Davidson College Top Questions

Probably eating houses (which are for women) and fraternities. There is also the awesome Davidson Outdoors Program, which speaks to the typical nature loving person that goes here. Club sports are super fun, and many people enjoy whatever the student activities board prepares for us, because they plan activities based off of student interest.

tennis,basketball and other varsity athletes

Statistically, the most popular group on campus is D1 sports-- a full 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body is a student-athlete. Many more participate in club or intramural sports teams. Sports aside, Davidson has a very active 'Environmental Action Coalition' or EAC which makes waves on campus. They have regularly sent students to events and conferences in Washington, DC! Davidson loves the outdoors, with a popular 'Davidson Outdoors' or DO club providing weekend trips for whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, and tons of other activities. They also have a litany of equipment and tools to use or rent. They'll fix your bike, show you how to belay, and WAFA certify you all in one. Other big groups on campus are the slam poetry group FreeWord, the step team Shades of Brown, the always lively DJ's of the student-run WALT radio, the DUFF ultimate frisbee team, the school newspaper The Davidsonian is always a favorite, the OOPS! improv comedy group, and probably 70 or so other groups are all active. There is a group for everyone. In fact, most people join several! One of the great things about Davidson is how easy it is to be involved. Sophomores are presidents of several majors clubs, and it's not unusual in the slightest. Recently a student decided to start an International Justice Mission group on campus. In under a year the group has over a hundred members and has raised thousands of dollars for their cause, and thousands of dollars in programming grants to further their IJM chapter. Outside of groups and clubs, Davidson students have interests as varied as they are. Which means that most people drink, but many people choose other things to do. There are always things going on both up and down the hill and there isn't judgement for whatever lifestyle decisions are made. Sober or not, everyone loves getting free Chick-fil-a or Moe's at After Midnight's. Before midnight? See a free movie screening, go to a lecture, laser tag in the union, cuddle with puppies during exam time, see a slam poetry performance. There is always something going on for everyone. In a frat or independent? You'll go to the same party and no one will question it or care. Of course, arguably the most popular tradition and activity on campus is the midnight scream. At midnight for the start of Reading Day the entire campus lets out their loudest screams in recognition of the agony that awaits.

Patterson Court is the focus of the social life. This is compromised of the Fraternities and Eating Houses that about half of Davidson students are a part of. The parties (except formals) are all open, so there is no need to join a fraternity if you are only in it for partying, but for that reason the fraternities are better organizations. People don't join to party but to be part of a greater good. Everybody can go to the parties, so the only people who join the organizations are those who want to be involved in the other aspects of fraternities eg community service, brotherhood, leadership etc.

The Union Board at Davidson sponsors many different events that do not involve drinking. For example, they sponsor April at the Lake (Davidson owns a piece of land on Lake Norman- a few miles away from campus), paint your own pottery, casino night, and many other activities. I met my closest friends from my freshman hall. Davidson students enjoy going to Bonsai, a sushi place, and the Soda Shop which are both located on Main Street in Davidson.

Man, I don't think I've gone to bed before midnight more than twice all semester. Now that's not true for all students, but for me, I just can't get enough of hanging out with friends, watching trashy TV, raiding the Union café, and cramming for reviews when it's one thirty in the morning. The glory of Davidson is that whatever your interests, there'll be something fun for you to do. There's been ice skating in the Union, brake-dance competitions, fascinating lectures, wicked good basketball, raging parties on the Court, and everything in between.

Fraternities and eating houses (similar to sororities) are strong on campus, but they do not dominate the social scene. There are plenty of other things to do besides party. I lived on a substance free hall my freshman year, and on weekend nights, we would watch a movie or play a board game together. The student union frequently provides activities that draw a crowd, also. Sometimes people just have parties in their rooms. Athletic events, especially basketball games, draw people, too. In general, people are always friendly and always open to new friends. It is fairly easy to connect with different groups of people, if that is what one wants to do. However, some people find a perfect niche in one group and they do everything with that group.

