Easy Admit? Hard working students?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Elon University
21

<p>Welmont, my S is a freshman and my perspective may be helpful to you. We were first attracted to Elon because of its size, southern location and climate, and value. But the main draw was the engaged learning. My S is a very bright kid but is an academic underachiever. SAT 2120; ACT 33; ED admit. (He was awarded a Presidential Scholarship and interviewed for Teaching fellows but was not chosen.) He is most definitely an experiential learner. He loves to participate in discussions that interest him. In HS (very small public school) he was an A/B student, all honors classes plus 6 AP’s. His B’s were solely a result of not putting in the effort in classes where he was not engaged with the material or the teacher. So small classes and engaged professors were important to us, and he has found that at Elon. We had a similar experience as Kieran at Parents Week-end; we met all of his professors and they all knew him by name and something about his learning style and/or his extracurricular interests. And this was just 4 weeks into the semester!</p>

<p>He would tell you that his first semester was pretty easy. Several professors complimented him on his writing skills, and even used his papers as examples for the rest of the class. His grades reflected the pattern above – he did best in a course within his major that had an excellent professor. Second semester he has two classes that he loves and is very excited about; in the first 2 weeks he has called us a few times to tell us about them. And that is what we were hoping for from his college experience – academic enthusiasm. For him, that was never going to come from a lecture hall class taught by TA’s, where all the kids have their Facebook pages open. We do believe that the academic rigor will continue to increase in the next three years, as he gets deeper into his major, but as was stated earlier - if you are a top tier student and you want to put hours and hours into studying, then this is probably not the place for you. (Note – I asked my S how many pages he had written for papers over the course of his first semester, as I had seen this topic mentioned in a different thread on CC. He said over 85, probably upwards of 100 or more. That’s not exactly a cake walk, in my mind. Writing is a critical skill, and I’m thrilled that Elon emphasizes it in their courses.)</p>

<p>We are from a small, middle class community in the Philly area. Our family and our friends are not rich or snobby, and my son is not preppy at all (sweats, tees and sneaks are his norm), so Elon’s reputation was a bit of a concern for us. From what S tells us, the reputation is not entirely undeserving. There is a large contingency from northern states (categorized by S as CT and MA) and a fair amount of kids from well-to-do private schools (from all over the US.) Some of these kids have become his good friends; others he dismisses as spoiled, or lacking respect. But I think this is true on any campus – you connect with some kids and not with others. S has been able to find his niche and develop a nice circle of friends from a variety of backgrounds and home states.</p>

<p>He did not rush a fraternity and has no regrets or social issues because he is non-Greek. He has become very involved with his club sport which is its own fraternity of sorts. He doesn’t have much interest in the frat party scene; he is most comfortable hanging at the off-campus housing rented by club members, which is sometimes just a small group of guys and other times co-ed parties of varying sizes. Often these parties are mixers with either a sorority or a women’s club sport. Yes Jackson, there are indeed athletes that drink at Elon… Last Friday night the club went as a group to the men’s basketball game against App State, so there is some interest in going to sporting events. S also attended several home football games with friends from his dorm. But of course no one is comparing Elon with UNC or Duke basketball, or SEC football. </p>

<p>I believe that Elon is a place to explore and engage your passions, whether that passion is your academic major, service projects, musical groups, Hillel or other religious organizations, club sports, intramural sports, study abroad, sorority life, etc. If you want to be actively involved in campus life, the environment is very supportive. If a student comes to Elon and is not sure who they are or what they want to do, they may indeed have more trouble finding their niche, and be more put off by the things that don’t appeal to them.</p>

<p>My S is happy and enjoying his experience “down south.” I echo previous posts by Lafalum and Rockville Mom; our perspective is very similar. As parents, we are impressed by Elon’s leadership (gotta love Leo!) and their strategic vision, and are thrilled that S is thriving both socially and within the classroom.</p>

