A degree may be the most significant thing you receive from your college, but at the University of Tampa, students get more than just a four-year education. Any graduate can hold their wedding reception in one of the school's three ballrooms (originally built as part of a luxury hotel) at no cost. Not every college has perks this lucrative, but as admissions becomes even more competitive (for both the applicants and the schools),these little extras sometimes make the difference between an accepted applicant who matriculates and one who doesn't. Check out some of the special benefits students enjoy at the following schools:

• Free (or discounted) transportation: Eco-friendly University of New England lets its freshmen choose between a $480 Gary Tiburon bicycle or a Zipcar gift card loaded with 28 hours of driving. Stanford University offers students $282 through its Commute Club for carpooling, public transportation, and biking. Students also receive $96 in Zipcar credit.

• Free laptops: At Wake Forest and Villanova University, students are given a free laptop when they enter as freshmen and it is replaced junior year by a new laptop that they can keep after they graduate.

• Free vacations: Cottey College, a two-year, liberal arts women's college, offers an all-expenses paid spring break trip to Europe for the senior class (in addition to free maid service and five-star cuisine for all its students).

• Maid service: Stereotypes of rotting take-out containers under unmade beds don't exist at George Washington University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, or Xavier University. These schools give their students complimentary maid service to keep on-campus rooms shiny and clean.
  

• Laundry service: At Davidson, students get their clothes picked up, washed, dried, pressed, hung, and dropped off free of charge. (Dry cleaning is extra, though!) Belmont University, Bryn Mawr College, and Xavier also offer free self-service washers and dryers so students don't have to worry about making change for the machine.
  

• Cheap recreation: For a $20 annual membership in the golf club, recreational golfers can rent equipment and use the private facilities at Syracuse University. At Stanford University, students only pay $25 a round (normally $110 a round for guests) at the school's famed golf course. Michigan Technological University also owns a ski slope where students can rip it up for free without having to pay for lift tickets.

 

While it may not be a household name, Davidson College is a highly respected and highly selective liberal arts college located in the foothills of North Carolina. The school provides a solid education, but also strongly values athletics; the school competes in 21 NCAA Division I sports.

Davidson is well known for its student-administered Honor Code, which treats its students like true adults by emphasizing responsibility and freedom. These virtues are manifested in self-scheduled and unproctored exams.

Admission here is need-blind, meaning students are judged purely on their character, academic abilities, and accomplishments. A unique characteristic of Davidson is that the school provides 100% of funding for students with demonstrated need, and none of those financial aid packages include loans. They consist only of work-study programs and grants, so students don’t have to graduate with debt.

Here’s what you need to know about Davidson College:

The essentials:
Location: Davidson, North Carolina (19 miles from Charlotte)
Founded: 1837
Religious affiliation: Presbyterian (though the school embraces diversity and all faiths)
Number of students: 1,700
Male to female ratio: 50/50

Finances:
Are merit scholarships offered? Yes
Is there a work-study program? Yes
Total cost for the 2008-2009 school year? $42,950 (includes room and board because all students are required to live on campus for all of college unless officially excused by the school's Director of Residence Life -– 91% do live on-campus)

Admission:
Acceptance rate for class of 2012: 25.7%
Early decision for class of 2012: 411 applied, 186 enrolled
What is considered for admission? Rigor (difficulty of high school courses), success (grades), writing ability and personal impact (essays and recommendations), involvement, leadership and service, and testing (SAT and/or ACT)
Average scores for those admitted: 1900-2180 for SAT Combined, 28-32 for ACT Composite

Academics:
Average class size: 15 students
Student-to-faculty ratio? 10:1
Courses offered each year: more than 850
Majors offered: 20
Minors offered: 12
How many students study abroad? More than 70%

Davidson offers many options for prospective students who are interested in learning more about the college. There are basic on-campus tours and information sessions, but there is also a list of classes that allow prospective students to sit in and observe. Additionally, there is an overnight program where high school seniors can come up to the college and stay for a night with a current student to see what life on campus is like. There are also several open house programs each year.

To learn more about Davidson College, visit www.davidson.edu