Students always leave their doors open in the dorms, and the Union is a great place to find people. The Student Government Association does a ton for the campus every year, and there are dozens of very active student groups on campus doing amazing, real things - the school is very supportive of impactful organizations and funds good causes. Dating scene is either hook-ups or living like married couples. Basketball games are fully attended but other games are smaller, lots of friends of teammates. Guest speakers are phenomenal, theatre is not.

Fraternities are mostly responsible for a social life. There is an overwhelming majority of guys at Davidson in fraternities (approximately 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}). People find cliques, then party with their own cliques, which is typical. On a Saturday night, you can go to the Union and have a grand old sober yet fun time. People don't party much, compared to big schools (in the Big Ten for example).

The most popular team on campus is definitely the basketball team. I think some of my male friends idolize some of the players. Students tend to leave their doors open on the freshman halls, but even if they aren't people aren't that far away and you can always just go knock on someone's door to go hang out. People always complain that dating at davidson doesn't exist. They think it's a complete hook-up culture. It is definitely possible to have a relationship on campus - I did, but hooking up is definitely another popular option. I think it's really up to the person. If you're awake at 2am you're either playing halo or guitar hero with your buddies or studying in the Union with a group of other people who are still working too. People are pretty serious about studying during the week, with the exception of wednesday nights, and then the second friday hits the books are put away and everybody is in relax mode. People tend to go out and drink and then go out to the court to dance or hang out on Friday and Saturday nights. You can always find a place to drink by the senior apartments and a place to dance on the court.

Greek events and apartment parties are virtually the only social drinking functions on campus. Do not come here if you are looking to go clubbing in Charlotte on weekends. Students also regularly attend art and athletic events, and the Union board sponsors a million events that are alcohol free if thats not your thing.

Basketball is huge. Dance Ensemble is big. Football is not that big but we will recognize it. The improv groups are cool too. Don't come here for pretty girls. The union board is really good about having events for students that don't drink, for example they had Chick-fil-a night this past weekend where you show up and get free food. One tradition is the midnight scream during finals. Most people party here but I would say its because of the workload.

Students rarely lock their doors. The Honor Code is a huge deal, and its effects are manifest throughout campus. Students just drop all their belongings, including laptops, at the entrance to Commons (the dining hall). These items are in plain view and not in anyone's line of sight. Yet, the students trust each other to live with Honor. It makes Davidson a wonderful place to be.

Students in dorms leave their doors open all the time. We have a pretty serious honor code, and although there are occasionally thefts/vandalisms, etc, they are very rare. Theater, speakers, and athletic events are all well attended, and the larger athletic events (read: basketball games) are VERY well attended. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I'm probably studying for a test or chillin with friends. The dating scene isn't super well-developed, it's more of a drunken hookup scene, but there are definitely a good number of couples on campus.

Everything from theatre productions to a cappella concerts to basketball games, debates, guest speakers, benefit dinners - everything is well attended by both students and local families. Tuesdays you definitely don't see any parties. Wednesdays - Saturdays, if you want a party it's easy to find one. Tons of neat traditions. We are an hour from the mountains, 3 hours from beaches, and 20 from a big cities.

A large percentage of Davidson's population is involved in the Fraternities for men or the Eating Houses for women. Eating Houses are these really cool organizations that are kinda like sororities except people don't live in the houses and no pledging is required. There are many other types of organizations for people to get involved in as well. I am a part of a group called FLY (For Loving Yourself) which has done great thing around campus in an effort to promote positive body image. Basketball games are really popular events, as are Live Thursdays, a sort of open mic night performance put on every Thursday in the Student Union. There are three singing groups on campus that are awesome, as well as an enormous dance ensemble that puts on two sold out performances a semester. Davidson also puts on a big concert every year that usually attracts a big name. This year it was Jason Mraz. As far as partying go people usually go out pretty hard on Friday and Saturday nights. Wednesday is also considered a party night, but less people take part in mid week parties. Davidson does however, do a great job of providing weekend night activities that don't involve drinking such as movie showings, paint your own pottery nights, and midnight pancake breakfasts.

