expectations. Academically, Amherst has been good to great. She has enjoyed almost all of her classes and finds most professors impressively intelligent and approachable. She did have an issue w/her first year advisor who was a newish professor and was a bit clueless so gave her less than helpful advice on course selection.

Socially, however, she has confided that Amherst is oddly segregated and stilted. For example, many athletes/teams hang out, eat and party separately from their non-athlete classmates. Various identity groups self-segregate socially as well, and the college seems to leave the rest of the kids to themselves to figure things out socially. She told me more than once that she and her Amherst friends are extroverts in a sea of introverts. The college has also clamped down on large student organized parties due to some dorm damage incidents so there haven't been too many opportunities for the students to mix organically outside of class. And there are too many weekend nights where the campus is quiet. She is hopeful that the new administration will focus more on improving student life. She has visited her high school besties at UVA and Duke and sees their grass as greener. Her former HS teammate who is a senior at Davidson has also encouraged her to transfer though she's decided to stay put for now. Those friends seem to enjoy a more lively college scene that Amherst lacks. She is also a warm weather kid so it has taken her awhile to adjust to the longer winters. With all that, she is still very much looking forward to the start of fall semester and is determined to make the most of it.

This doesn’t sound good to great, it sounds terrible.

[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.

Very impressive especially considering it is such a small school. My daughter is a senior at Davidson who could not be happier. I cannot say enough about how much of a perfect fit it has been for her. Her friends are intellectually curious and interesting and she has herself become more intellectual as a result of her time at Davidson. It is challenging academically with grade deflation a known factor at the school. I heard an anecdote about a medical school admissions person who says his school prefers students from Davidson with slightly lower GPAs to some of the other well known schools who have perfect grades bc the students from Davidson are better prepared....but who knows!? We are sad to see our time at Davidson draw to an end - it has been wonderful from a social, community and academic perspective for our daughter. Oh, she is also in an eating house but it in no way dominates her time or friend group. All of her friends/roommates are not in her eating house and some aren't in one at all. It really makes no difference there. It's a nice "best of both worlds" in terms of kind of having some type of Greek life (charity causes, dances etc) but not overtaking her campus experience. Highly recommend!

[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.

Very impressive especially considering it is such a small school. My daughter is a senior at Davidson who could not be happier. I cannot say enough about how much of a perfect fit it has been for her. Her friends are intellectually curious and interesting and she has herself become more intellectual as a result of her time at Davidson. It is challenging academically with grade deflation a known factor at the school. I heard an anecdote about a medical school admissions person who says his school prefers students from Davidson with slightly lower GPAs to some of the other well known schools who have perfect grades bc the students from Davidson are better prepared....but who knows!? We are sad to see our time at Davidson draw to an end - it has been wonderful from a social, community and academic perspective for our daughter. Oh, she is also in an eating house but it in no way dominates her time or friend group. All of her friends/roommates are not in her eating house and some aren't in one at all. It really makes no difference there. It's a nice "best of both worlds" in terms of kind of having some type of Greek life (charity causes, dances etc) but not overtaking her campus experience. Highly recommend!

+1 Completely agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree that Davidson is worth a look. My older kid turned down Davidson for a different LAC and sometimes wonders what might have been. The D1 sports and associated campus spirit was a huge selling point.

Ours also wonders what might have been. She was all set to attend Davidson but a surprise acceptance from Amherst had her torn. After much drama that I posted about on a thread here, she chose Amherst. Suffice to say, her college experience has not lived up to her high expectations. She even contemplated applying to transfer to Davidson.

So OP, financial situation permitting, please have your child do careful research beyond the brochures and rankings, do visit the final contending schools for more than a 75 min info session/campus tour and then trust your child to make their choice.

Are you willing to elaborate on why your she was not happy at Amherst ? Thanks in advance.

Clarification: she's not unhappy but is disappointed college life just hasn't lived up to her lofty (and likely unrealistic) expectations. Academically, Amherst has been good to great. She has enjoyed almost all of her classes and finds most professors impressively intelligent and approachable. She did have an issue w/her first year advisor who was a newish professor and was a bit clueless so gave her less than helpful advice on course selection.

Socially, however, she has confided that Amherst is oddly segregated and stilted. For example, many athletes/teams hang out, eat and party separately from their non-athlete classmates. Various identity groups self-segregate socially as well, and the college seems to leave the rest of the kids to themselves to figure things out socially. She told me more than once that she and her Amherst friends are extroverts in a sea of introverts. The college has also clamped down on large student organized parties due to some dorm damage incidents so there haven't been too many opportunities for the students to mix organically outside of class. And there are too many weekend nights where the campus is quiet. She is hopeful that the new administration will focus more on improving student life. She has visited her high school besties at UVA and Duke and sees their grass as greener. Her former HS teammate who is a senior at Davidson has also encouraged her to transfer though she's decided to stay put for now. Those friends seem to enjoy a more lively college scene that Amherst lacks. She is also a warm weather kid so it has taken her awhile to adjust to the longer winters. With all that, she is still very much looking forward to the start of fall semester and is determined to make the most of it.

I remember your thread about Amherst vs davidson. She wanted to go to davidson and you were freaking out because you wanted her to go to Amherst instead. You were pressuring her to go to Amherst and many of us were telling you she should do what she wanted and go to davidson. So no she didn’t decide to go to Amherst. You pressured her into it. Bad idea.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haverford and Davidson is a weird overlap. Haverford is a very traditional SLAC and Davidson has pre-professional vide. The most popular majors at Davidson are Econometrics and Quantitative Economics, Poly Sci, and Biology. I.e. the slac equivalents of business, prelaw and premed.

Math heavy Econ and Poly Sci were the two majors my DC was targeting at Haverford.....so this isn't the best example. We never looked at Davidson so I can't speak for the school. But it is true that Haverford has an academia slant and has a very high percentage of students who go to graduate school (and in more classic areas of of liberal arts/science/social science not just law/business/medical).

So, if I want to get a reading of the quality and direction of economics and data analysis undergrad education at Davidson or Haverford - what do I do? Broad stroke / lazy you look at University of Chicago, Michigan, UC San Diego /LA and so on professors are stellar, colleges won't compete with that. I'm in every damned thread asking questions trying to understand LACS as they do appeal to me...