Bloomingdale High School Counseling Department

Davidson College boasts the Southern tradition and gentility of neighbors like Rhodes and Sewanee, with the academic prowess more common to Northern liberal arts powerhouses such as Dartmouth and Middlebury. Often overlooked because of its small size and Carolinas location, Davidson offers students strong interdisciplinary, international, and preprofessional programs, as well as a thriving social scene. “Davidson offers one of the best undergraduate experiences and is the liberal arts school of the South,” says a senior economics major.

Located in a beautiful stretch of the North Carolina Piedmont, Davidson’s wooded campus features Georgian and Greek Revival architecture. The central campus is designated as a national arboretum, and college staff lovingly maintain a collection of the woody plants that thrive in the area. Davidson retains its original quadrangle, which dates from 1837, plus literary society halls built in the 1850s. A new residence hall for 251 students was completed in 2012.

Davidson’s Honor Code allows students to take exams independently and to feel comfortable leaving doors unlocked. “Because of an Honor Code that works, Davidson students are able to walk around campus feeling safe and can leave their belongings anywhere without worrying that they will be stolen,” says a senior. Every entering freshman agrees to abide by the code, and all work submitted to professors is signed with the word “pledged.” Core requirements include one course each in historical thought; literary studies; creative writing and rhetoric; mathematical and quantitative thought; natural science; philosophical and religious perspectives; social-scientific thought; visual and performing arts; and liberal studies. Students must also take a class in a foreign language, diversity, and first year writing. Four physical education classes are required, including Davidson 101, two lifetime activities, and a team sport. Many requirements, including in-depth or comparative studies of another culture, may be met through the two-year interdisciplinary humanities program.

Davidson’s academic climate is rigorous but not grueling. “Davidson has to be one of the toughest places,” says a sophomore. “There are times when I find myself staying up several nights during the week to finish up papers, projects, and tests.” Professors are highly lauded for being friendly and accessible, and with no graduate students around, opportunities to work with faculty members on research projects abound. “Every professor is extremely intelligent and most are great teachers,” one student reports. The most popular majors are political science, psychology, English, biology, and history.

For those whose academic interests lie outside the mainstream, Davidson’s Center for Interdisciplinary Studies allows students to develop and design their own majors with faculty or on their own. Environmental studies majors may apply to the School for Field Studies to spend a month or a semester studying environmental issues in other countries or to work and conduct research at Biosphere 2. The Dean Rusk International Studies Program, named for the Davidson alumnus who served as secretary of state to presidents Kennedy and Johnson, brings speakers to campus and provides more than $100,000 annually to students to help them study and travel abroad. The South Asia studies program focuses on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan; study abroad is also available in countries from France, Germany, and England to Cyprus and Zambia, and 71 percent of the students graduate with some foreign experience. “If you want to study abroad, you can do it through Davidson,” says a student. “It’s a very internationally focused campus.” A 3–2 engineering program is available with five larger universities. On campus, class size is restricted; the only room with more than 35 students is the cafeteria.

Twenty-two percent of Davidson students come from North Carolina and 6 percent from abroad. While the school embraces its Presbyterian heritage, Davidson “is alive with an ecumenical spirit, so all students of all religious backgrounds feel comfortable while here,” a political science major explains. Seven percent of the student body is African American, with 6 percent Hispanic and 5 percent Asian American. A student says, “The Honor Code is a cornerstone not just for academics, but for all aspects of life at Davidson,” which means that student attitudes and behaviors are shaped by their respect for the code. Davidson lures top students with generous merit scholarships, and under its highly touted Davidson Trust, the college has replaced all loans with grants. Nearly 200 athletic scholarships are available. 

Ninety-two percent of Davidson’s students live on campus in co-ed or single-sex dorms. “The dorms are generally nice and centrally located,” a sophomore says. Freshmen are housed together and eat in Vail Commons, where the “food is great—all you can eat, and lots of options, though it’s hard to be a vegan at Davidson.” Upperclassmen may live in the dorms or off campus with permission of the residence life office. Laundry service is offered to students as part of the mandatory fees they pay—a reminder of Davidson’s days as an all-male school when such services were the only way to keep undergrads socially presentable. Seniors get apartment-style housing with private bedrooms. Most upperclassmen take meals at one of the fraternities or eating houses. These groups have their own cooks and serve meals family style.

“Because we are such a small school it’s not uncommon that you meet someone in a class, on a team, or at a service project and end up hanging out with them and being great friends,” says a student. The eating clubs are the center of social life on campus, as is the Alvarez College Union. All but one are in Patterson Court, which freshmen are not allowed to enter for the first three weeks of school. The dues charged by these clubs cover meals, as well as parties and other campuswide events. The fraternities, which claim 10 percent of Davidson’s men, are not much different from the eating clubs, and freshmen simply sign up for the group they want to join on Self-Selection Night, with no “rushing” allowed. There is one sorority on campus that draws 1 percent of Davidson women. And even if you don’t join up, don’t despair; Davidson requires that most parties—“at least two per weekend” at the eating clubs—be open to the entire community.  

Davidson’s five-day freshman orientation includes the Cake Race, which provides runners with about 200 cakes they select based on order of finish. Orientation also introduces students to the cozy town of Davidson, which has coffee shops and cafés and to the college’s 100-acre Lake Norman campus which provides for sailing, swimming, and waterskiing. “Davidson is a great college town,” a chemistry major says. The equally quaint town of Cornelius is adjacent to Davidson, so it’s a common destination for dinner and a movie or a relaxed night out. When those diversions grow old, North Carolina’s largest city, Charlotte, is just 20 miles away with clubs and other attractions. A car definitely helps here, as Myrtle Beach and skiing are several hours from Davidson, in different directions. Students without wheels of their own can rent a car through the college’s We Car program.

Davidson fields 21 teams (the “Wildcats”) that compete in Division I, as well as non-scholarship football. About 20 percent of students are varsity athletes. Basketball, soccer, swimming, lacrosse, golf, volleyball, and wrestling are the strongest programs. Intramural and club sports are also varied and popular.

Despite its North Carolina location, Davidson has the look and feel of a New England liberal arts college and continues to attract top students to its charming neck of the woods. “So many factors contribute to Davidson being such a great place,” says a junior. “If it’s the right college for you, you can probably tell from the moment you step on campus.” From study abroad and independent research to a strawberries-and-champagne reception with the college president for graduating seniors, students here combine tradition with forward thinking to make great memories, friends, and intellectual strides.

Deadlines & Requirements

Davidson: Early decision: Nov. 15. Regular admission: Jan. 2. Campus and alumni interviews: optional, informational. SATs or ACTs: required. Subject Tests: optional. Accepts the Common Application. Essay question.

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