22

<p>Embracethemess - you basically described my S when you described yours (33 ACT, 2250 SAT, 750 SAT Math2). S is certainly an experiential learner and thrives on engaging class discussions. All his teachers always comment on how he enjoys contributing and whenever participation points are part of the grade he always earns all points possible. (Sadly for my S, by senior year, participation does not factor into the class grade very much). Thank you and Kieran for mentioning that the profs seemed to know your kids by parents weekend, (I’m actually shocked that you met the profs at all!) Sounds like the academic atmosphere that would suit S’s learning style.</p>

<p>I would be thrilled if my S, when he is a college student, would call me and enthusiastically discuss his classes!</p>

<p>thanks.</p>

23

<p>jessie1 - I am curious to where you are applying for transfer…</p>

24

<p>You’ve been made, “Jessie1 Jackson22” and I decree you are now burned, so be gone. </p>

<p>CC Posters, read on if you need a short course on trolls… </p>

<p>A ■■■■■ is someone who lurks online posting inflammatory or off-topic comments in an online community. They drag their nasty attitudes through the comments sections and discussions areas of forums, chats, blogs and newsgroups looking to hook someone into an argument.</p>

<p>Trolls make a game of wanting to hurt you, make you angry, waste your valuable time and rob you of your energy. Don’t let them. If you let yourself get sucked into an argument, they’ve won. The best thing you can do is ignore a ■■■■■. They may escalate in a bid to force you into fighting back, but if you remain steadfast, they will almost always give up and turn their attention to easier prey.</p>

<p>Trolls have some specific traits that give them away. If they’re behavior weren’t so harmful, trolls would almost be comical in their childishness. Here’s a quick guide to ■■■■■ anatomy:</p>

<p>If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say… Bullying includes rude and abusive comments aimed at starting fights. This is also known as flaming. Trolls will name-call, belittle, use nasty language and make ugly comments about you, your photos/videos/articles/etc, your family and friends. They will disagree with everything and trample anyone who doesn’t fall in line with them.</p>

<p>It’s all About Meeeee!.. Being the center of attention is important to a ■■■■■. May the gods of the Internet protect anyone who robs a ■■■■■ of the spotlight. They will pop into any conversation that doesn’t involve them and make it about them. They will make multiple posts, sometimes flooding the conversation and throw tantrums if they feel they’re not getting enough attention.</p>

<p>Liar! Liar!.. Truth has no place in trolling. Whether it’s supposedly facts about technology, news or their personal lives, a ■■■■■ will fabricate. This is especially true if they’re trying to make a point or - more to the point - make you look stupid.</p>

<p>Warning: Trolls will sometimes disguise themselves as someone who doesn’t understand what you’re saying or “innocently” offer another point of view. Watch out, these creeps are expert at sucking you into an argument.</p>

<p>“Don’t wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.” — Mark Twain</p>

25

<p>It’s been years since two sons of mine graduated from Elon. Now that our nest is empty with my third son off to college, I find myself lurking in corners of the internet I last visited a lifetime ago. I’m jarred into re-living memories when I read some of the posts on CC, and it’s been good for my soul. So, allow me to comment from the perspective of a parent who’s been around the Elon block a few times.</p>

<p>At Elon University, much like at many other colleges and universities, there are opportunities for those who seek them. I am grateful for the education my sons received and even more so for the lessons they learned out-of-class as they became more and more self-regulated on a campus that is just swarming with student run activities. Keep in mind that learning to live independently of parents does not come with guarantees of success 100% of the time. There will undoubtedly be runs of extreme joy as well as exacerbations of sheer panic that you have to look forward to wherever your darling attends school, but really it’s all for the best :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Hang in there all you parents and college applicants… this too shall pass.</p>

26

<p>Hi Welmont,
Thank you for voicing some of my questions/concerns;we just came back from visiting Elon and loved it, but being the anxious mom I am, I then started looking up what there could be to worry about! And rockvillemom, I am so glad your reassuring voice is on this thread too! By the way, everyone in the info-session was from Massachusetts, including us–Welmont, we might be next door, we are in “W-rlington”. Embracethemess, the description of your son sounds somewhat similar to mine. He could be pushed if surrounded by students who push themselves, but he is inclined to take the comfortable, easy route. Gets A’s on what he hands in, but due to disorganization/ADD etc, fails to keep track of all his stuff and ends up with B’s (honors, 2 APs so far–he is a junior.) So it seems like the pluses would be the small classes, engaged professors which might help him stay focused/structured.</p>

