What Kind of School It Is and Where It Is Located
Davidson College is an undergraduate college focused on the arts and sciences. It is not a university with dozens of schools and graduate programs around every corner: it is a private, nonprofit, four-year institution whose highest reported degree is the bachelor’s degree. That does not tell you whether the exact major your child is interested in is offered there or what credential it leads to; that must be asked program by program, never assumed from the school’s name.
The Carnegie classification, which organizes the country’s colleges and universities by what they do, describes it as a small, highly residential school: at least half of its undergraduate students lived in institution-owned or institution-affiliated housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 attended full time. It also places Davidson in its most selective admissions group. Neither of these two labels tells you how many out of every hundred applicants are actually admitted—that number appears later—or whether your child should live there. Living on campus is also not the same as paying tuition: room and board are charged separately, and we will return to that when we discuss money.
Geographically, Davidson is in the town of Davidson, North Carolina, within Mecklenburg County, in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metropolitan area. The census code places the campus in a suburb: within the urbanized area but outside the principal city’s center. If your child were considering living at home and driving to campus, the most useful thing would not be to look at the map but to drive the route on a weekday at the actual time of their classes. The time shown by GPS is almost never the real travel time.
One final point about the institution’s identity before we continue: Davidson College is not recorded as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in this directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations; Davidson has none. That does not tell you which communities it serves or how your child would feel there. You learn that by looking at which cultural centers and student organizations exist today and by speaking with someone who already studies there.
The Size of the Community Your Child Would Join
Davidson had 1,904 students enrolled in the official fall count, all of them undergraduates—there is no graduate enrollment in that count. It is midsized: among the comparable selective private schools included in this census, it falls right in the middle, neither among the largest nor among the smallest. Of those 1,904 students, practically all attend full time.
Within that community, 10 out of every 100 undergraduate students are Hispanic or Latino. That is a small minority, although slightly above the median when compared with the 941 selective private schools in this census that report the same information. That comparison has an important limitation: the peer groups are organized by school type, not by state, so it does not account for the part of the country where Davidson is located, and that matters. If the Latino presence on campus is a central consideration for your family, this number alone does not settle the question. What you can do during a visit is ask what specifically exists for Latino students: a student group, a cultural center, or someone in an office who speaks Spanish.
The undergraduate population is almost evenly divided between men and women: 53 out of every 100 are women. The percentage of students ages 25 to 64 rounds to zero—that does not mean there are none; it means there are almost none. And one thing worth knowing: IPEDS does not report where entering students came from during this cycle. That information is simply unavailable for this school.
Another figure that helps put this scale in context: the student-to-instructional-staff ratio is 9 to 1, one of the lowest among the 941 comparable schools—it is in the group’s lowest quarter. That does not guarantee small classes or individual attention; it is an institution-wide aggregate figure. Ask directly how many students are in the first-year classes your child would take.
How Academics Work
Davidson’s academic year is organized into two semesters of about 15 weeks each. In its official report, the institution stated that it accepts credit from AP exams, but it did not indicate that it awards credit for life experience, and it confirmed that it does not enroll high school students in college courses for credit. Accepting AP does not mean awarding credit for every exam: these data do not show what scores are required or whether those credits apply to your child’s specific major. Request the course-equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling; do not assume it in your budget.
In a recent year, Davidson awarded 504 bachelor’s degrees across 16 fields of study. Social sciences accounted for the most degrees, with 27 out of every 100—no other field accounts for the bulk of them. The degrees are spread across fields rather than concentrated in a handful of majors. This counts degrees awarded in one year, not people or the full current catalog. Before deciding, ask about the exact major your child is interested in: how many students graduated in it, how long they took, and what the curriculum is like.
The institution also reports structured academic opportunities: study abroad and cocurricular undergraduate research. This is information the school itself reports as available; it does not say how many students participate or how students gain access to each opportunity. Those are questions to ask directly.
Getting Into Davidson: What It Requires and How Selective It Is in Practice
It is worth going slowly here because this section covers much of what defines this college.
