Elon Fellows

Hello! Looking for some opinions on Elon Fellows programs. My son seems a little turned off by honors housing (not sure why…I need to get him more info), so my first question is do Fellows students HAVE to live in fellows dorms? The website says that Fellows are eligible for special housing in an LLC.

Both of our tour guides gushed about Fellows and to me it sounded fantastic. If anyone has any information to share I’d love to hear it!

PS My DD, at a different college, got placed in the honors dorm without being in the honors college, and it was a fantastic stroke of luck. She didn’t apply to honors for a specific, major-based reason, but being in the honors dorm has been great for her and all of her friends are in honors, plus, it wasn’t the “party” dorm. So I think being in the honors dorm is a huge plus!

Editing to add: He seems turned off by the idea of honors housing, not anything specific, we didn’t tour an honors dorm, etc.

As a Communications Fellow, I can tell you that I was not forced to live in any specific building or LLC. I live in a typical Global dorm unaffiliated with an LLC. I personally never looked into the Honors housing myself but that was my decision to stay “unaffiliated” as a sort. I don’t of any of the Comm Fellows in my year who live in the Honors LLC so if he is looking into other programs I would ask those students specifically what they think.

My D is an honors fellow. She did not choose to live in the honors housing because she wanted to make sure she met a variety of people. Elon has a few fellows programs, and you do not have to be a fellow to live in some of the LLCs - you do have to be an honors fellow to live in the honors LLC and you do have to be an Elon College fellow to live in that LLC as well. Make sure to apply to 2 fellows programs if your son has an interest as it will increase the chances off getting in one.

Thank you @mommadj and @JustHelpingOut20! Great info. Have you found the curriculum requirements of Fellows difficult?

I think it may seem overwhelming at first but they don’t give more than they can handle. A big part of starting college is figuring out time management when you only have class 2 or 3 days a week instead of daily like in high school.

justHelpingOut20, do you mind sharing your experience at Elon. Are you a NC or out of state resident? How have you found the Communications Fellows Program? Do you know anything about the Leadership Fellows? thanks.

@firstborndad2015 Well I am a first year at Elon but if I describe my experience with one word it would be busy. I got myself involved in a lot of things and that has helped me learn and grow a lot in just one semester. However, that was something I decided to do and not something everyone or even every Fellow does. I am an out-of-state student and I had not even heard of Elon until the summer before my Senior year of High School. I learned about Elon and Communications Fellows because I met a professor at a summer program. He was very helpful and mentored me even after the program so I looked into Elon because of that and he urged me to apply for the Fellows Program. Sadly I don’t know much about the Leadership Fellows, sorry. I do know that I have a few friends in that cohort and that they have gone on a few weekend trips to do things with the program. They seem to love it and have nothing but good things to say about it.

Was wondering if any current student could help me out. I recently got accepted into Elon through EA, and I am applying for the Communications Fellows as I plan to major in journalism. I originally assumed that my 1310 SAT score would be too low for a Fellows Program, but on the Elon website, it says the average SAT of last year’s Comm Fellows was 1300. I was curious why that’s much lower than the other programs. Thanks!

Justhelpingout20, I sent you a DM did you see it?

Also, what area did you choose to live in and would you recommend it again?

@JustHelpingOut20 Hi, can you describe the social life so far and the kinds of people you have met? Are there any particular housing areas that seem more fun than others? Thanks

@TheSportsGuy I don’t know why the the SAT score is lower for Comm Fellows but I am can tell you that you shouldn’t worry too much about the recommended levels. The website recommends a GPA of at least 3.8 but I applied for it with a much lower GPA. If I had to guess the lower score speaks to the kind of people the Communications school is looking for.

@citymama9 The social life is very much what you make of it. It is the typical college experience so far. Parties exist much you don’t have to go to them to have fun. The school puts on activities and clubs and organizations are always doing their own thing. I have met lots of different types of people but sadly there isn’t much racial diversity. The people I meet here are very diverse in their goals and aspirations but most everyone is hard working here. I have friends who want to make music for a living, others that want to be teachers and some that want to be Journalists. There isn’t really a housing area that is more fun than others. They all come down to who is put on the hall. I live in Global and half my hall loves to hang out while the floor above us no one hangs out. The only thing I really say about the dorms is that Smith is an all-male dorm and what you imagine that entailing it pretty much true.

@JustHelpingOut20 Thanks so much! That was very helpful:)

Hi! I am a current senior Honors fellow at Elon and love it! I personally chose not to live in honors housing because you are already taking classes with the other students in the program. This way I was able to meet more people right from the beginning. However, I have friends who lived in Honors housing and loved it and I did spend a good amount of time hanging out in the honors hall. I lived in Global my freshman year and personally did not have a social hall (I think partly because the doors automatically close in global while in other buildings people will leave their doors open). It really depends on what people your end up with on your hall because I have friends who lived in global that had very social halls. Dorms in the historic neighborhood and Danieley tend to be a little more social than global and colonnades. Smith and Carolina are single sex and are known more as party dorms but people can make great friends there.

Thanks all. My DS is very resistant to apply to Fellows, I can only guess it’s because he just wants to be “done” with applications and essays. I have let him know that housing is optional and it sounds like many just do standard housing. Bummer because I think Elon is a top contender for what school he will ultimately select!

My son was sent an email by Elon that strongly encouraged him to apply to the business fellows program. He was accepted to Elon early action. He thinks everyone applying to the business school got the email and is reluctant to apply. His grades are slightly lower than stated 3.8 on wedsite. ACT is in range. Any words of wisdom to him I can relay. I believe he would be competitive and it seems like a great program.

@firstsondad The range on the websites never states that they are the required ranges. Don’t be discouraged by what the website says. I was well outside of the range as well but was picked up for the program. Whether or not everyone received the email there is no harm in applying for the program.

My daughter got that email too. @firstondad I was surprised since I figured they would have enough kids actively seeking it out. I looked at the application and it seems they have to put together some kind of resume. Are there any essay questions for the business fellows that I missed?

Yes, there is an essay component to application.