<p>I would a;so love to hear responses about job prospects after graduation. Also, my son is more of a city kid–though he didn’t seem put off by the school being in the middle of nowhere–I do wonder after a couple of years whether kids feel bored/tired of the setting? Of course, this might be an issue for many schools in that type of location.</p>

27

<p>I just have to add my two cents on Elon being academically challenging. I have to confess I had the same questions in the back of my mind before my son attended Elon. I wondered if it was really academically challenging enough. My son did quite well freshman year and did say he was surprised when some students had so much trouble writing papers et cetera. But Freshman year he became quite passionate about subjects he was exposed to and it helped him pick his major. Now he is a junior and I think this may be one of the hardest semesters he has had yet. There is a tremendous amount of reading and writing involved and the subject matter does not always come easily. In high school he was in the top 10 % of his high school class and although always a eager student- he was not what I would call a “driven” student who had to get the best grade in the class. So Elon seemed like a good match for him. Lots of bright students and but time for activities and fun too.<br>
His friends are from many different states , backgrounds and majors. He loves hanging out and watching sports on TV. He has gone to some concerts nearby. He is not in a fraternity. He is involved in many school activities and works part-time for the school too. I feel satisfied so far with the education he is getting. Now he is thinking beyond senior year and about jobs or graduate school so we shall see how this all plays out.</p>

28

<p>Tracking the career paths of my graduated sons and their friends, Elon appears to be a feeder school for a number of organizations with communications, business and public service focus as well as niches like musical theater. Alumni networks are remarkably strong in major metropolitan areas and many Elon parents contribute to supporting the school in more ways than one. I’ve observed that quite a few parents of Elon students work in executive positions and I’ve seen them be amazingly generous with providing internship and entry level opportunities to new grads long after their own children have graduated. </p>

<p>In addition, it appears that in recent years the school has enhanced their career services office and the staffing looks pretty impressive. Check out “Meet Our Staff” at <a href=“Elon University - America’s Top-Ranked Teaching University”>Elon University / Student Professional Development Center;

29

<p>To the person who sent me a PM (out of respect for your privacy I am not mentioning names): Thank you for your honesty. I am unable to PM you back, as I tried, but got an error message that I do not have enough posts to be allowed to PM. I wish I could reply and share my thoughts.</p>

30

<p>naggymom - Interesting that there were a lot of MA students on your Elon tour. When we visited there did not seem to be any! The pluses you mentioned are exactly what attracts me to Elon, and makes me believe it would be a good fit for my S: small classes, engaged style of learning, profs who get to know their students, etc. This atmosphere exists in many small colleges in the northeast for true “A” students, however our research did not find many schools like this for less than A students. </p>

<p>The location did not bother my son. I think he feels that the campus life will be enough of a social life. And Elon does have a bus when the kids want to get to restaurants, shops, etc., as far I learned on our tour.</p>

31

<p>I was surprised by all the MA kids visting; the Admissions person said MA is its second largest “feeder” state. The kid who led our tour was great; he was from the town next to ours.</p>

32

<p>Yes, MA is the #2 state at Elon and has been for at least 3 years. </p>

<p>

</p>

33

<p>Excuse my ignorance, but any idea why? Obviously the NC 25% is self-explanatory. Does Elon heavily market itself in these states? </p>

<p>What is interesting to me is that while Elon is the “talk” around my town, as I mentioned my original post, I do not know of students attending. As I mentioned, it is more of a “safety” application. </p>

<p>I will comment that after reading many replies, I now understand what makes Elon different from many schools which perhaps accept students with similar stats. The important thing I learned is that you (the parents) recognize that the “engaged learning” actually happens; it is not merely a marketing tool. I have to admit, this was a concern. Many schools we visited sound wonderful from the information session, but then from personal information (whether this site or speaking with current students, parents, etc), it may not be as advertised.</p>