The more popular grounds would tend to be fraternities, eating houses, and athletic teams. Not all too different from most schools but I would say there is less of a divide between those groups and those not involved in those groups. There is an AMAZING honor code on campus that is able to work because of the small closeknit student body. I have seen many other "honor codes" in action and nothing that I've ever seen is followed like this one. Students leave their rooms open and unlocked, leave backpacks and even lap tops etc laying around while they go to get a bite to eat. There is trust and harsh punishments for those who break that trust. Athletics are pretty popular. Basketball is the main attraction but football, baseball, soccer, and others pull in good sized crowds as well. There is lots of dating and lots of "hook ups" that go on but things in this department are not quite up to the standard of most colleges. Your best friends will be your hallmates and if you play a sport your teammates (same for other groups like music, theater, etc). If you're up at 2AM on a Tuesday you're probably studying, but if it's a Wednesday or the weekend you're probably partying. There is a great party scene for as small as the campus is and honestly its incredibly relaxed about alcohol. Campus police, as long as they know you are being safe, will often just make you poor out a cup of beer if they know you are underage and see you out with it, with no further reprimand. And if drinking isn't your thing you can still enjoy the fraternity/eating house(Our version of a sorority) dance parties or the amazing amount of events they have in the Student Union on weekend nights.

Social life is well organized with a variety of activities despite the size of the school. There are always "court" parties (frat/eating house) going on during the weekend and certain weekdays. Also, there are a number of entertainment options including movies, plays, and other performances of various types that are popular among students. There are many restaurants and movie theatres away from campus for people who want something to do away from campus.

I feel like social life at Davidson differs from other colleges. There is a party scene available but its not dominating on campus. People respect students' choices on the weekends and during the week and there is not a huge pressure to party if you don't want to, yet it is there if wanted. Fraternities and eating houses are popular for students yet like I said, not a dominating factor. Many complain about the expense of eating houses and frats yet they provide a good sense of camaraderie and are a good way to meet other people. The dating scene is interesting. It seems like there are two extremes for dating... Either extremely serious relationships or random hookups. There is not much in between which I found surprising coming here.

Social life at Davidson is limited besides Patterson Court. If you like to party, you'll be fine. If you don't like to party, good luck having fun on the weekends. Occasionally there are activites in the Union to accomodate the non-partying crowd, but they are decently rare. Mostly, you'll have to find things to do with your hall. If someone has a car on your hall, that will help. Some choose to join frats, but there's no pressure to join. There are no sororities, only eating houses, the some girls participate in. If you're not partying on Saturday night, you'll probably play some game with your hall, watch a movie, or stay in your room. Social life here, unless you like to party, is bland.

Davidson students looove to start organizations. And to raise money. We have more new organizations and more fundraisers than we know what to do with. I think that the size and the administration encourage it. My favorite fundraiser of the year was "Benchpress for Breastcancer," held by a bunch of meat-head, frat boys. The college pairs freshmen roommates according to their Myers-Briggs types. Most of the pairs work out really well, but every once in a while there's a disaster. Apparently 4 letters doesn't tell you everything you need about your potential for compatability.

Davidson has a wide variety of activities that people can join and a lot do join. You will find it hard to find someone who is not involved in anything. Davidson students really like to get involved on campus and there are a lot of opportunities for that. One thing I really like about the social scene on campus are the eating houses for women versus the sororities that one usually finds in Greek life. There are fraternities but women have eating houses which you could make as much or as little a part of your life as you would like. I would never join a sorority but the eating houses are much more chill and a lot of fun. One of the highlights of my Davidson experience was Self-Selection night when I found out that I was in Warner Hall and all of the new freshmen got covered in ice cream toppings and then had a dance party in the house. It was so much fun! The social scene revolves a lot around the eating houses and fraternities but also around the Union where there are other activities going on on weekends such as movies being shown or Casino Night or After Midnight when you get free Chick-fil-a or the Pancake Breakfast. The Union is a really fun place to hang out on weekends and especially during the week to eat, or to study, or just to hang out with friends.

