<p>I am a female from NJ, undecided major as of now but mostly interested in art/education/english/communications (i'm all over the board lol). I liked Ithaca a lot, but the long, frigid, gray winters are horrifying to me. I didn't want to be too far from home, but the hour/hour and a half flight to Charleston/Greensboro isn't too bad. Also, my grandparents live right outside of Boulder, so I'd have family there. I am aware of the school's academic rankings, but concerned about the atmosphere/social life. I am neither here nor there, not preppy but not "gothic" or anything. I would rather not rush but if it is necessary for a good social life I wouldn't mind that much. I want a fun school with a good, down to earth student body where it is easy to make friends and people are accepting. A good study abroad program is also important to me.
Any input would be very much appreciated. Thank you!</p>
<p>Edit: I am also a Jewish student, originally from Long Island. I'm worried about being a fish out of water in the south.</p>
<p>Do you care about size of school? Two are similar, other two a little different…</p>
<p>Have you visited?</p>
<p>Were you accepted into Park School at Ithaca?</p>
<p>Do you know where you want to settle after grad?</p>
<p>Fwiw, CofC while a state school in SC has a very large % OOS and a decent Jewish population…</p>
<p>Elon’s top states of enrollment are Mass, Md and Nj…strong Hillel…</p>
<p>This also depends where in Nj you grew up; if you are in a very large Jewish community where everyone is very “New York Centric”, Ithaca may be the best place for you; oodles of Ny/Nj kids (I’m thinking Livingston type town)…</p>
<p>If you are in a more diverse community with many religions etc, you might prefer one of your other choices…</p>
<p>Size isn’t a big issue for me. I’d like to have a good relationship with my professors, but it’s not on the top of my list. I have visited all except Elon, which was just a quick drive- through. I was not accepted to Park, I applied as Undecided, but I could take classes at Park while trying to figure out what to do. I have no idea where I want to settle and my high school is almost 100% white, very affluent, I only know of two other Jews here. I’d like a little more diversity.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend a visit to Elon prior to decision making; your enrollment deposit for Spring Orientation is refundable prior to May 1st…</p>
<p>My daughter had all three schools on her list. She is at Elon…while she really liked Ithaca, she felt more comfortable in NC…she ended up not applying to Colorado ( way too large; not enough interaction with professors), was accepted ED to Elon and EA to CofC…</p>
<p>Just so you know, the large majority of the people (faculty, administration) we have met at Elon are transplants from the North, Midwest and New England…</p>
<p>Again, if you don’t want to commit to orientation weekend, there is a Phoenix Friday scheduled in April before you make a decision…PM me if you would like to talk to a current student…even if you don’t visit…</p>
<p>Almost 15 flights in and out of Newark daily, btw, or, alternatively, if you live closer to Phila, you are very lucky…southwest flies in and out of Raleigh…</p>
<p>Here’s a rundown of the social scene of Boulder: Lots of hippies, lots of skiiers/snowboarders, lots of weed, lots of partying and lots of preppy girls that never got through the high school phase. On the flip side, it is a BEAUTIFUL campus and has some great academics. Definitely a plus if you love snow, snow sports and the outdoors. I’m sure there are people there that don’t fit into the above categories (there are always exceptions), those are just some of the main social themes I have encountered on my many visits to Boulder (I lived very close to Boulder for three years). As for the other schools, not a clue. :)</p>
<p>I live near Charleston, and a lot of our high schools seniors go there. I’ve been on a lot of their visits with some older friends just to go to charleston, but the campus is beautiful and there are tons of restraunts/shops all within walking distance. The downsides are the lack of parking (and if you do find a spot, it’s like $10 for the spot) and there’s not a football team. Everyone I know that goes there absolutely loves it. CofC is basically just a big party school, it’s the top in SC (I think). If you want a more laid back school check out Charleston Southern. It’s still big, has D1 sports, and is good academically.
Hope this helped & good luck!</p>
<p>Elon is known for producing wonderful graduates with a strong work ethic and socially conscious people. They are also HUGE into study abroad and almost force you to do it. </p>
<p>Communications at Elon is top drawer and they have strong connections in New York with networks, and in Atlanta with CNN. </p>
<p>Burlington/Greensboro are somewhat sleepy, but if you look around there are great restaurants and things to do, as well as not being too far from the NC mtns, and the NC beaches. There are party animals at every college. Elon has some. But overall its a very good academic school with a strong mission statement and they say what they do. </p>
<p>At Elon, you wont be a number, but your professors will know you very well and mentor you. Nice people.</p>
<p>im from nj oo. i have been to denver a couple of times to see bronco games, and colordao weathers pretty awesome… but in all seriousness a ton of ppl from my school apply to c of c and a few have gone there and seem to like ti and it is a good school academically. CU is definitely ht best school on this list with best academics and probably has largest alumni support… elon and ithaca are cool too.</p>