2025 College Rankings

Davidson College promotes itself as one of the most selective—and affordable—colleges in the United States. While that may be true, it doesn’t make Davidson a great school, particularly given its activist administration and lackluster support for free speech on campus.

Like many of its peers, Davidson is home to an intrusive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) regime. The school has signed on to numerous commitments unrelated to the core mission of education. Notably, it filed an amicus brief in support of affirmative action in the Students for Fair Admissions case at the Supreme Court.

The administration has a mixed record on free expression. While Davidson has adopted the Chicago Principles, which promote free inquiry, it has also implemented a bias-response system that polices speech that some may find offensive. Unsurprisingly, students express low confidence in the administration’s commitment to free speech. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) gives Davidson a “yellow” speech code rating, indicating that its policies can easily be misused to restrict expression.

Davidson’s faculty tends to lean liberal, though in a relatively heterodox way. When asked to place their professors on an ideological scale from 1 (“very liberal”) to 7 (“very conservative”), students mark them at 2.5, on average. Faculty political donations suggest a degree of ideological independence: in the 2023–24 election cycle, only 38 percent went to liberal or Democratic causes. The vast majority—aside from the 1.5 percent given to conservative or Republican causes—went to nonpartisan organizations.

Students at Davidson frequently feel unable to express their views. More than half report to FIRE that they censor themselves at least once a month. Many feel uncomfortable speaking openly with peers, in class discussions, with professors, or in written assignments. That discomfort extends even to social media, underscoring how widespread the atmosphere of self-censorship is. Yet only 4 percent of students say that they are “very” or “fairly” often personally offended by perspectives shared by classmates.

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) gives Davidson a B in its What Will They Learn? ratings, which assign letter grades based on how many of seven core subjects are required in the core curriculum or general education program. While the school mandates DEI-focused coursework for graduation, it fails to ensure that students gain proficiency in civics or U.S. history.

That said, Davidson tends to serve its graduates well economically. The Princeton Review ranks its alumni network among the top 20 for private colleges. On average, students recoup the cost of their education in just 1.5 years—well below our overall average of 2.3 years. The school also significantly outperforms expectations in its six-year graduation rate, making it a sound investment for prospective students.