Davidson does not have open admissions. Of the nine considerations it reviews during the process—not counting standardized tests or legacy status—it identifies five as required: the high school record, completion of the college’s required high school curriculum, the personal essay, letters of recommendation, and an English-proficiency exam for applicants to whom it applies. It also considers—although it does not require—the high school GPA and work experience. Put simply: merely gathering documents is not enough here. The essay is required, so your child has to write, and write well. They should start it during the summer, not the week of the deadline: the first draft is never the one that gets submitted. The undergraduate application fee is $50.
Now for the figure people ask about most: in the 2023 cycle, Davidson received 7,347 first-time applications and offered admission to 1,064 applicants. That is 14 out of every 100. Compared with the 942 selective private schools in this census, Davidson is among those that admit the smallest shares: nine out of ten of those schools admitted a higher percentage of their applicants. On the other side of that calculation are 6,283 applicants who did not receive an offer of admission.
It is worth stating this as clearly as the report itself does: this number shows how many offers of admission were made. It says nothing about your child’s worth. A low percentage does not make a school better, and a high one does not make it worse; it measures how many offers were made relative to how many people applied. Your child’s list should include schools with different levels of selectivity, not only schools at this end of the spectrum.
Of those who received an offer of admission, 49 out of every 100 ultimately enrolled at Davidson. The other 51 did not enroll there—the data do not say whether they went to another college or why. That is a high proportion compared with its peers: at most of those schools, a smaller share of admitted students enrolls. This number also does not measure quality or satisfaction: it only counts how many admitted first-time students enrolled that fall. When the admission letters arrive, this percentage is not what should decide: the decision comes from placing the offers side by side and comparing net price, major, and distance before the deposit deadline.
Regarding standardized tests, Davidson reports that the SAT and ACT are optional. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application remains active. Of the students who enrolled, 30 out of every 100 submitted an SAT score—a high proportion compared with similar schools—and among those students, the middle half scored between 690 and 750 in reading and writing and between 670 and 760 in math. These ranges apply to students who enrolled and submitted scores, not to all applicants, and they do not prove that the score was decisive in any admission decision. That 690 is not a minimum, and that 750 does not guarantee anything.
Regarding transfers, in the fall of 2023, 14 students arrived at Davidson for the first time after studying at another institution. That is a low number compared with its peers, in the group’s lower half. No rate is reported here for students who leave to transfer elsewhere; that does not demonstrate that no one leaves, only that the figure is not published.
What It Costs and What Each Family Actually Ends Up Paying
At Davidson College, among 42 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $6,613. Among 28 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $7,610; among 45 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $40,503. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
There is a difference of $33,890 between the average for the lowest-income band (42 students) and the average for the highest-income band (45 students). These are group averages, not a prediction of your family’s price. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $26,510.
Among the 937 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported these data with the same time coverage, Davidson falls in the least expensive quarter for lower-income families after grants and scholarships are subtracted. That does not mean it will be inexpensive for your family. It is a meaningful piece of information when you are deciding which schools to apply to.
Because the price changes so much from one income band to another, correctly identifying yours is the first step. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average after grants and scholarships, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The aid letter you personally receive is what matters.
Grants, Aid, and Loans: Who Receives What
At Davidson, 68 out of every 100 degree-seeking students receive some form of aid that does not have to be repaid—a grant or scholarship. That is more than half, but not everyone. Compared with its peers, Davidson falls in the quarter where aid reaches proportionally fewer students, although among those who do receive it, the annual average is $47,489. That is real money, but it is not a price: what matters is the amount left after aid, and that must be requested from each school.
The federal Pell Grant, reserved for students with demonstrated financial need, reached only 17 out of every 100 students. That means at least 51 out of every 100 received non-Pell aid from other sources—institutional, state, or private.
And here is one figure worth remembering clearly: only 11 out of every 100 Davidson undergraduate students received a federal student loan during the 2022-23 academic year. Most students were not awarded a federal loan that year. Compared with its peers, Davidson is among the schools that rely least on this type of loan. Among those who did borrow, the average amount was $5,849 that year—a relatively low figure.
