<p>When I posted that the two students with whom I was familiar “were not the brightest students”, that is & was accurate, but referenced only those two & not all Elon students. Nevertheless, OP’s daughter has complained about the lack of academic rigor at Elon, so the comment is relevant.
As I noted above, it really depends upon what one wants from college.
Students at WFU, Duke & Georgia Tech bust themselves with very demanding coursework & get heavily recruited for good jobs.
OP’s daughter applied ED to Elon. I find this unusual for an apparently very well qualified & well prepared student when Elon’s admittance rate is about 60%. This left OP’s daughter with no other option. This was not a wise use of the ED option. If OP is paying tuition–as opposed to attending on full scholarship–then she should demand more for her money academically. Employers are aware of the varying degrees of academic rigor at different schools & recruit accordingly. Again, all comes down to what OP’s optionless daughter wants & expects from her college experience. And it seems that she is concerned with what she has found so far. OP: Listen to your daughter’s concerns.</p>
<p>After rereading OP"s original post in this thread, I think that OP’s daughter should create other options.</p>
<p>RVM where are you???</p>
<p>Ok, I think it’s time for Axelrod to move on. He clearly does not have a student at Elon nor is he interested in Elon, based on his lofty opinions. </p>
<p>My son also came from a very rigorous high school and he too found his core classes to be on the easy side. That does not mean all of his classes will be easy, nor does it mean that Elon is not academically challenging. He would have been well prepared for freshman year at any school, and he chose Elon over many other schools because he felt it was the right fit(and it is). I am confident he will be well-prepared for the future by the time he graduates–and if Axelrod cares to browse the Elon website I think he will find ample evidence of this. </p>
<p>Seems to me that the OP’s daughter is having more of an issue socially, based on the roommate situation. Soph year gets better–they choose to room with someone they know and are comfortable with, they have more dorm choices, etc…Freshman year can be tough on even the most self-confident kids.</p>
<p>Just a quick comment on the comparison between Wake Forest and Elon. The workload at Wake is immense and leaves less time for other pursuits. My son at Wake has done well academically, but has not been able to study abroad and other than some recreational sports, he has not been very involved in clubs. (He does have a demanding campus job).</p>
<p>Son at Elon has already had a more varied experience - becoming involved in several clubs, religious groups and rec. sports. Also planning to pledge a frat. Will go abroad next January and probably the following as well. Going on a community service trip to Florida during fake break. He wanted a college experience that embraced learning beyond the classroom, and has found that at Elon.</p>
<p>Academic rigor by itself is not the only criteria to judge a college or a college experience. And one semester of college is not enough to judge what the four year experience will be.</p>
<p>I think the OPs daughter will be just fine once she settles in a little more, develops more friendships and gets deeper into her coursework. it’s premature to panic and conclude that Elon was the wrong choice for her.</p>
<p>embracethemess, it may have been me that said that Elon is full of 2nd decile students who weren’t first decile students in hs because they were too busy captaining their sports team and running student government and singing in the school play. They are DO-ers. They want to be involved. As one tour guide told us, “The problem Elon students have is that we don’t know how to say no. We try to do everything.”</p>
<p>My son went to a more “academically rigorous” college, which was great for him. It also had a more traditional learning style. He could count on one hand the number of group projects he did in 4 years. He never had a class that incorporated service learning. And despite being a $50k LAC with a 10:1 faculty:student ratio, he had 2 or 3 intro classes with 50 - 100 students in them. Most tellingly, when he needed a reference for a job application he really wasn’t sure which professor to ask. On the other hand, as a junior at Elon, D tells me she could ask any of her professors for a recommendation and they could give her one - they KNOW her, and know her work. </p>
<p>My son went to my alma mater. I love that college. But frankly I think my somewhat-smug stuffy alma mater could learn a few things from Elon. I know we’re getting a lot more for our money at Elon.</p>
<p>That said, I think the very social atmosphere the OP referred to truly does exist at Elon, and it is probably the main reason students transfer out. My D loves her sorority, but for those who don’t enjoy a very social, very lively campus, Elon may not be a good fit. But I also agree it sounds like the OP’s daughter is going through a fairly normal adjustment.</p>
