<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 APs. His Bs 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 TAs, 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. Thats not exactly a cake walk, in my mind. Writing is a critical skill, and Im 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 Elons 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 doesnt 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 womens club sport. Yes Jackson, there are indeed athletes that drink at Elon Last Friday night the club went as a group to the mens 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 dont 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 Elons leadership (gotta love Leo!) and their strategic vision, and are thrilled that S is thriving both socially and within the classroom.</p>
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but it’s true. I didn’t find my place at Elon but that doesn’t mean someone else won’t.</p>