How to Apply to Mathematics at Davidson College: A Liberal Arts College Where Mathematics Sits in a Joint Department, Majors Are Declared by the End of Sophomore Year, with Honors Theses and an Applied Mathematics Interdisciplinary Minor, for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Davidson College is a liberal arts college in North Carolina. Undergraduate mathematics is offered in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science; students apply to the College through the Office of Admission and Financial Aid and declare a major later. Here is what you need to know, based on the department’s and the Office of Admission’s websites, organised for US domestic applicants, international applicants and applicants from China, followed by transfer students. Computer science sits in the same department but is not covered here.

1. Degrees and areas

• Mathematics major and minor: the department page says it offers a curriculum in pure mathematics, applied mathematics and computer science. The major and minor page says the curriculum gives an in-depth study of the field with courses that can be tailored to each student’s interests, nurtures mathematical, computational and algorithmic points of view, and teaches students to communicate their reasoning through rigorous proof. The required-course lists for the major and minor are in the College catalog, which the pages read link to but which is hosted through a third-party short-link service and was not accessed; see the “Degree Requirements” link on the mathematics major page.
• Applied mathematics (interdisciplinary minor): this is a minor, not a major. It introduces modeling natural or social phenomena by mathematical systems and has two tracks, a natural science emphasis and a social science emphasis, both open to students of any major.
• Degree name: the pages read do not say whether the mathematics major leads to a B.A. or a B.S.; check the catalog.
• Honors: the department grants honors to graduating students with outstanding records in mathematics or computer science, judged on breadth of curriculum, quality of academic performance and significance of the scholarly project. Candidates must complete a specified selection of courses, hold a minimum overall GPA of 3.2 and a GPA of at least 3.5 on courses that fulfil a major or honors requirement, and undertake advanced work supervised by a faculty member, culminating in a thesis defended before a departmental committee. High honors may be conferred on candidates who show unusual independence and initiative, develop original results and communicate them in a high-quality thesis and defense.

2. How admission to the major works: apply to the College, declare by the end of sophomore year

• At application: the first-year application page describes an application to the College; none of the listed materials ask for a mathematics major or review by major. Whether the mathematics major has limited places is not stated in the pages read; please ask the Office of Admission.
• Declaring the major: the admission FAQ says students are assigned an advisor at random in their first year, must declare a major by the end of sophomore year, and then choose their own advisor. The mathematics page says students who want to declare a mathematics major or minor should fill out both the department’s Declaration Form and the Registrar’s Office Declaration Form; survey responses are used to match students with faculty advisors, with matching at the beginning of each month during the semester. A grade requirement for declaring is not stated in the pages read.
• Internal transfer into the major: not published in the pages read beyond the declaration process above.

3. Prerequisites and placement

• High school preparation (College level): the Office of Admission says at least 16 high school units are required (accepted students average 20), including three units of mathematics; to be most competitive, it strongly recommends continuing mathematics through calculus.
• Calculus placement (the department’s course selection page): all calculus courses assume a good background in algebra, trigonometry and functions, and placement depends on calculus experience. No calculus background: MAT 112 (Calculus I and Modeling) or MAT 111 (Calculus I, reserved for students who have not had calculus; improper registration is removed). Weak background: MAT 112; students with a 3 or below on AP Calculus AB may wish to take MAT 112, even though AP credit for MAT 111 would then be replaced. Good Calculus I background (4 or 5 on AP Calculus AB or equivalent): MAT 113 (Calculus II) or MAT 150 (Linear Algebra), both required for the major and taken in either order or together. Strong Calculus II background (4 or 5 on AP Calculus BC or equivalent): MAT 160 (Calculus III) or MAT 150; such students should have credit for MAT 113 or may petition the chair to substitute a course numbered above 200.
• Starting path for the major: after MAT 111 or 112 take MAT 113 or 150; after 113 take 150, 160 or MAT 230 (Sets and Proofs); after 150 take 230. The department recommends MAT 150 by the fall of sophomore year and MAT 230 by the spring of sophomore year; if you follow 111/112, 150, 230, take MAT 113 alongside one of them since 113 is a prerequisite for many upper-level courses.
• Non-major courses: MAT 105 Introduction to Statistics, MAT 108 Exploring Mathematical Ideas and MAT 110 Finite Mathematics, all assuming high school algebra.
• AP and IB credit: the Office of Admission says a maximum of four course credits from AP, IB, AS and A-Level and joint enrollment courses (college courses taken during high school) can count toward graduation. How individual exams map onto mathematics courses is not stated in the pages read; see the College’s pre-college credit page.
• Math competitions: how they are viewed in admission is not stated on the admission pages. The department’s competition page says students take part in the Putnam Competition (held on campus the first Saturday in December), the Mathematical Contest in Modeling, Math Jeopardy at the MAA Southeastern Section meeting, and the occasional on-campus Davidson Math Challenge.

