You’ve said many times in this thread Elon is not for your kids or you don’t think much of the 1,000 students from NC that attend Elon. We get it, really we do!! Each and every time. No need to beat a dead horse. Maybe it’s time to move on to posts about kids who transfer after one semester (kind of ironic) or other threads about colleges you have a direct connection to.
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I don’t think it matters whether NC kids want to go there or not, what matters is where the right fit is. I am wondering if anyone can compare DU in Denver to Elon? Pros or cons for an undecided major? Just like your overall impression of the two: one versus the other?
I kind of wonder if Elon used to be kind of like Butler in Indiana? It’s also very good I think in a lot of ways but not as much on the radar across the country. It’s not strictly regional though either.
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I don’t know much about Denver other than kids from our high school like it very much. Same for Elon.
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Do you think they’re equally respected schools?
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Elon is more well-regarded in the East; Denver in the West. USNWR had Elon at 89 and Denver at 105, among national universities.
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Thank you. Makes sense.
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Where did I say that?!? I just read thru all my responses to this thread and I must’ve missed that. I certainly never meant to disparage anyone who goes to Elon. Not a fit for my kids ≠ I “don’t think much of the students who go there”.
I actually admire Elon. I think it’s a good school. I’m not sure what you are reading into what I am saying.
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I think Denver and Butler are somewhat similar to Elon. I’d maybe put Bucknell in there too.
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You can reread your September 1 post. I have no interest in beating the dead horse here again and again and really wish you would move on to other topics. Thanks to farawaynyca for their clear and diplomatic comment. I could talk about the reasons the colleges your kids chose did not appeal to my kids, but who the heck cares.
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You didn’t. I totally understood all of the nuances of your comments 
.
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I visited Bucknell but haven’t visited the others. It is a very good school it seems like, and very pretty but very Greek and very remote. I would like to your Elon and I hope it’s not as remote.
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It takes a great team to make a great product and to find those who want and can afford that product.
US News rankings indicate that this school does a great job educating. The school’s challenge is that it sits in a state in the mid range of states regarding college degree attainment and lower third by income. Marketing to states with higher incomes and higher proportion of the population with college degrees seems to have worked out.
As long as Elon continues to do a great job educating, they will continue to attract students. Kudos to the team running the school.
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You probably know this but in case not, the BFA for theater is one of the most competitive in the nation - like harder to get in to than Harvard. 1500 apply and they accept maybe 20 (at most - I think less). Major representation on Broadway. Also UNCSA is another incredible theater school (equally as competitive). Two gems in the south. Didn’t know about them until my daughter was looking for schools a few yrs ago.
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Yes! Very strong performing arts there. My son is a dancer and is hoping to find a school where he can continue with that even though that won’t be his major. That’s what put Elon on our radar.
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I don’t think Elon is as remote as Bucknell, but it’s definitely not urban. The town of Elon is about 10,000 people and it is adjacent to Burlington which is about 50K. It’s about 30-40 minutes from Greensboro, depending on traffic, which is a much larger city (300K). Traffic on I-40 in the Greensboro area is pretty gross. Elon is about 45 minutes from Chapel Hill and Durham (home to UNC and Duke) and about 1:15 minutes to Raleigh.
Elon is well known for theater, communications/journalism, and business. Another under the radar school in NC for theater and performing arts is UNC-Greensboro (several famous alums).
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Thank you. Less remote definitely than Bucknell than, I think Lewisburg has only like 5K residents maybe? And Harrisburg is more than an hour away. I don’t think any major cities are close by. This helps me have some perspective.
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I’d say there are two really big differences between Elon and DU are urban/rural lifestyle and sports. I know many of you don’t think Elon is rural (I do), but compared to DU it is. DU is in a busy part of Denver, and in 15 minutes you can be downtown (professional sports, government for internships, clubs, concerts, theater, parades, transportation hub -to mountains or airport). Or you can go to large malls, suburban activities, etc. It is a defined campus, but lots to do around it too. A student at DU does not need a car to get around, to do many things off campus or to live off campus, which many do for senior year as junior year most go abroad.
And sports. Both are D1 schools, but DU has won national championships in skiing, hockey (last year) and lacrosse.
Because DU is an urban campus, it can get the community involved in many activities like political debates, speakers on campus, music performances. Elon may be able to offer the students more of a private campus life. To support it’s sports facilities, DU has activities open to the public like ice skating and hockey (and lessons), a gymnastics program for pre-school to high school, sports camps, DI competitions, etc. It also has a gorgeous music hall where its students perform and many outside groups too. Some may hate having all those extra people on campus, others think it makes the school feel energized.
