First, Davidson does have a reputation of having little grade inflation and you do have to work hard for good grades. However, you are rewarded as you pursue future studies. In terms of law school, a number of my friends went to Harvard, Yale and Stanford to name a few of the schools, and everyone who wanted to attend med school or law school got in somewhere. I wont be able to get back to you on MBA schools until later, as one usually work a number of years before attending, and I haven’t reached that point yet. </p>
<p>My job search was a bit unique in that I choose to join the Peace Corps after graduating, but before I did, I received a significant amount of help from the career counseling office. When I was graduating, there were a number of employers who recruited at Davidson particularly investment banking firms and consulting firms. I majored in Economics, and virtually everyone who graduated with that majored had found employment before graduation. It is true that a Davidson diploma is held in higher regard by people in the South than in the North, but that wont hurt you with grad school, and a number of employers recognize Davidson. When I returned from Peace Corps, I interviewed for some jobs in the Boston area and they all knew Davidson’s name and held it in high regard. That being said, Davidson is certainly not as well known in the north east as it is in the South and the DC area.</p>
<p>It seems like half of Davidson ends up in DC, whether in politics, consulting or law.</p>
<p>While Davidson is academically very challenging, the honor code does serve to help alleviate some of the stress. It is one of the core values held by virtually all students at Davidson. I took a number of tests and finals in my room with no thoughts of ever cheating and at the sametime had a high level of confidence that none of my classmates would cheat. You are afforded an incredible amount of trust by Professors and you leave Davidson as a person with a great deal of integrity. This is seen by many employeers. It is a major advantage of Davidson.</p>
<p>Socially, there are a number of different outlets. The College Union does an excellent job of creating opportunities such as hiking, rock climbing and river rafting trips. There are a solid core of people who usually participate in these activities. I believe that if you want to be on the Track team you can walk on and make it, cross country is probably more difficult, but numerous students run on the cross country trails in the morning and evening. </p>
<p>For better or worse, social life for the majority of students revolves around the Court scene, as I’m sure you discovered during your visit. I was in a Fraternity while at Davidson, but for women, the eating house allows for social outlets tailored to your needs. if you want to make a commitment to an eating house you can if not you can switch, but i’m sure someone explained this to you when you visited so I wont say much more on that. </p>
<p>I had a good balance between work and fun. It seems like most students worked hard and partied hard too. However, if that’s not your thing that are several other outlets and several people partake in these other outlets. I have described some above. One draw back is that there is no large city near by. I rarely went into Charlotte, though it is not very far away. The social scene definitely revolves around the campus.