34

<p>Having just returned from a weekend of meetings at Elon, I will make a few comments here. I will write a longer report in a separate thread.</p>

<p>I think there are so many students from MA, NJ, MD, because of word of mouth. The students from the areas like Elon, do well, and tell others. Then more and more look in to the school and like what they see, admissions increases their presence in the locations, and the rest is history. Also Elon is rising in all the rankings across several sources. When you can get a high quality education at a more reasonable cost, the value of this school increase. I will address stats in other thread.</p>

<p>As for engaged learning, Elon walks the walk. 3 instances I will share: Parents weekend when you can visit your student’s teachers, they all knew my son. this is only 3 weeks in to the semester and they were citing things he said or wrote. We were blown away to hear these things so early on. also i strongly recommend that you attend a faculty presentation during parents weekend. i know this is a good time to take your child shopping, but going to a session will give you an idea of the quality of teaching.</p>

<p>halfway through the semester, S’s CIS class was asked if they wanted to meet the exec vp of SAP. My son signed up for one of the time slots. Instead, he was asked to go to lunch with the VP and the Dean of the Biz school. He was there with two seniors. Amazing, my son the freshmen at this luncheon. At a reception this weekend, My S and I said hello to the Dean and the first thing the Dean said was, “S you asked some great questions at the luncheon.” Do you see the amazing connection? the Dean remembered my son and made it a point to let him know. I just think this is an example of the level of care and commitment the faculty has to the students.</p>

<p>more comments later on another thread that i will write. since this is a thread on admissions stuff, i would be happy to privately speak with anyone accepted or on the fence. pm me or i think there is still an email link.</p>

35

<p>I will also add that if anyone wants to contact a parent, my D is a very happy sophomore and we have been beyond satisfied with her education and opportunities…</p>

<p>I cannot be more eloquent than the above posters; I will, however, address the OP from my daughter’s perspective: she has time and time again told us that there is a huge academic range of students who attend; she is not a top student, unlike others on this thread,but has found ALL students to be academically engaged, involved and serious about their studies…</p>

<p>In her opinion, you really can’t be a slacker and survive…even if you aren’t the straight “a” student…</p>

36

<p>Welmont, my D has a very close friend from _elmont HS (Class of 2010). I’m sure there are more. </p>

<p>I think the reasons so many New Englanders head to Elon are:</p>

<p>1) Word of mouth (as said by samtalya). Kids go, love it, tell their friends. Parents love it and tell their friends.</p>

<p>2) Cost - Elon is about 1/3 cheaper than similar schools in the Northeast at $38,460 for 2012-2013. US News Ranks Elon #2 in Regional Masters’ Universities - South. The US News Top 5 Regional Masters Universities in the Northeast are: Villanova $42,150, Fairfield $57,120, Loyola Maryland $51,922, Bentley $54,888 and Providence $54,520. NEXT year Elon will be $40,046 - the 3rd year in a row they have held tuition increases below 4%. And Elon does it while maintaining a beautiful campus and up-to-date facilities and without large lecture classes.</p>

<p>3) Weather. </p>

<p>4) A number of relatively reasonably priced non-stop daily flights from Boston to Raleigh-Durham on JetBlue and Delta (Southwest also goes to Raleigh-Durham, but not non-stop).</p>

<p>5) Lots of good press [Elon</a> University Rankings and Recognitions](<a href=“Elon University - America’s Top-Ranked Teaching University”>Elon University / About Elon / Rankings & Recognition)</p>

<p>6) Elon doesn’t have a huge endowment so they can’t spend a lot on financial aid. MA is a relatively wealthy state that has a lot of families that expect to send their kids to private colleges and can afford to pay close to full price. I was at a parent/alumnae event once where someone asked Elon President Leo Lambert who Elon is competing with for students. He said that when people come down to final decisions, it seems they are often deciding between Elon and a state flagship. Well, right or wrong, UMass doesn’t have a lot of prestige or pride within its own state the way UNC, NC State, UVA, VA Tech, Penn State, Clemson, or Univ of South Carolina do. Kids don’t wear UMass apparel and dream of going there - UMass is seen more as a practical choice, and often viewed as a fallback/financial safety school. With so many big name private schools here (Harvard, MIT, BC, BU, Northeastern, Wellesley, Amherst, Williams, etc) I think people in MA are more conditioned to the idea of sending kids to a private college than people states like PA, VA or NC, with strong and well-known state universities.</p>