Because of honor code, no one worries about anything when it comes to their property. I will frequently leave my car keys, laptop, and wallet on a library table while I go to lab for a few hours. I have never had anything stolen. The social scene is centered around the fraternities and eating houses. The school tries to fight this from being the case, but at the end of the day you will come to the frats or eating houses if you want to have fun. That's my perspective anyway, I'm sure many classmates would swear that this wasn't true - but I've never scene them outside the classroom. They go to their caves I think.

Greek life does not encompass the social life of Davidson. Many students join frats and eating houses (there are no sororities), but plenty of students do not. Parties are mostly open to everyone, and all the frats/eating houses are welcoming to everyone. So the social life is somewhat communal and open, which is really nice. I'm not affiliated with any social group, but I've been to plenty of parties on and off campus, and people everywhere have been welcoming, friendly, fun. The party life would not stand up to most campuses in intensity, but it's certainly available and usually fun. It would be hard to 'go out' on a weekend and not drink, but plenty of people hang out on the weekends sober.

The basketball team is our big team on campus and so for the winter they occupy the sports schedule for most people. But everyone here seems to do something: triathlons, soccer, crew, track, football, theater, singing, arts. Anything you could want to do we have and if not it seems pretty easy to make your own activity. We have frats and eating houses (our version of sororities) but their parties are always open and I've never felt pressured to join. People here party when the can which usually ends up being only Friday, Saturday and occasionally Wednesday. The school is small though so any drunken mistakes will not stay secret. The main rule of thumb here is "You get in trouble for doing stupid things". If you party reasonably, don't cause problems, are discreet and safe then you should be cool.

I love my Methodist College Fellowship group. It spans all classes at Davidson and provides me the opportunity for spiritual growth in an environment that sometimes seems only academic. Dorm life is fantastic. My hall is substance-free (no alcohol on the hall, you cannot return intoxicated) and I love the people here. Doors are definitely always open, and never ever locked. My best friends are on the hall, it is a great way to meet people as a freshman. The guest speakers are phenomenal; for such a small school Davidson brings in some really impressive people. I have been to at least a dozen guest lectures this year, and loved every single one. Nobel Prize winners, research scientists, humanitarians, playwrights, diplomats, businesspeople- you name it, we've seen it. Also popular among students is theater and Dance Ensemble. Both are open to anyone, you don't have to be theater major to auditon, for example. Weekend events are varied, there are of course parties (fraternities and eating houses), but plenty of other options if that is not your idea of fun. I don't frequent the court, and I still have a great time. The Union Board puts on movies, brings in entertainment (eg. free paint-your-own-pottery, ice skating rink set up in the Union, casino night...) so there is plenty to do without alcohol. The dating scene is pretty nice, I have been asked out by three guys since I got here in the fall. The guy I'm dating is wonderful, and about half of my friends have a boyfriend or girlfriend.

As far as the social scene goes, about 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of guys join fraternities, while about 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of girls join eating houses (similar to sororities, except that incoming girls pick the eating house, not the other way around, and they are not nationally affiliated). I am in a fraternity, and I have friends who are in fraternities and who are independent. Almost all parties are open to everyone.

one bar. Frat parties, aka blackout drunk masses of people grinding up together and getting sweaty. Not a very good social scene.

There are many various actives to participate. I play varsity soccer, so that takes up the majority of my time. As for the social life there is the court. The court is comprised of eating houses and frats. Every weekend there is at least two parties. Nobody is ever turned away. The only time houses are closed are for semi or formals and then they are always open up to everyone at midnight. The court is a lot of fun, however after three years it can kind of get old. One thing that many people might find strange is the fact there is always a Davidson cop at every party. His/her purpose is not to stop underage drinking, but rather make sure that nothing gets outta hand aka fights. There is only one bar near the campus. Whoever opens up another one would make a fortune. Another huge hang out place is F. This is an apartment complex where the majority of beer pong and other typical college activities take place. Partying is mainly limited to wed, fri, and sat.

DAVIDSON OUTDOORS, Dance Ensemble, athletic events (particularly basketball) are well attended. 1/4 of students here are Varsity athletes so not only are students active on campus, their classmates support them. 3/4 of students choose to play an intramural/club sport as well, so athletic events are incredibly popular. That being said, students here are multi-talented and often appear in dance clubs, art groups, theatre, and athletic teams (sometimes in the same season)

So much to do, so little time. There is always something to do...seriously. I could spend an entire week doing nothing but activities and socializing and be completely entertatined. This is where time management come in to play!

