I’m trying to decide between UVM and Elon. I’ve had the opportunity to visit UVM twice and loved it. Unfortunately, my accepted students day at Elon was canceled and I need to decide by 5/1 without ever visiting campus. I have a good understanding of the academic programs, but was wondering what the students and overall campus life are like at Elon.
The website Niche is a good way to get student reviews on a school.
As someone who lives in NC, Elon has a weird reputation. It’s considered the school that rich Northern kids go to when they want to get out of their hometown. It’s definitely on the come up though.
Thank you!
Hi! My son attends Elon and loves it. We are from the Midwest. It is true that there is a very high percentage of NY/NJ kids there and I think this is a strategic, targeted plan by Elon. My son does have friends from several other states and areas as well. You can look up the demographics, I do think it skews towards higher incomes, and not much diversity. Those are being addressed, but the fact stands.
As for the NC reputation above, I can’t speak for it as a Midwesterner who had never heard of Elon until deep in the college search. But I can see where it might come from. NC has several really great, top notch schools (Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, Davidson) that are nationally known, and the acceptance rates and stats compared with Elon blow Elon out of the water. However, Elon really is moving upward in ranks and esteem over the past several years. They just made it into the national college category this year, and were ranked #1 for job placement out of all NC schools last year, which I was surprised to read given the caliber of NC universities!
When we were researching, our visits always stood out as super impressive, and anecdotal reviews were always raves. Now my son would do the same raving as well. Campus life has parties, Greek not a huge factor, is only residential in small houses for sophomores only, non partiers also have no problem finding their people. Lots of happy students. Very small town (the town of Elon). About 10-15 min away is Greensboro, larger with movie theater, chain restaurants, stores etc. Sorry you can’t visit. They are doing live admission events on Facebook.
Heard wonderful things about UVM too!
Since you know UVM through two visits & loved it, the decision seems clear.
Burlington, Vermont is a great college town. UVM is big enough to find whatever you want in terms of social life.
EDIT to my post above, not that it really matters, but the town 10-15 min away from Elon is Burlington, not Greensboro which is more like 20-30. UVM’s college town is a Burlington too, and from all accounts, Burlington VT is a VERY lovely town that just about everyone loves. (Elon’s Burlington is not really anything special!)
Very different schools. Large state school compared to medium sized private with heavy pre-professional focus.
I think too many people get caught up in the, if it’s difficult to get into, it’s a better school. I tell my son that job placement and success after college should be of primary importance. Additionally, I think where your school is tends to be more important for certain reasons. For instance, my older son decided on a small school in NJ, only about 30 minutes from NYC, rather than a school out in the middle of Ohio or PA. As a freshman, he goes into the city quite often and has already met and made friends with some real movers. Hey, if you want a school with a high pedigree then good for you.
Is UVM instate for you?
What’s the net cost?
===> to calculate, take your FA package and calculate this only:
[tuition, fees, room, board] - [grants, scholarships] =
Can you list each university and its net cost in your next post?
That’ll help us calculate value for money.
In addition, do you know your EFC and what your parents can pay from income and savings? Have they been furloughed or hit by the current crisis?
Both are good for strong students, have lots of prep school/upper middle class kids from New England and the MidAtlantic. Elon is more preprofessional, UVM less so. Burlington is a nicer location. Weather is another factor 
UVM will be about 50k cheaper over 4 years. I’m not instate but received a lot of merit money from UVM. I didn’t get a dime from ELON.
UVM has much, much colder Winters! We were very impressed with UVM and absolutely loved Burlington. It’s a great College town, but ultimately our daughter committed another school in Boston.
Don’t know too much about Elon. We’re from Connecticut and focused on schools within a 4 hour drive. According to Naviance, our high school has had a single student apply and accepted to Elon every year over the past 4 years.
If you visited UVM twice and loved it, AND it is significantly cheaper, sounds like it is a good way to go. I’m an Elon fan but hey, if you love UVM, and there isn’t something else that is pulling you to Elon, let Elon go! Be happy that the school you got to see, and love, is the better financial option!
Elon is not worth 50K more than UVM! Go where you’re wanted 
I agree that a significant cost difference is not worth it especially in these times