Davidson College

On my recent visit to Davidson, a small, selective liberal arts college, in North Carolina, I felt a strong sense of individuality, culture and intellectual buzz; guided by the Davidson Honor System that speaks to everything they do.

Davidson College oozes Southern tradition and gentility, but don’t be fooled, it has the academic prowess akin to Dartmouth and Middlebury. Davidson attracts and superbly educates future leaders in the political, legal and educational realm as well as students bound for medical school and other graduate level endeavors. Not many have heard of this academic powerhouse, likely due to its small size and slightly remote location, yet Davidson offers students strong interdisciplinary, international, and pre-professional programs, as well as a thriving social scene.

The college is located in sleepy-town, Davidson, North Carolina. Think Mayberry, RFD. Charlotte is the closest city to Davidson, about a 30-45 minute drive north. The temperate climate and traditional feel of the Davidson campus contribute to the incredible academic, internship and study abroad opportunities. Traditionally, Davidson was renowned for their political science and interdisciplinary programs. While these programs remain stellar, add Computer Science, dual-degree engineering and robust neuro-science research and you’ve got a full menu of relevant and dynamic degreed programs.

Here are the facts:

Culture

·History: Founded in 1837 by Presbyterians

·Campus: 665-acre main campus; 110-acre lake campus

·Number of students: 1,810 enrolled, 51% male 49% female

·Student Distribution: 48 states and Washington D.C.; 55 countries

·Students living on Campus: 93%

·Student to Faculty Ratio: 9:1

·Racial Diversity: 68% white, 7.43% black, 7.43% Hispanic, 5.51% Asian, 6.87% international

·Average class size: 15 (over 75 percent of classes with fewer than 20 students)

·Faculty: 193 full time; 97% with highest degree, 86% tenured or on tenure track

·Programs Offered: 26 majors, 17 minors, plus Interdisciplinary Studies

·Interdisciplinary Minors: 17

·Students with abroad experience by graduation: 76%

·39% join fraternities

·70% join sororities

Academics

·More than 850 courses offered each year

·Strongest Programs: Political Science; Economics; Biology; Psychology; English; Health and Human Values

·A 3–2 engineering dual-degree program is available with five larger universities.

Preprofessional Programs:

• Pre-Education
• Prelaw
• Premedicine
• Preministry
• Pre-Military

Admissions

·20% acceptance rate

·94% freshman retention rate

·90% 4 year graduation rate (this is extremely high)

·79% enrolled freshman from out of state

·Average ACT score – 31

·72% of last year’s incoming class had a 3.75 unweighted GPA or higher

·Overlap Schools: UNC Chapel Hill, University of Virginia, Duke, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Princeton, Wake Forest, Harvard

Financial

·Cost of Attendance $68,000.00

·Endowment: $730.3 million as of June 30, 2017

·4% receive merit award

·5% receive athletic scholarships

·78% receive need-based financial aid

·78% receive need-based grant

Athletics

·26% of students participate in club or varsity sports