We only have fraternities. Instead of sororities, we have "eating houses" for girls, which aren't greek but are just like sororities, pretty much. All the social houses (frat and eating houses) are located along the same small street "the court" on campus, so all the parties happen right next to each other, and it's one big party. People also party in senior apartments, but you're more likely to get caught by police there if you're underage. It's a very very safe campus, and I'm a girl saying that. Theater is good, especially when we host outside performers like the ROyal Shakespeare Company. We have great guest speakers, like Derek Walcott, and performers like Black Eyed Peas and Jason Mraz. Traditions are huge here. Every spring we have "spring frolics" right before final week, so everyone hangs out in the "court" and we party all weekend. The frats' and sorority parties are an annual thing to, and most everyone looks forward to the best parties every year. The basketball team is awesome - Go Cats! - so sports really influence the school spirit in a positive way.

There are more activities on campus than anyone could ever possibly participate in, which is part of the reason Davidson students are so busy and ALWAYS stressed out. Freshman halls are really fun, everyone leaves their doors open, and they are great places to hang out. The main social scene on the weekends is the Court, with fraternity and eating house parties, or parties at senior apartments. There is a lot of alcohol use. Drugs, mainly marijuana, are used but are not broadcast as much. There are also many options for students who choose not to drink. Many students go off campus to shop, watch movies, or go out to eat. The Student Union also hosts free events on Friday and Saturday nights for students such as Paint Your Own Pottery, Build-a-Bear, Ice-Skating, Karaoke, and a carnival. If you are awake at 2am on a Tuesday, you are likely to be pulling an all-nighter to finish your 15 page history paper. You could also be hanging out with your friends on your residence hall. If it's a Thursday night, it's much more likely that you are down at a senior apartment playing beer pong and drinking beer.

Eating houses are popular on campus for girls and fraternities are even more popular than boys. Eating houses are fun but can be cliquey. Students always leave their dorms open due to our honor code and also my freshman hall dorm was extremely nice to one another. My closest friends lived on my freshman hall because before going to davidson you take the Myers Briggs personality test so that you can be matched to your roommate and hallmates. People party on the weekends and go out on Wednesday nights to the frats. Also if you are 21 there is a bar to go to on Thursday night and the student center also has a 21 year old night on Tuesday. People put their work before going out and frequently turn down going out on weekends and weekends to study. There are substance free options on weekends, but I do not choose to participate.

During the week its mostly work, but they do have bands in the Student Union every Thursday and Wednesday night, a 21 year old night on Tuesdays, and every night of the weekend there are noth Union Board sponsored events and allegedly "Greek" parties. The dating scene sucks, most people do not want to get married right after college because they are either Pre-Med or Pre-Law. Last weekend? I took a Greyhound Bus to Chattanooga to visit a friend, but this weekend is the spring all weekend long "Frolick". Oh, and we have a lake campus with a beach.

Davidson sports, especially basketball, are very much supported by the school and the student body. Davidson also has guest speakers very frequently from all different disciplines. These generally have high attendance rates. Davidson has the "work hard play hard" mentality. Students work through the week, so there aren't many parties on weeknights. The weekends are a different story. There are always multiple parties to go to as well as activities planned for those who aren't into the partying/drinking scene.

Patterson Court is where the parties are. They get old after about a year, but can still be entertaining every once in a while. The Union Board comes up with endless amounts of fun activities, like paint your own pottery, ice skating, etc. Freshman halls are really close and promote a sense of community and comfort that I really valued. There is plenty to do on campus, both if you drink and if you don't. There are always entertainers and speakers coming to campus, even though a lot of the time you don't have the free time to go to them.

Social life here isn't as exciting as it is at big state schools, but we find ways to amuse ourselves. On the tours and whatnot they tell prospective students about all the trivia nights and movie nights they have in the union. They probably have a bunch of stuff like that. But as nerdy as we are, a lot of us still like to go out and just get pretty drunk.