37

<p>Add the NJ kids to the reasons #1-6 above but ESPECIALLY #6…many, many kids would rather go anywhere here than Rutgers…and add to that the fact that our INSTATE COA is not as low as some others…</p>

<p>re: #4: for the Southern NJ kids: Southwest to/from Philly, Frontier to/from Trenton</p>

<p>For the central NJ kids: United into both RDU and GSO from Newark</p>

<p>For the northern NJ kids: the above AND Delta, American, USair from LGA to both GSO and RDU</p>

<p>Heck, it is easier to get home on public transportation from NC than from upstate NY…</p>

38

<p>I withdrew from Elon after one semester (I’m transferring to another school in the fall). I knew at least 5 people who did as well, and more who were considering/planning on transferring for next year.</p>

<p>It is a great school full of great opportunities. While not the most academically challenging school, it is a great place for the average student looking to have a good time at college. Unfortunately, there is a certain type you have to be in order to fit in with the majority of people; preppy, well-off and into partying. There’s no school spirit at all - Elon sports are, with the exception of baseball, a joke for the most part. Elon is a gorgeous campus, but the surrounding area is very poor, prone to crime and there’s nothing to do. The only thing to do on the weekends at Elon is go to the same 3 or 4 frat parties with the same people - which is fine if that’s what you’re into. I’m less of a drinker and more of an adventurer and it was difficult to find new things to experience in the area Elon is in. Greek life is very prevalent on the campus as well - if you’re female and not involved in Greek life you’ll find it more difficult to fit in. But this goes with the southern territory. </p>

<p>While I did not enjoy my time at Elon, I know many people who did and would never imagine themselves anywhere else. As long as you’re content with never leaving campus, going to the same parties every weekend, getting involved in Greek life and not having much school spirit, you’ll enjoy Elon. That sounded really snarky, I apologize :stuck_out_tongue: but it’s true. I didn’t find my place at Elon but that doesn’t mean someone else won’t.</p>

39

<p>I’m sorry you had such an unhappy semester at Elon, ellebelle. I have heard that the danieley suites can be especially tough places to live if you are not compatible with your suitemates. I hope things go better for you next year.</p>

<p>For people evaluating Elon, I think it’s important to keep in mind that the freshman class has about 1200 students and the freshman retention rate is about 90 percent, which means that about 120 freshmen leave because they are unhappy, homesick, struggling with academics or for family, financial, or other reasons. That seems like a lot of students leaving, and it means that most freshman probably know of other students who have left or are planning to leave. However, it’s also important to keep in mind that the national average freshman retention rate for all schools is about 65% and for private universities it is about 80%, so Elon still does very well in this category. The vast majority of freshmen stay at Elon.</p>

40

<p>Although I feel concerned when I read a report such as ellebell, clearly there will always be some students who are unhappy at every school. I do however, appreciate learning “why”, as this information is worth considering. Clearly the lack of diversity is a common issue; I have read it many times, and am please that I also read that Elon is trying to change this. I also recognize that this is not a “rah rah” sports team school, this is not a big deal for my S, but I think it is something for all to consider when choosing a school, for a great sports school can certainly enhance the school spirit, fun, etc., a nice part of a college experience. The Greek life dominating the social life concerns me as I do not expect my S to participate, however when I ask him, he seems indecisive. </p>

<p>Bottom line, it is good to read positive and negative reviews. I feel it is important to determine one’s OWN priorities. Every kid has different needs with respect to a college. Although the sports rah rah is fun, I don’t think it’s worth sacrificing small classes with significant professor interaction. Yet the image of an “average” student looking to have a good time at college, concerns me. Also, I had not heard Elon described as a crime-ridden neighborhood???</p>

<p>keirans - Our gc told us that retention rate is over 90% for private colleges, not sure where he got this though??</p>