The fact that most students did not use a federal loan does not reveal how the others paid: it could have been through grants or scholarships, work, family savings, or another type of debt not recorded in this report. And that $5,849 average does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes take out, bank debt, or credit card debt. Nor is it the total debt someone has upon graduation; determining that would require adding all four years, and that figure is not in this report.
Davidson also offers an installment tuition payment plan as a formal way to manage the cost over the course of the year.
Living There: Housing, Athletics, ROTC, and the Library
If your child enters the first year as a full-time student, living on campus is not optional: Davidson requires it. Meal plans are available, and the largest plan has a fixed number of meals per week. The maximum capacity of institution-controlled housing is 1,788 students. This means that when comparing Davidson’s price with another school’s, room and board must be included from the beginning: they cannot be removed from the budget because they are not optional here.
Regarding ROTC, Davidson reports that an opportunity is available, and the only branch confirmed in writing is the Army. Neither the Navy nor the Air Force is marked. The fact that they are not marked does not mean they are unavailable; it means you need to ask directly if your child is interested in another branch.
In athletics, Davidson competes at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA. Membership is reported for football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. This does not indicate the division in which each sport competes or whether an athletic scholarship is available: those questions should be asked directly, in writing, of each sport’s coach.
Davidson does not offer distance education—not even a single course—so if your child needs to work or care for someone at home, the schedule will have to fit entirely in person. These data are from a specific year and could change; it is worth confirming them before deciding.
The library operates with paid staff, and its annual expenditures exceed the $100,000 threshold recorded by the federal government. It reports physical facilities, print and digital collections, trained staff, established hours, and access to collections shared with other institutions. Exceeding that threshold does not guarantee that specific databases exist for your child’s major; ask about those by the name of the major.
Finally, the institution reports offering combined academic and career counseling, participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program, and publishing a web address for disability services.
If Your Child Enrolls: How Likely Students Are to Stay and Finish
Here are the figures that, for many families, ultimately matter more than the admission rate.
Of the cohort that entered in the fall of 2022, 95 out of every 100 met the official retention criterion the following year: they were still enrolled there or had already completed a bachelor’s degree. That is one of the highest retention rates compared with the 930 selective private schools in this census. This figure combines two different outcomes and does not distinguish which one applied to each person, nor does it reveal what happened to those outside that 95.
Of those who entered bachelor’s degree programs in 2017, 92 out of every 100 graduated within six years—476 out of 518. By four years, the figure was already 89 out of every 100, just three points lower. It is among the highest graduation rates compared with its peers. Extending the window to eight years, among a different cohort that entered in 2015-16, 90 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school—the same 90 out of every 100 among Pell Grant recipients.
A high figure is not a promise for your child in particular. It describes what happened to a specific cohort at a specific time. What is within your control, and your child’s, is making sure they enter with their credits in order, know who their academic advisor is from the first semester, and understand when to register for the courses their major requires.
What This Article Cannot Tell You
This article cannot tell you what happens after a student graduates from Davidson: this source contains no data on employment, income, or debt at the time of graduation. Nor can it tell you whether your child would be happy there, fit in socially, or whether this is “the” right college for their life. No federal report can tell you that.
What You Know Now, and What Comes Next
You now know one important piece with precision: who Davidson College is according to its own official data. You know that it is genuinely selective, that it requires a carefully written essay, that it costs a great deal on paper but may cost considerably less depending on your family’s actual income, that almost no one leaves with a large federal loan, and that almost everyone who enrolls ultimately graduates.
You have already seen what is up to the college: it admits students, sets requirements, and offers aid under certain rules. What is up to your child is writing that essay, keeping their academic record in order, and deciding whether this community, this size, and this suburban North Carolina town make sense for them. What is up to you is the money, the FAFSA, requesting the financial aid letter in writing, and asking the specific questions—about the exact major, ROTC, the athletic team, and the Latino cultural center—that no report will answer for you.
Combine this information with what your child wants to study, what they have already accomplished in high school, and what your family can and is willing to pay. A plan emerges from that combination, not from any single figure.
Source note: The information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and the United States Department of Education, using data reported primarily for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent Davidson College or any government agency; this article organizes and explains public data and does not constitute personalized admissions advice.