Parties are great, not scary at all, all of them are so open. The eating house/fraternity system is great, it is not nearly as scary/exclusive as at other schools.

The dating scene sucks. There are two kinds of relationships: meaningless hookups and preludes to marriage. The social scene tends to center around the Court, but if that's not your scene you can always find other stuff to do. Overall there's a pretty good balance between frats and other groups.

The Social Life at Davidson centers around Patterson Court. Patterson Court consists of 9 Fraternities and 4 Eating Houses. Eating Houses are open only to girls and are a place to eat meals, do service project and host parties. Most Court parties are dance parties, while Bands do come occasionally. All Court Parties, with the exception of semi-formals, are open to everyone at Davidson. The party nights for under-21 year olds are Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. On Tuesday the college sponsers a 21-year old night in the Union and on Thursdays most 21 year olds go to the local bar, the Brickhouse. The Union Board also hosts non-alcoholic events every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights that are open to all students. These range from movie screenings, to Build-A-Bear, to a Carnival. The Dating Scene: either you are in a long term relationship heading towards marriage or you are randomly hooking up.

The social scene is pretty sad, but being from Europe spoils you when you come to the US and find out that all college students think about is get drunk in dirty fraternity houses. It's quite ridiculous. Americans like it, though.

every weekend seems to be the same, parties at the court

Davidson is a work hard and play hard environment. If you are awake at 2 AM on a weekday it is because you are studying or writing a paper, unless of course its a Wednesday and you're wasted and still dancing. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights are devoted to debauchery and little else!

Club sports are pretty popular here. I am a member of club soccer. This fall we traveled to nearby colleges to play games on the weekends after practicing a few times per week. It was relaxed, so practices were not mandatory, but it was a good release after a school day to go play soccer with girls in of all grades. Playing sports is something I miss most about high school, so I found club soccer to be a really great activity for me. Eating houses for women are really popular here. Eating houses is our version of sororities...sort of. They are much more relaxed than sororities at most schools. You are able to join a house in the spring of freshmen year. You select the house you want to be in and if you want to join a different house, you are able to switch in the fall of the next school year. You can also drop membership from a house at all at any time. There are no hard feelings if someone decides to switch houses. It is all very relaxed. I like being a part of a larger group on campus (about 120 per house) that I can call my own. We eat meals together, have sisterhoods, and host parties. In the end, the best thing about an eating house is getting to know the girls and making friends of all different ages. I have only been a part of my eating house (Warner Hall) for 3 months or so, but I have very much enjoyed being in a house so far and expect I will grow to love it more as I become more involved.

The most popular organizations tend to be eating houses, and in terms of athletics- most people only outwardly show support for basketball. There could be more school spirit with other sports and athletic events. Davidson brings a lot of great guest speakers, but I find that people are more often than not too busy to attend every speaker they would want to see. That is where the amount of work we all have becomes the most unfortunate. Fraternities and eating houses seem important when you are really involved in them, but I have been on both ends of the spectrum and the times when I am not as involved in my eating house, I still find oppertunities to branch out socially outside the patterson court activities.

The union is a big hand out place at Davidson, to do school work, eat, or hang out. Most people are friends from their freshman halls, sports teams or organizations. Dating is limited- people are either in very serious relationships or just hooking up. The big places to go on the weekend are the court houses and the senior apartments, but the union has a lot of fun, sober activities. Off campus we go to restaurants, downtown Charlotte, or vacations.

A large majority of girls participate in eating houses, me being included. It offers all the pluses of sorority life without the rushing aspect, which eliminates housing falling too much into certain clichés. At 2am on Tuesday, you are most sitting where you have been for the past few hours slaving away on an assignment. This doesn't necessarily have to be the case, but since you procrastinated until the day before it was due, you put yourself in this situation. If this isn't the case, you're asleep. Wednesday's, however, are a different story :)

The school is always sponsoring some type of activity and we have lots of speakers come to campus.

People are involved in everything and anything. This is a very socially active campus. The dating scene is non-existant. It's basically be married or hook up. People also get extremely drunk here. It sometimes feels like a campus full of functional alcoholics.