Following along. Elon is D23’s favorite school of all that she has visited so far (we have been to 13). She has several more selective schools on her list, but I have a feeling that Elon may win out in the end. It checks nearly all of her boxes. Mid sized, warm weather, collaborative (rather than competitive) environment, and we know a few recent grads who have nothing but rave reviews (as do their parents). The tour and information session were done very well.
The irony is that if it were a more selective school , D23 would like ED here and we would be done. I think the fact that it is less selective is the only thing holding her back. We as parents are definitely emphasizing fit over bragging rights.
11 Likes
Elon is in the top 3 contenders for ED for my S23.
I’m not sure if you’ve seen this on their website, but if she decides to ED, Elon is offering 3 new benefits.
- Early move in “experience” (no details but presumably several days early with activities planned)
- $3,000 “Elon Experiences” grant
- Early class registration before other freshmen
Good luck to your daughter with her decision. S23 is vacillating between wanting to ED and (hopefully) be done or seeing how many of the schools on his list admit him and holding off making a final decision until the spring.
4 Likes
Moving in early isn’t a huge perk because it’s a fun day and then many parents stay for convocation. Early registration is huge, because it was a bit of a mess this year with a new system. Some classes are preassigned and my D got everything she wanted but not all did. She also emailed a professor about a wait list and got added to the class after 2 days!
3 Likes
Thank you. I was not aware of these advantages. My D is also still weighing the pros and cons of EDing to Elon.
New York dad here. My daughter is a Sophomore at Elon. I have nothing but great things to say about it. Responsive administration, professors seem to care, beautiful campus, etc. And as some have said, a much more reasonable price point than other schools.
6 Likes
Market conditions have changed. Applications are way up at selective schools with the advent of test optional admissions. Acceptance rates continue to go lower at the top schools. For kids without great high school academic records, there is demand for an alternative. At many high schools in the Boston area, Elon is the fall back option for kids who just cannot compete at the selective colleges. Elon has an admit rate above 70 percent (compared to 7 percent and under at elite colleges and universities) and an average SAT of just above 1200 ( not 1500+ at elite options). So while I agree that there are some nice aspects to what Elon has done, there is a real market for kids who have gone to private schools but are not able to apply to selective colleges. That is what one sees within ISL in the Boston area. Elon has captured a decent slice of this segment of the Northeast market.
8 Likes
Agreed and even for kids who do apply to the selectives there is a tremendous need for a safety that is actually a safety and that the kids would actually be happy to attend and parents happy to send them to. Elon (and CU Boulder) seem to be the two schools that have really filled that slot for New England privates.
7 Likes
Good point. The idea of a safety school is indeed changing. When I was applying to colleges, Williams was a top choice and Middlebury was a safety. No more. Even Carleton, Kenyon and Grinnell are not safeties by most measures. So yes, a school with an attractive location and campus that admits 70 percent is rare and popular in a market where admission rates across the board have dropped, where parental angst about admissions is high and where kids want to know they have a pretty solid option in their back pocket.
3 Likes
Their yield was higher this year, so I’d expect to see the acceptance rate go down for 2023.
1 Like
Did they over enroll this year?
2 Likes
Slightly, from what I can tell. Housing was a bit tight and freshman class enrollment tricky.
1 Like
With Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision and a waitlist, it mystifies me when colleges and universities over enroll.
Enrollment up 12%.
It’s not that surprising to me. My D applied EA but was waiting on March decisions as were many others I’m sure. They have competitive scholarship programs with decisions in February, which is another reason for later deposits.
As posted above, they are now offering incentives for ED but I don’t know how that will work with fellows, scholars, Odyssey.
1 Like
Exactly. Forecasting yield is not rocket science, good thing the many colleges that have been recently overenrolling (without the required infrastructure in place) aren’t involved in forecasting more critical things.
To be fair to Elon, as the school gets “hotter” at a rapid pace, their applications increase significantly and their yield probably improves to some degree. Any yield models Elon perfected over previous application cycles might not predict the yield for a “hotter” school.
Hopefully, Elon will adjust their yield model quickly enough to avoid a repeat this time around.
5 Likes
I agree with @EconPop. I will also add that I believe there is a trickle down effect as higher ranked schools are experiencing increased applications and therefore reducing their acceptance rates. Elon is a safety/target for many kids and one most will be very happy to attend.
This all contributes to a more difficult yield prediction.
4 Likes
My D is a junior at Elon. There is definitely a lot to like at the school. Campus is beautiful and professors are really good. Classes can be very challenging. My D has friends at higher ranked schools and she and her friends at Elon seem to have a a lot more work than some of them do.
I don’t think it’s much more of a party school than many other schools, and definitely much less so than big state schools. My D typically goes out on either Fri or Sat and then they have “darties” (daytime parties) on Saturdays. She doesn’t go out during the week much as she has too much work to do. We look at Rate my professor when picking classes and professors come from all over. She had a professor last semester from W & M and another one from Richmond.
Our two major issues with Elon is that it can be rather preppy which my D is definitely not, so that made it a bit tough to find her people. And the other is the study abroad program. Study abroad is expensive (they tack on about a $6000 “adminstrative fee” to all of their programs) and we have not been very impressed with the study abroad office. For a school that touts how great their program is, it’s been a bit of a disappointment. For example, many prices on the website are from 2020. My D and I have both asked several times how much the current prices are and nobody seems to be able to give us an answer. They expect you to apply with no idea of what you’re going to have to pay. Getting info on credits for study abroad programs has also been difficult.
If anyone has a freshman next year I would highly recommend the summer pre-orientation trips. My D worked on them this summer and she said the kids made so many friends. She evens hangs out with some of the participants now. It creates a great support system for the kids.
7 Likes
FWIW, my Elon student was accepted to more selective schools with good merit aid, including Kenyon (35% acceptance) and Denison (28%). Sone of the reasons for her final decision were being offered a Fellows program and two scholarships, which made it cost competitive.
She is not preppy and wears athletic wear a lot of the time. She worked in a restaurant the past few years while playing two sports. She has found the students nice and friendly. Her calculus class is challenging. Agree on the Summer Adventure trips being helpful for making friends. She went ziplining, hiking and camping.
3 Likes
I don’t think “preppy” was the right word in my post. That’s how my D refers to the students but that’s not how I would describe them. They definitely wear sweats and a lot of athletic wear (lots of Lululemon). And lots of half shirts, jeans, skirts etc to go out in. My D dresses a bit more quirky and it’s just made it a little harder to find her people.
1 Like
I saw some students with colorfully dyed hair on campus, which is what I think of for “quirky.” Elon takes a lot of student pictures and videos for social media, including FB and Instagram, if anybody wants a sense of student clothing.
2 Likes