<p>I do think this is a good way for a freshman to become involved. Although as you mentioned rockvillemom, your s may have signed up regardless, for many it may just give them the extra boost they need in a new environment. Also, do you know if it is difficult to get into the theme of choice, (you mentioned your S is in the sports section).<br>
On another note regarding engaged learning - do your kids really notice this? Is this the odd case where a class may partake in something educational beyond typical learning, or is this commonly felt?</p>
<p>I don’t recall there being many themed sections of Elon 101. He put the sports one as his first choice, but it really would not have made a big difference either way.</p>
<p>Hi, just thought I could help with the questions about Elon 101. I’m currently a freshman and I would definitely recommend taking Elon 101. It’s very easy, not very much work outside of class, and extremely helpful. It is definitely a great way to meet people when first starting out and it makes the transition much smoother. It is also very helpful in figuring out how to go about deciding the best classes for you to take, and it will explain how to go about picking classes. It’s an hour a week, no reason not to take it. I am in a leadership themed Elon 101, but unless you are a fellow I do not think it makes a huge difference.</p>
<p>When does orientation take place for students accepted to Elon as freshmen? Do freshmen come to campus a week earlier than upperclassmen (in August) or is there an early summer orientation?</p>
<p>There are spring orientation weekends that are optional in March (for EA and ED kids) and April, I think about 2/3 of incoming students attend one of those. The mandatory orientation is about 4 days long at the end of August, just before school starts. All new students attend the late-August orientation, regardless of whether they came in March/April or not.</p>
<p>njelon - Thanks for your input. </p>
<p>Lafalum - Just curious… what would be the point of attending the Spring orientation, if the August one is mandatory? I’m thinking if it’s different, then it seems like 1/3 of the students are missing something by not attending - whereas it it is the same, then why attend twice?</p>
<p>We attended the spring orientation in March. I guess the main difference is the length of time and some of the activities. It was a full day Friday and a half day Saturday. Some of it was a duplication of things we had heard previously at the open house. We did a good dorm tour and he got his picture taken for his photo ID. We received info on how to register for classes for the first semester, which is done in April. It would not have been the end of the world had we missed this weekend session.</p>
<p>In August, Friday was move-in. The students started doing dorm meetings and advisor group meetings. Saturday morning was convocation and a picnic lunch, and then the parents left.</p>
<p>For us, it was worthwhile going to both. But if you live further away or have a conflict, missing the spring one would not be a big deal, particularly if you have visited campus previously.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the March/April orientations serve two purposes: Orientation activities for ED kids and kids who are definitely attending, and a last marketing push toward kids who have been admitted and haven’t made a final decision. That said, when D attended the March orientation in 2010 after being admitted ED, she was able to:
- Tour many dorms to help her decide which ones to rank first
- Meet other kids who were attending
- Receive hands-on walk-through of how to register for classes online in June (the rest of the kids get written instructions but it can be a bit confusing for a first-timer)
- Got her ID picture taken (one less thing to do in August)
- Took a test for foreign language placement (not sure if they still do that)
As parents, we not only met other parents but there were a few advisory & info sessions for us as well. On move-in weekend, there was one parent advisory session at the end of move-in day, but frankly we were so emotionally and physically drained from move-in that we wouldn’t have absorbed anything.</p>
<p>Also - this has been discussed elsewhere, but bears repeating: It is worth staying over at move-in to attend Elon’s New Student Convocation. The ceremony is beautiful, moving and meaningful. It’s held in the same place as graduation (“under the oaks” behind West Hall) and the two ceremonies serve as nice bookends to the 4 years at Elon. President Leo Lambert speaks, and that alone makes it worth attending!</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses about the two orientation sessions. The more I learn and the more I read about Elon makes me hope that this is where my S will be. Interesting also how much positive comments I read about President Lambert.</p>
<p>You can follow Leo Lambert on Twitter @HeadPhoenix. :)</p>
<p>I think S loved orientation just to meet everyone he had been chatting with on Facebbok. Once accepted, kids are connecting through social media and can’t wait to get on campus. Spring orientation is much less fearful for both parent and child. In the fall, as a parent it is much more emotional and busy moving things in.</p>
<p>convocation is beautiful. a must stay. WEll, Leo Lambert is also a joy to hear at every occasion. Elon is lucky to have him-a visionary.</p>
<p>Hoping someone can help me with this question… obviously there are different types of students, but looking for general “feel” for the student body…
Are Elon students serious about their school work?<br>
I understand that when you are not considering “top” schools, the students are not typically ‘A’ students, but this does not have to mean that they don’t work hard.<br>
Any thoughts? Have your Elon kids shared their opinion on this subject? </p>
<p>Thanks so much.</p>
<p>Compared to what? That is such a hard question to answer. Are Elon students less “serious” than MIT students? Or, are they less “serious” than Ohio State students? Talking to Elon students and observing on the two days we visited, kids seemed focused on the overall college experience which includes academic and social. There are certainly schools where the rigor and expectations mean more work and less play and other schools where the focus on sports and parties mean more play and less work. “Serious” is all relative and only your student can judge what is a good fit for him or her. I believe the old cliche that says you get out of college what you put in and that is true no matter which school you attend.</p>