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I have a freshman at DU and a junior at Elon. I feel like the school are similar but different. I’ve met a few parents that have kids at both. I think the biggest similarity is size. I think they are the perfect size (for my kids) at 6000 students. Not too big and not too small. Both have beautiful campuses. Both have students from all over the country, with a lot coming from the northeast. I like that my kids are 14 and 24 hours from home but when they come home, they still have college friends that live nearby (we are in MA). DU had kids from 48 states in their freshman class. Both are similarly ranked. Both have Greek life but it is pretty low key at both schools.
For differences, the obvious one is suburban vs urban. Elon is quieter and you need a car to get anywhere except for a couple local restaurants. DU has a couple strips of restaurants right off campus and a train station. Kids get a free train pass. However, my freshman son has only gone downtown once as everything he needs is right off campus. Vibe is very different. Elon kids are much more mainstream. DU has outdoorsy, preppy, liberal conservative, partiers, nerds. Daughter at Elon is pretty liberal and not at all preppy so she had a bit of a hard time finding her people initially. Son at DU is preppy/outdoorsy and has had no problem finding his people. More to do around DU. Downside is that my son spends a lot of $$. My daughter at Elon spends barely anything. Easy to get into the bars at DU underage, much harder at Elon. Professors at both are well ranked but my daughter always seems a bit “meh” on her professors and my son loved all of his professors this semester. They communicated so well, offered lots of office hours and reached out when he was struggling. D says that wouldn’t happen at Elon, it’s more sink or swim. Academically, Elon gives a lot of work. My D writes tons of papers. So far, DU seems a bit more hands on. Son had lots of group projects and much less writing. Seems like DU has a few less liberal arts requirement. Also with the quarter system, you have more classes so easier to fulfill requirements and still have time to take other courses that interest you. Some kids find the quarter system too intense and fast paced. DU has 3 quarters and Elon has 2 semesters and a January term which most kids do. Sports are bigger at Denver. Both are D1, but Elon doesn’t have a a ton of school spirit around its sports. Son originally looked at Denver because of the nearby skiing but now has also gotten into hiking and rock climbing. And he says even without skiing, he would love it there. Daughter is sometimes bored at Elon and wishes there was more to do. She works for the Outdoor Club so enjoys those trips.
We also visited Bucknell and Butler. Bucknell is remote but a gorgeous campus. Butler is in a city but it’s more suburban and there is nothing you can walk to. No public transportation nearby. But a great school with a pretty campus and really nice kids. Big Greek life.
Both Elon and DU are great schools and both my kids are very happy. Let me know if you have any other questions.
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Wow, thank you so much to everyone helping me think about the differences and where u want to spend my time visiting. I have visited DU but not Elon or Butler.
MAmom111, it sounds like Butler is more Greek than the others (I know DU and Elon both have strong Greek life available if that’s someone’s thing) which probably wouldn’t be something I see myself doing. I wouldn’t rule it out either though.
I do like the idea of stronger sports even though I follow more football and basketball than hockey. I like to play soccer and run. I am a skier also and my family goes skiing kind of a lot. So there is that in DU’s favor.
I am either interested in International relations or Communications. It seems like Elon might be stronger with communications? But can a major in either at either school? It seems like maybe I can do that unless it’s business or engineering but I’m not really sure?
I am a little concerned about the quarter system moving so quickly but then again if I don’t like a class it will be over soon.
Also - it sounds like your daughter may be a little bored at Elon? But happy too, most of the time? What does she really like about it. And also she says it’s sink or swim when I heard it is collaborative. Also, it’s interesting to me that she was meh about the professors, since they are ranked #1. Maybe DU students have more graduate level instructors?
Probably holding me back is that some of my friends tell me Boulder is the place to be, and that DU isn’t as fun. I don’t know if anyone can speak to that statement. I think I like the smaller size (for me) though, of both DU and Elon.
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My freshman daughter at Elon has plenty to do. Maybe by junior year some things would get boring. The football team did well in their conference this year and had a lot of exciting home games.
As far as competive vs collaborative, so far she’s found the professors supportive (communications & first year classes) but not too easy. She is writing a lot, as mentioned above, but she’s a good writer and enjoys presentations and research.
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