4. Deadlines and application materials

• Rounds and deadlines (fall 2027 entry, as the timeline prints them): Early Decision I (binding) is due 15 November 2026, with notification on 12 December; Early Decision II is due 4 January 2027, with notification on 30 January; Regular Decision is due 11 January 2027, with notification on 1 April and the enrollment deadline on 1 May. For applicants who meet the deadlines, financial aid decisions come out with admission decisions.
• How to apply: the Common App, Coalition or QuestBridge (domestic applicants). The application fee for domestic applicants is not stated in the pages read; there is no fee for non-U.S. citizens.
• Essays: a personal statement (250–650 words) and two supplements: what interests you most about Davidson (250–300 words), and a topic, activity or idea that excites you and why (250–300 words).
• Recommendations and transcripts: the counselor’s Secondary School Report and Mid-Year Report; two recommendations from two different high school academic instructors, at least one from a core subject (English, math, science, history/social science or a second language; the pages do not require a math teacher); a peer recommendation; and an official high school transcript. No evaluative interviews are offered. The College considers demonstrated interest.
• Testing: SAT/ACT are optional (since 2020); about 50% of admitted students submit scores. Scores may be self-reported, both tests are superscored, the writing sections are not considered, and enrolling students send official scores. Codes: SAT 5150, ACT 3086. The page gives the SAT middle 50% as 700–750 reading/writing and 690–760 math, and ACT composite 31–34.
• Admission data: the FAQ says there were 8,222 applications for the class of 2030 and an overall acceptance rate of 14.2%.

5. US domestic applicants

• Tuition (2026-27): the cost page lists tuition of $73,090 and required fees of $650; first-year billed costs on campus are $92,770 (housing $9,220, food $9,560, orientation fee $250); estimated non-billed costs $2,425–2,825 (books $825, transportation $200–600, personal $1,400); estimated total cost for a first-year domestic student $95,195–95,595, excluding the College’s health insurance of $2,800. The page shows no in-state or out-of-state difference. The rates for fall 2027 entry are not stated in the pages read.
• Aid: the affordability page says the College admits domestic students without regard to ability to pay, meets 100% of calculated need and provides aid packages with no loans; about 70% of students receive aid, with an average package of $66,000. Starting with those entering in fall 2027, for U.S. citizens and residents: total family income of $85,000 or less – tuition, housing, meals and fees covered; over $85,000 to $175,000 – tuition-free; above $175,000 – aid packages available, closer to tuition-free the nearer income is to $175,000 (assuming typical assets). The College’s scholarship pages also list application-based, nomination-based and competition scholarships, which were not read in detail; see the website.
• In-state priority or guaranteed admission: not stated in the pages read.