<p>The only thing I can add is the conversation I had with my son regarding how hard he is working - in terms of hours and effort - how does it compare to hs? He said is is working much harder than he did during senior year of hs (no surprise there - after he had his ED acceptance in hand - he had major senioritis) and that he is working slightly harder than he did during junior year of hs.</p>
<p>I’m happy with that - I would not want him feeling stressed or overwhelmed first semester freshman year.</p>
<p>I think he and his friends are serious about working reasonably hard and getting good grades - but not to the extent that they have no time for fun, sports, community service etc. Elon seems to be more well-balanced than some other schools I am familiar with.</p>
<p>I can assure you that my son works hard. Could he work harder and do better? Probably, but he is very busy with many other pursuits as well, and most importantly he is happy. My son also really liked Wake Forest, and while I am certain he would have done well there, I’m not sure he would have been as happy. As Rockvillemom mentioned in another post, the workload at Wake Forest is huge, and leaves less time for other things. While preparing for finals my son is also very busy with his fraternity and preparing for his Winter term abroad. In the Spring he will be joining the Jazz Ensemble. Elon is all about “engaged learning”
(Study Abroad, Research, Service, Internships, Leadership) and I am confident that my son will have participated in most, if not all, of these things by the time he graduates.</p>
<p>Different schools definitely have different feels. Our S is a jr.at Vandy (and absolutely loves it). It suits his very driven personality and lofty goals. His college experience is not what he hoped it would be in some ways because the workload prevents him from being as involved as he would like (though he is very involved in a few organizations), but he’s thrilled about the preparation he’s getting, and he will be ready to compete in the world and I know he will do very well. But you have to be the right kind of kid to go to a place like that. It could easily overwhelm even the smartest student. </p>
<p>D looked there, but it was just too intense for her, and the students came across to her as too serious/driven etc. and it was not an environment that she would have been happy in. She wanted her peers to be smart, but fun and well rounded, and she didn’t want everyone to be a type “A” personality. When she visited Elon she said “these are the kind of students I can see myself hanging around with”. They were happy, looked confident, social but seemed to care about their education too. We thought it was the perfect fit for her personality and goals. </p>
<p>I read the book “Transforming a College” about Elon (highly recommend btw), and it said that they routinely gave students Myers-Briggs personality tests to see what kind of student they were attracting so they could meet their needs. They found that Elon attracts a specific type of student (ENFP’s and ESTJ’s top the list). “Elon is full of student extroverts who are big on sensing, feeling and doing rather than sitting alone in libraries.” (Lela Faye Rich – associate dean for academic support services). According to Ms. Rich, this type of student “is less likely to excel on standardized tests and tend to love their friends, travel, internships, real life experiences and extracurricular activities as much as they like working with books or in laboratories”. Elon tries to gear its program to this type of student (which is my D through and through), so we knew that this was a place that she will be “in her element” and can flourish.</p>
<p>I think it is important to find the right “match” academically and in terms of campus culture. I really don’t see “good” or “bad” – it depends on the kid. ************** helped us with that in the initial phases but there is nothing like spending time on campus.</p>
<p>I have no idea why it just blanked out the name of the website we used to look at the campus culture, but if you want to know it, you can message me and I’ll give it to you.</p>
<p>That is such a tough question; and no less tough at a school like Elon; my daughter is definitely working harder than she ever thought she would and, honestly, could be getting better grades…but she is having an amazing experience both in and out of the classroom…</p>
<p>My D2 is an ENFP through and through…supruwoman: your post is priceless and really describes the Elon student to a T</p>
<p>And FWIW, my older D went to a large private school in the Northeast that is known for kids who don’t study…and even there, she worked her butt off and often sacrificed her other activities to be in the library etc…</p>
<p>Re: “second decile” students, and campus atmosphere:</p>
<p>A lot of “second decile” students are easily as smart as a lot of “first decile” students, but in many cases just didn’t mature as early…ie., a lot of these “lower” students weren’t as serious at the beginning of 9th grade, and could never catch up with the kids that started out more mature and serious. But college is a new race.</p>
<p>Also, as RVM noted, the kids may be equally bright, but focused on a broader spectrum of priorities. For their own reasons, obtaining straight As on their report cards instead of a mix of As and Bs, is not their focus. And the students who are engaged in things like varsity sports or community service are learning a lot too–but it does not count in their GPAs. </p>
<p>of course there are some kids who get the 4.0s and do the varsity sports…I had one of those out of my three…but there is something to be said for achieving balance and sanity. Those are often the kids who come out in the top decile of life.</p>
<p>To all the posters who replied to my question (post 32), I want to thank you!! I know it’s a vague question, and there are about as many answers as there are students at Elon. I read the book Transforming a College a few months ago, and it really sold me (and DH) on Elon!! I guess for me, it sounds “too good to be true”… so I feel the need to ask parents of current students. The whole “engaged learning” and all the posts on CC make me believe this is a great fit for my S. Then I wonder if this is really how the education is at Elon. I actually think this type of learning would be great for many kids who I know at many different schools, (friends’ kids) - I think most kids would thrive in this type of atmosphere. So I keep going back to: Do they truly practice engaged learning? I love what Elon offers. To all you parents on this thread - you’ve helped me so much.</p>