<p>^^^^
I walked and passed on by but had to come back …</p>
<p>You may or may not have intended to mean it this way but your last paragraph seems to equate “loves her sorority” with “a very social, very lively campus.”</p>
<p>The two are, in fact, not synonymous .</p>
<p>There are many people who do very much “enjoy a very social, very lively campus” but are not attracted at all with the Greek system.</p>
<p>Sorry, Golffather, didn’t mean to equate. The Greek system is a large part of the social life at Elon, but it’s certainly not the ONLY social life and there are many happy non-Greeks there. </p>
<p>For many students, Greek life provides a social life, leadership opportunities and a great source of friendship and fun. But a majority of Elon students are not affiliated with Greek organizations, and they appear to be just as happy. The Greeks just seem to be the most visible face of the social life.</p>
<p>No, I do not have any relation to Elon–quite obviously. Just reread the original post in this thread. Nothing I have written comes close to the harshness of what OP’s daughter is reported by her mother–the OP–to have said about the students, academics, & social life at Elon. These are major concerns–even more so if OP’s daughter is not on full scholarship. My viewpoint is that the daughter is better suited for a more challenging academic environment & a different social environment. Who applies ED to a college with a 60% acceptance rate when the student is very well qualified ? Making the OP, the student’s mom, feel good is not going to help the daughter. Just reread the original post. If you find those comments normal, then we just disagree.</p>
<p>If, as is often written on this website, college is about finding the right fit, then OP’s daughter needs to keep searching.</p>
<p>P.S. If it helps, this isn’t about Elon, it’s about the OP’s daughter.</p>
<p>Axelrod is clearly just interested in stirring the pot and getting everybody worked up . Lets let him have the last word and then let this thread die a merciful death. </p>
<p>Do not feed the Axel-beast.</p>
<p>You will find axelrod on A LOT of threads… and it is always the same… he tries to stir the pot by dissing LAC’s and any school that is not in the top 10. I think he is sort of a ■■■■■… he never has anything good to say. Just ignore him and move on…He was probably rejected by a top school somewhere down the line…LOL!!!</p>
<p>Wow ! Not much room for differing opinions on this thread. If you don’t like the message, sling mud at the messenger. Not a good image for this school. As I wrote earlier, this thread is about OP’s daughter, not Elon. Just read the original post in this thread. OP reports her daughter as saying some very harsh comments about Elon’s academics & Elon’s students & the campus social life. Why do posters here insist on forcing a square peg into a round hole ? Elon is a poor fit for OP’s daughter; pacifying the mother won’t help the daughter.</p>
<p>P.S. I’m beginning to feel the daughter’s pain. kieran’s: Listen to your daughter.</p>
<p>oops- bizarre behavior - thanks GolfFather - - love to write, hate to proofread (not that I would have caught that anyway…)</p>
<p>I think it is too early to tell if Elon is a poor fit for the OP’s daughter. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.</p>
<p>livesinnewjersey, no problem. 
We’ve all done it.</p>
<p>I enjoy Axelrod. He keeps it fresh ! Hey Axelrod - if you don’t mind, what are the 5 or 10…whatever…schools that you recommend. Are you pro - anti - or neutral on LAC’s ?</p>
<p>I know it’s been a while, but I have heard the EXACT same complaint from my D. She wants to find her “group” of like minded people, but just feels the ODP’s (obnoxious drunk people) take the place over. Any thoughts on how these kids can find each other? She has joined clubs but finds that no one takes anything seriously. She’s willing to stick it out through the spring, but is contemplating a transfer.</p>
<p>I’m really sorry to hear that. My son’s experience has been very different, so not sure what to suggest. Is she returning this week for the January term? The vibe should be quite different. Perhaps this will be her chance to meet new people and make some new connections.</p>
<p>andreab I’m sorry to hear this. Sometimes I think its luck of the draw, who you end up as suitemates or the group who lives on your dorm floor. </p>
<p>A couple of suggestions - D says the kids in Catholic Campus Ministries are really nice, if your D is Catholic. Another idea is to look into the Periclean Scholars program: [Periclean</a> Scholars Program](<a href=“Elon University - America’s Top-Ranked Teaching University”>Elon University - America’s Top-Ranked Teaching University)</p>
<p>Unfortunately I wouldn’t count on Winter term to make it better (unless the “ODP” are going abroad), because according to D the partying level is higher during Winter term than during fall and spring. But perhaps your D will meet some like-minded students in her Winter Term class. That’s more likely to happen if she’s signed up for an 8:30 class than an afternoon class.</p>