Agnes Scott, Emory, Furman, Presbyterian, Davidson, Salem

[TravelingChris]

Those are the colleges we will be visiting in a few weeks. Anyone have any experience with any of these? They aren't on any short list we have made, just a variety of schools that have good reputations in her possible majors, architecture acceptable, and will give her a feel to be able to figure out what she does want in a college. The only one she chose was Salem and that's because they are one of the very few that found her (we moved after the PSAT) and they keep sending her things.

[Basketmaker Amy]

My husband went to Presbyterian College and loved it. He wanted a small school and really enjoyed the atmosphere. I went with him to a reunion and we've visited it once with our boys. It's a pretty campus...very small town.

 

Have fun touring!

[lmrich]

My husband and I are both Furman grads. I can honestly say that I made the best choice in selecting a college. Besides for the beautiful campus (which is safe) the education I received was superior. My classes were small the largest 40 (an intro level class). I had several classes as a junior and senior where there were just twelve of us sitting around a conference table. I was an education major and I loved my classes and the classes I took outside my major. My husband was a math major; he went on to get his master's degree at Georgia Tech in electrical engineering and got a 4.0 there. I am still very close to my roommates and we get together with all of our families several times a year. It is not a party school but there is so much to do on campus and Greenville has lots to offer as well.

 

I was so pleased that one of my former students attends now and from what I can tell he is just as happy as I was.

[NCMom]

Both Davidson and Furman are on my middle dd's preliminary list. We are pretty close to equidistant between them. :001_smile: We have formed a few impressions...

 

They are both really great schools. We like both of the campuses. They are both the type of school where you cannot easily be anonymous.

 

Furman has a big Greek presence, which is a minus for us. The students tend to be wealthy and conservative. People dress up for football. People dress up for class. lol They call it "The Bubble" or some such, I think. It doesn't have a rep as a party school (with the locals anyway). I'm really not encouraging this one, though because my kids would stick out like a sore thumb. ;)

 

Davidson is an awesome school! The Honor Code, lack of grade inflation, laundry ;), and the tough academics make it very attractive. It also tends toward an upper middle class, homogeneous student body but is a little better than Furman (at least on walk/drive through's , lol). The weird thing is that the locals my dh works with are not overly fond of this school. Not sure why. Note that it is very selective and tough to get into w/only 26% of applicants admitted .

 

Agnes Scott and Emory are both on the "list" also but we haven't gotten to those yet.

 

Hope you have fun on your trip!

 

hth,

Georgia

[Sandra in NC]

From what I have heard about Davidson, it is NOT homeschool-friendly.

[Gwen in VA]

I second the comment that Davidson is not homeschool-friendly. (It is the only college that we have healt with in any way that I would characterize as such.)

[shiloh]

Davidson's Class of 2013

(July 2009)

***Early Decision: Applicants 497***Enrolled 213

 

Overall Acceptance Rate 26.3% Enrollment Yield 41.9%

 

 

From the stats on Davidson's Admissions page it appears that even homeschoolers can increase their opportunity for admission by going ED.

 

Why not just ask nicely when you visit how Davidson handles applications fom homeschoolers and what they like to see in the applications?

 

That's what I intend to do when I visit in the next several weeks.

Edited August 5, 2009 by shiloh

[Chris in VA]

I have a friend who's son is majoring in Physics at Davidson. Awesome academics, good Greek life, really great profs. He chose it over Columbia and Harvard.

[Nissi]

Hmm... did not realize that some preferred Davidson to Harvard! Is it a top tier school? Is it very expensive? What about scholarships? I would like to know more about what Davidson expects from homeschoolers. I have a child interested in pre-med. Please post when you find out. Thanks.

[Sandra in NC]

I've heard Davidson referred to as a mini-ivy. According to the CollegeBoard's data, the total cost is around $50k/yr. Its mid-SAT scores are in the 630-730 range. 10% of the students are Biology majors - which may translate into pre-med students; I don't know.

 

On CollegeBoard, some of the schools report the percentage of students going on to med school. At Washington and Lee and Hampden Sydney College, the number is high: 5%. By comparison, at UNC Chapel Hill, the number is 3%. Of course the population is much higher at UNC!

 

Here's the link for the CollegeBoard's info on Davidson:

http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=982&type=qfs&skey=Davidson

[Gwen in VA]

USNWR ranks Davidson ninth among LAC's, right between Haverford and Carleton.

 

It is fairly stingy with merit aid, but it does give some -- which considering its ranking is generous.

[TravelingChris]

The total cost this year at Davidson is 45K without books, transportation or personal items. They are potentially affordable to us because my daughter was given her GI BIll benefits by her father, my dh, and they are participating in the yellow ribbon program wherein any costs over the GI benefits are half paid by the school and half by the VA. Davidson is giving 4 people this opportunity so it is a stretch but first we have to see if she even likes it.

[Michelle in GA]

My twin nephews both graduated from Davidson two years ago. One did the ROTC option and is now in Korea. Both of them have nothing but fond memories and wonderful things to say about their Davidson experience.