<p>Thank you Welmont and rockvillemom for your responses; I feel more reassured again. We are also in MA in a pretty competitive school system. When we visited Elon, it did so much to allay my anxiety about this college process, because it really did seem like such a good fit for my son. Of course so much can and may change by next fall, and Elon is really the first place he’s seriously looked at, but it was almost like love at first sight.
I should probably only interact with this guidance counselor when I want to raise my anxiety!</p>
<p>One thing I have noticed about Elon (my older D has many friends who went there, and now my younger D is going next fall) is that they want to see a demonstrated interest in the school by applicants. That doesn’t just mean emailing and asking for information: they like you to visit (several times is nice) and for applicants to make themselves known to their area’s admissions counselor. In other words, naggymom, if it turns out your son does want to go to Elon, he should visit again, sit in on classes, maybe have lunch with a student (admissions sets this up) and make sure to have interactions with his adcom. Good luck! Elon seems like a great fit for my daughter (especially the small classes, active learning and friendly social vibe) and it may be the same for your son!</p>
<p>Thank you NotMamaRose, that’s great your D will be going next fall! Do you know if even applicants from Massachusetts usually visit several times?</p>
<p>Naggymom, not sure. We are from Maryland and we did. The first time, my daughter was invited to a diversity weekend (she is Asian-American) and she really clicked with the school, so we came back again a month later, at which time she sat in on classes. (You can arrange to sit in on one class through admissions, but my D wanted to see several, so she took the initiative of emailing the chairs of the departments she was interested in, and they had teachers get in touch with her.) She also called Admissions and asked to have lunch with a student. When she said she was interested in two possible majors, they arranged for two girls (one in each of the being-considered majors) to take her to eat in the dining hall. If you cannot visit more than once, I am sure it’s fine: they certainly must understand the financial realities of coming and going numerous times. (The flights from Baltimore to RD are quick – less than an hour – and relatively inexpensive, though renting a car and staying in a hotel adds up!). But your son can still interact with his adcom, and if she or he comes to your son’s school, make sure your son goes to the session to say hi and meet the adcom in person. Good luck!</p>
<p>Naggymom - we are from MA, and we visited once (last Fall). I don’t think it is realistic for Elon to expect applicants to travel more than once - it is expensive and far. (air, car, hotel, etc.). Good luck!</p>
<p>I agree, one visit is fine. But your son should have some additional contact with his regional rep. Did he meet the rep when you visited? If so, he should send a follow-up email saying how much he enjoyed the visit and mentioning specifics - a major or program that caught his eye, etc. If he did not meet the rep - find out who it is - and he should email - introducing himself, commenting on the visit, etc. Then, maybe he emails the rep again over the summer, with a meaningful question. Not a question that can be easily answered on the website.</p>
<p>If the rep comes to visit his hs in the fall or to a regional meet and greet - your son should be there. If there is any type of local college fair, your son should attend. The basic concept is to avoid being a “stealth applicant” - meaning someone the regional rep has never heard from until he is looking at the student’s admissions application. You want the regional rep to at least recognize your son’s name. If he can put a face to the name and remember that he had met this student twice, exchanged a few emails, and this kid seems really interested in Elon, you are in a better position.</p>
<p>My son applied ED, but he also knew the rep pretty well, having met him a few times. When he went to a college fair, the Elon rep actually greeted him by name! I’m not saying that this guarantees admission, but it certainly can’t hurt!</p>
<p>Naggymom, if your son is sure that Elon is for him, ED nearly doubles his chances. (Historically, about 80% of ED’s are admitted at Elon, compared to 45% of EA & RD). </p>
<p>But understand that Elon is not a Common Application School, and their application does not contain the “standard” disclaimer that you are released from the ED commitment if you don’t receive sufficient Financial Aid. An ED application to Elon commits you to attend Elon regardless of FA, at least in theory. This is important because Elon does not have a large endowment and is not able to meet 100% of need for all students. That said, Elon is not mean or stupid - if they accept a student ED, they will do their best to meet financial need.</p>
<p>Elon is, more than most schools, highly unpredictable in their admissions. Every year there are kids with high scores on waitlists and kids with lower scores who are admitted. ED is the one thing about Elon that IS predictable.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all this helpful feedback, you guys are great!</p>
<p>hockey and naggy and anyone else from mass. I will be in the central mass area july 29-aug 9 while my D goes to Tufts Cummings Vet camp. I have no plans but to toodle around. If anyone wants to meet and ask questions about Elon, (son loving his first year) I would be happy to have lunch or coffee. PM me.</p>
<p>Thank you for that offer–I can’t PM yet, don’t have enough posts. But I think one reason I’m drawn to Elon as a parent is that all the parents of kids who go there seem so supportive! Thank you to RVM too because it was on your long thread re: the B students you started that I first heard of Elon.</p>
<p>I can not PM yet either!</p>
<p>I received a PM that I can not reply to… so I will answer the question I was asked: “no”. To the person who PM’ed me, hope you read this. Thanks.</p>
<p>FYI - Shy, introverted, non-partiers can be very, very happy at Elon. My S, who is all of the above, has made lots of friends and found his niche. Elon has been a great fit.</p>
<p>I think quite a few kids are lulled into a false sense of “my academics are too easy” first semester. For many well prepared kids, the classes are merely a review of content that they learned in HS…it is in the second semester that they start to get into new material.</p>
<p>^^and, in addition, I think that depends, at Elon at least, which of the core classes you"get" in the fall, which electives you choose, and, most importantly, which professors you get…</p>
<p>My daughter had the harder core courses (more rigorous) in the fall…in addition, she chose electives that were upper level (her choice; they didn’t have pre-Reqs)…so it all depends…</p>
<p>It ALL changes sophomore year…</p>
<p>“I think quite a few kids are lulled into a false sense of “my academics are too easy” first semester.”</p>
<p>momofboston, I think that is a fair assessment of some students. One thing that my Son reminded me of (that I had never looked at in that way), was that because of Elon’s Winter term the students are actually attending Elon for the equivalent of 4 1/2 years in four years. To him it meant that students who needed time to find their passion had that extra time, and other students had time to challenge themselves. Thought he had an interesting point.</p>
<p>“I think quite a few kids are lulled into a false sense of “my academics are too easy” first semester.”</p>
<p>I didn’t mean this is the case just at Elon. My D11 attends a large urban university and she also found a couple of her freshman core courses were “review” and she used them as a GPA boost.</p>
<p>My D13 can’t wait to get to Elon in August…I think she will be happy and challenged.</p>
<p>I agree with Rodney - it all changes sophomore year.</p>