6. International applicants

• English requirements: applicants whose first language is not English must submit TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English Test results; the SAT and ACT do not satisfy the requirement. The College says students with the following scores or higher are best prepared: DET 130, IELTS 7, TOEFL iBT 5.0 (1–6 scale) or 100 (0–120 scale). IELTS and TOEFL must be sent by the testing agency or the high school counselor, not by the student or self-reported; DET scores must be shared from the Duolingo dashboard.
• Waivers: students from a country where English is an official language; students taking English A in the IB diploma; and students who spent four years of high school in the United States. Others email admission@davidson.edu with “English Proficiency Waiver” in the subject line after applying, with name, date of birth and the reason.
• Other materials: the same process as first-year domestic applicants plus the English proficiency requirement, an optional application video (InitialView or Vericant strongly recommended, with no fee waivers) and the Financial Verification Form (required of all international students, even those not seeking aid).
• Application fee: none for non-U.S. citizens; it is waived after you select citizenship in the Common App or Coalition application.
• Aid: international students seeking aid must apply for need-based aid when applying for admission; applications after admission are not accepted, nor during enrollment. The website says the College is committed to meeting 100% of calculated need for admitted international students (recruited athletes have dedicated athletic funding), and also says aid for international students is limited and competitive and that financial circumstances are known during admission review. If the family contribution is under $5,000 a year an alternative form is available in the admission portal; above $5,000 the CSS Profile ($25, no fee waivers) is required. All international students who apply for aid are considered for the Alvarez Scholars scholarship, and international applicants (except transfer applicants) are eligible for all the College’s scholarships, some of which need a separate application.

7. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: whether and how Gaokao results are used is not published; the pages read do not mention it. Please contact the Office of Admission (admission@davidson.edu).
• Transcripts and school-leaving materials: no China-specific requirements are published in the pages read; the general international requirements are in section 6.
• International curricula: students taking AP or IB can see the credit cap in section 3; taking English A in the IB diploma waives the English proficiency requirement.

8. Costs, scholarships and outcomes

• Costs: see sections 5 and 6.
• Department scholarships and research: the department pages read do not mention math-specific scholarships. The research page says many students do summer research, research with faculty, independent studies and honors projects, supported partly by faculty grants and by programmes such as the Davidson Research Initiative, RISE and the Yoder Applied Research Fellowship; topics include graph theory, game theory, sports analytics, combinatorics, distributed systems, virtual reality, machine learning and bioinformatics. The department lists past honors theses, for example a 2026 thesis on Class 0 pebbling properties in Kneser graphs.
• Outcomes: the mathematics department pages read print no employment or graduate-school data.

9. Transfer students

• Who can apply: students who will have successfully completed at least one full year of acceptable college coursework upon enrolling; transfers must plan to be enrolled at Davidson for at least two academic years (16 courses).
• Deadlines: spring entry 1 November 2026, with notification in early December; fall entry 1 April 2027, with notification in early June. Apply through the Common App or Coalition application with the personal statement and two supplements; materials include the final high school transcript, college transcripts from every college attended, a statement of good standing and two recommendations from college faculty; a peer recommendation is optional and testing is optional. Applicants seeking aid submit the CSS Profile and FAFSA plus tax returns. For international transfer applicants the website says admission is highly competitive and financial aid and scholarships are not available; non-native speakers are strongly encouraged to take the TOEFL.
• Math prerequisites and GPA: not stated in the pages read; no GPA or calculus/linear algebra requirement for transfer is published there.
• Credit transfer: the rules for transferring credit are not stated in the pages read; please contact the Office of Admission and the Registrar.

Checklist

US domestic applicants:

• ED I 15 November 2026; ED II 4 January 2027; Regular 11 January 2027; counselor recommendation, two teacher recommendations, a peer recommendation; testing optional
• CSS Profile, FAFSA and tax returns by the application deadline; from fall 2027 entry, family income of $175,000 or less is tuition-free

International applicants (including China):

• Duolingo 130, IELTS 7, TOEFL 100 or 5.0 (or a waiver); Financial Verification Form; apply for aid at the same time as admission
• How the Gaokao is used is not published; ask the Office of Admission

After entry:

• Choose MAT 111/112/113/150/160 by calculus experience; the department recommends MAT 150 by the fall and MAT 230 by the spring of sophomore year; declare by the end of sophomore year with both the department and Registrar forms

Transfer students:

• Spring 1 November 2026, fall 1 April 2027; at least one full college year completed and 16 courses at Davidson

Sources: Davidson College, Mathematics and Computer Science; Mathematics major and minor; Department course selection advice; Honors theses; Competitions; Student research; Applied mathematics minor; Admission: first-year applicants; Admission: international applicants; Admission: transfer applicants; Admission: Early Decision; Admission and aid timeline; Testing policy; Admission FAQ; Cost of attendance; Affordability and access; Aid for international students. Dates are given as the pages show them, with the years the pages print (2026, 2027); see the College’s website for the latest.