<p>I am a 22 year old graduate-- I graduated in January from the College of William and Mary. However, I started my college career at Elon and spent two and a half years there. I transferred out halfway through my junior year. I don’t know if anyone will read this, but I would like to at least offer my thoughts on Elon and share the reasons behind my decision to transfer.</p>
<p>I decided to attend Elon because the campus was beautiful, the student population seemed like a good size for me, and the level of academic rigor seemed appropriate for the major I was pursuing. Elon is a reasonably wealthy school, so the dorms were top-notch, the food edible, and there were lots of resources for people in my major. I was a science major, so it was encouraging to see a smallish school with up-to-date laboratories, plenty of computers, a cadaver lab, etc. It never really occurred to me when I was 17 that the social atmosphere of a school really makes a difference. I think, even now, I wouldn’t consider that I would fail to make a single friend out of thousands; I’d never had problems making friends and I don’t have problems now. But Elon’s student population does not reflect the population at-large in the least. Although I spent almost three years there and joined countless clubs and extracurriculars, I made no friends and keep in touch with no one from the school.</p>
<p>Right before I transferred, I consulted with my Elon 101 counselor and she shared with me that 85% of Elon students score at least two letters the same on the Myers-Briggs test, a personality test all freshmen take in their Elon 101 class. (almost 100% score an “E” for extrovert) Immediately, I understood why I failed so miserably to fit in. I am one of the most introverted people I know. I don’t party on the weekends. However, I wouldn’t say that I am socially inept or unwilling to reach out to people who I click with. I just essentially slipped through the cracks at Elon. I was one of what seemed to be about five East Asian students on campus. I received multiple invites to the school’s “Multicultural Club”, but I quickly found myself even more unable to fit in there since the club would have been better named “African American Club”. This is not to say that my race was the main factor for my problems. It was a multitude of problems, but when people think of diversity, they tend to think about race. Elon is not racially diverse, and they will never be if the only two races that count are black and white. </p>
<p>Essentially, though, my advice is as follows: if you sense that your child has an introverted or shy personality, do not send them to Elon for college. I hate to overly dramatize things, but by the end of my time there, I was on the brink of suicide. A very kind and understanding staff member from the counseling center convinced me and helped me to transfer and while I am grateful to him to this day, I still can’t vouch for the school itself. Over time, I have come to learn that being introverted does not mean that I am mentally handicapped. But at Elon, I grew to believe that I was deficient in some way, and it set me back more than it pushed me forward. </p>
<p>When you are considering diversity at a college, remember that race is not the only/the most important consideration. Even if every single person at that school is some other race than you, if they are all different kinds of people and personalities, I imagine you’ll survive. A word I had for Elon students was “cookie-cutter people”. Looking back, I find it creepy, and unrealistic at best.</p>
<p>As for the academics, I don’t think I ever had a bad professor. They hire some very competent people. If you are thinking of doing science, I think Elon is underrated for their faculty/staff. William and Mary is considered a “Public Ivy”, but I don’t think their staff measures up to Elon’s, honestly. (much better atmosphere, though…)</p>