Hi, I am currently a senior trying to decided between Elon University and University of North Carolina of Wilmington. I am very social but also studious and driven.
I liked Elon University because of the positive reviews, small campus, academics, and strong social life. I liked UNCW because everyone on campus seemed so friendly and nice, the beautiful campus, strong academics, and beach.
What really concerns me with both schools is the social life. At Elon, I have read reviews of the people being fake, unmotivated, and only concerned with greek life. At Wilmington, I have read about the campus/ people being boring, lacking school spirit and teachers are unmotivated.
Just looking for advice for anyone who’s gone to Elon University or UNCW. Thanks.
What do you think you will major in? Have you compared programs at the 2 schools? The biggest concern I would have with Elon is location- it’s in the middle of nowhere. You really need to make your own fun- hence the participation in Greek Life. UNCW has more to do in the surrounding areas. Every school will have unmotivated kids, I don’t think either school has big sports teams that kids are going to be rah rah about.
I think you will find social people at either school- it might be more likely in Greek life at Elon- are you interested in that?
Elon’s % participating in Greek life is 43%, which we considered relatively low (my son attends and is not/was not interested in Greek life, and researching this was a part of his selection). There are also no residential Greek houses except for small ones that are available to sophomores only, which I think contributes to Greek life not being an integral or focal part of the social scene. My S has found his social footing at Elon quite easily. He’s "nice, genuine and academically motivated " LOL. His friends definitely seem the same. There is a party scene for sure, and I’m guessing a good number of kids that are less academically motivated than at schools with harder academic selectivity for admission. There are the Elon Fellows kids, who are definitely academic achievers and motivated. Then many in the middle. Oh and the location was a concern for us too, at first. But with all of the student activities and clubs and stuff, my son felt confident that he would find enough to do is happy so far. Will it be more of a factor after a year or two? Possibly…we’ll see!
Honestly I think I might toss out both of those reviews, unless you are getting them over and over from multiple sources. You visited and found the students friendly and nice at both places. There will always be unhappy students posting negative reviews…try to find the school that fits best for you and the kind of person you are!
I don’t know anything about UNCW, but again I wouldn’t put too much into reviews that are just here and there unless you are finding that opinion regularly. For the “campus is boring” can you look into how many kids leave campus on weekends? That’s one factor that is important to look into for social life. Can you go to admitted student days for both and try to get more of handle on the social scene?