<p>Don’t ignore the fact that Elon’s tuition is significantly lower than similar schools. It was $10,000 less than most other schools my daughter looked at.</p>
<p>Scsiguru, there is significant merit aid to be had. Honors fellows get $16,500/year. I’d call that significant merit aid for those 40 students.</p>
<p>But 40 Fellows out of 1400 incoming freshman is less than 3%. Odds of gaining one of these scholarships is pretty slim. So although $16,500 is a great offer at a school that is reasonably priced, offering that kind of aid to fewer than 3% of the students is not really significant. Just my opinion…</p>
<p>Well, let’s face it, Elon doesn’t have a massive endowment like many schools. They have chosen to keep tuition low for everyone. ALL students benefit from this. Don’t ignore that the base tuition is over 20% less than at many comparable private schools.</p>
<p>I do not know the number, but I suspect they give out a fair number of Presidential scholarships. While the number of honors fellows is low (40), there are still a total of 200 different types of fellows who receive a range of financial awards.</p>
<p>In the end, the high cost of any private college may not be within the reasonable budget for many families.</p>
<p>No doubt that Elon uses a different model than most privates. As a parent, I appreciate the lower tuition. I’m just saying that the Honors Fellow program as it exists now is nice but not significant. That’s all. I have no beef with the way Elon does business. It’s among my D’s top choices.</p>
<p>I think you have to look at it on an individual basis and weigh all the factors. Elon has a lot to offer, but it is a relatively young school and consequently doesn’t have the endowment that more established schools have. For us, Elon was an economical choice because it’s tuition is so reasonable compared to similar schools. The merit aid that our daughter was offered at other schools ($17,000 in one case), brought the cost of those schools down to the cost of Elon (or didn’t meet it). And, since we were sold on Elon, it was an easy decision.</p>
<p>Regarding financial aid; if a family has a lower Expected Family Contribution on the FAFSA, Elon may be more expensive that other similar schools, as Elon can’t meet 100% of demonstrated need (though many schools, even state schools, can’t either). In that case you just have to run the numbers. Elon’s financial calculator was very accurate for us.</p>
<p>For stellar students who stand to get a lot of merit aid, it’s just a matter of applying and comparing offers. Don’t forget to factor in the intangibles like quality of education, campus involvement opportunities, internship opportunities, living conditions, etc.</p>
<p>^^^Without a doubt! </p>
<p>When comparing merit offers, money can’t be the only factor in the final decision. But, let’s face it. Money is probably the largest factor in the final decision. For my family, winning an Honors Fellow award would definetly put Elon in the running. However, not being granted the award insures Elon would not be an option. </p>
<p>Fortunately, we had this discussion with D long before our college trips. This really helped her avoid the trap of falling in love with any one school.</p>
<p>My daughter was accepted early to Elon and now is a freshman there who absolutely loves it. BUT we did one thing wrong. Dorm room priority is determined by when you pay your deposit so pay it now. Don’t wait! I think the deposit is even refundable. We waited until April to pay the deposit while my daughter struggled with her final schhool choice. That meant bottom of the list for her dorm room selection. It all turned out well and she likes her dorm and suite mates but we did make a strategic error when we delayed sending in the deposit.</p>
<p>Elon does not give out a lot of merit aid but they do have a lower tuition than similar schools. My oldest attends but we could have saved between $5-$8K per year at the LACs that he was accepted to. The money is well spent if your child takes advantage of the many opportunities that Elon has to offer.</p>
<p>30 ACT
3.0 GPA
Strong private high school in Chicago</p>
<p>I got deferred which isn’t too bad considering this is my reach, congrats to all those who got accepted!</p>
<p>Which school(s) are you comparing to Elon, when you say that Elon is 20% less expensive?</p>
<p>Hockeymom, I can only tell you the schools my daughter was choosing from last year.</p>
<p>Elon is $30k
George Washington is $47k
University of Miami is $43k
Emory is $43k</p>
<p>Elon tuition is at least $13 thousand less than these three other schools. There simply is no denying that tuition at Elon is significantly less than similar PRIVATE colleges. Those that complain about lack of merit aid at Elon should reconsider their gripes and pretend we have all gotten $13k as a merit award. If you get more money in merit aid, even better.</p>
<p>Of course none of these schools can compare with in state tuition. My daughter could have gone to University of Florida for free, but she did not want such a large school.</p>
<p>Great advice from Elondad. If you got accepted, send your REFUNDABLE deposit in right away. The housing lottery order is based on the date you sent in your deposit.</p>
<p>Hockeymom - I will add in:</p>
<p>Quinnipiac - $55K
Bryant - $53K
Marist - $45K</p>
<p>As similar type schools - about 5,000 students and test scores</p>
<p>To the above posters - thanks for clarifying. When you said “similar” schools, I did not know if you meant “size” or “rank” (I should not use the word “rank”, I am thinking about stats required to be accepted).</p>
<p>My child was accepted EA last month, but today an Engagement Scholarship came in. That is wonderful news as it keeps Elon in the running (especially when considering various merits, tuitions, and costs of travel back and forth). I do appreciate Elon keeping its tuition overall low for all versus most privates. I like that concept, even if a little bit lower in merit, other aid. It bucks the terrible trend of these crazy tuitions.</p>