<p>A complaint I hear about Elon is that it’s too easy. Heard that from a few kids from my sons HS. They say that HS was tougher. They like the social life though.</p>
<p>What I hear from those who know, is that Elon is a love it or hate it kind of place. I also know that the first semester of any college can be a really hard transition, and that in general how a student feels at the end of the first semester is not necessarily how they will feel at the end of their freshman year.</p>
<p>If my child was unhappy at college at this point, I’d suggest they fill out transfer applications at the same time they try to get more involved in activities and see if they find their place.</p>
<p>kierans – thank you for posting your daughter’s feelings and concerns. FWIW, it actually just confirms my view that Elon would be a good place for my son. We visited the school in November, and I think it would be a great place for him. He struggles to get Bs in high school, and if he found Elon manageable (I don’t think it would be easy for him), I think/hope he might come into his own and actually like school for a change. Plus he’s Mr Social, so the Greek aspect is right up his alley.</p>
<p>I’m sorry your D isn’t loving it there, but I agree – “the perfect school” doesn’t exist. She is lucky she has you to vent to (even though it makes us moms worry). She might find that going through the transfer application process might be a good thing for her (and she might end up choosing to stay at Elon). </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Kierans-</p>
<p>This post intrigued me because I myself am a freshman Elon student with the same complaint. I am in the Fellows program- but I came from a VERY intense public high school in the top classes and find myself bored in many classes, with very little challenges. As someone who loves academics and learning, this was a huge upset for me. But I have found ways to enhance the learning process in spite of the easy classes. I have visited the Career Development Center and started planning for internships, I have met with professors during office hours and started the ideas for research and I also volunteer my time with CCM and many other organizations. </p>
<p>Greek life is very big at Elon, but it is something that doesn’t seem to fit for me, and I am happy I found a group of people that share my interests and are fun to be around. I am actually a part of Catholic Campus Ministries (thanks for the compliment on the thread) and I found a lot of my friends through that and other club sports and programs I am involved in. I empathize with your daughter and I hope that she can find her niche at Elon. I have found that attitude changes everything and if you actively participate in clubs and things that interest you- it is amazing how many people you will meet. </p>
<p>Best wishes for you daughter</p>
<p>The update includes some good news and bad news. </p>
<p>The good news is that, like playourpart, my daughter has become involved in some challenging activities that have her excited and engaged in academics and meeting other people more like herself.</p>
<p>The bad news is that her living situation has deteriorated to the point where it is intolerable. That’s not an Elon thing though; it could have happened anywhere. I am proud that she’s taking steps to move to a different dorm next semester. It will be tough to start all over again in the middle of the year, but she’s historically had lots of friends and generally gets along with people, so I’m hopeful a fresh start is all she needs.</p>
<p>Thanks for your thoughts and advice.</p>
<p>Kierans, so glad she’s finding her niche. 
Keep us updated. </p>
<p>You’re right, the living situation can be a problem anywhere; but several of my friends’ kids have had the similar situations improve dramatically after a change in dorm/roommate etc. in the middle of freshman year. I’m hoping this is the case with your D. If you’ve learned anything about the roommate or dorm selection process through all this I would love to hear your insights. Our D is going to be a freshman there next year so we’re about to go through all that.</p>
<p>kierans - that sounds like great news to me! I hope she is much happier in her new dorm situation. Please update us and let us know how it goes.</p>
<p>If I may ask, where are you from? This seems to be a trend I see where out-of-state kids, particularly from.the north have high expectations of Elon when it has only a decent reputation (getting better) in the south and especially in North Carolina itself. From my experience with Elon undergrads and graduates, I am not surprised by your daughter’s experience. </p>
<p>After reading the thread, I’m glad your daughter is doing better and found her group. Good luck to her!</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID X2 using CC</p>
<p>I think if she had it to do over again, she would choose to live in a learning community or substance free housing. I suspect that kids who choose those situations are more likely to be serious about academics. I’m sure there are serious students in all the dorms but she just happened to be placed with a group that is all about partying and drinking and just so not like her and I think she would have increased her chances of finding her people sooner if she’d chosen to live with people who shared an academic interest.</p>
<p>SillyStokey, we are from the north, but overall are still impressed with Elon, in spite of the rocky start. And even though my d has had some rough times, she truly is excited about the academic program now and getting involved in some interesting stuff.</p>
<p>Through it all, she has continued to insist that she doesn’t want to transfer. </p>
<p>Fingers crossed, I think this is going to be ok.</p>
<p>SillyStokey92 - I’m from NC and when people remember Elon from years ago, they are thinking of a totally different school than exists today. But admittedly there are still people around here who remember it when it was just a teachers school. Most people who knew of Elon 30, 20 or even 10 years ago would not recognize the changes in the campus and academics. </p>
<p>You might want to read Transforming a College:
[Book</a> review: Transforming a College | University Advancement](<a href=“http://universityadvancement.net/2010/06/book-review-transforming-a-college/]Book”>Book review: Transforming a College | The University Advancement Blog)</p>
<p>“ The Story of a Little-Known College’s Strategic Climb to National Distinction is both an interesting and insightful case study about Elon College (now Elon University), which rose from relative obscurity and ordinary status in the 1970s to become, according to many, among the country’s finer institutions for student-oriented undergraduate education”.</p>
<p>[Elon</a> University Rankings and Recognitions](<a href=“Elon University - America’s Top-Ranked Teaching University”>Elon University / About Elon / Rankings & Recognition)</p>
<p>Anyhow… Great School Now… And most people who have looked at colleges lately love Elon.</p>
<p>I just wanted to give an update on my daughter. She’s been home for the last week for spring break and it’s clear that things are going much, much better for her this semester in her new dorm. Her classes this semester are challenging too, and she’s making plans and having fun. I hope I didn’t turn anybody off to Elon based on her early experience. I think she was just having some freshman adjustment and roommate issues that she might have had at any school.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the update. I had been wondering about her. So happy to hear that it has worked out well second semester!</p>
<p>I’m so glad I found this thread! My senior daughter is deciding between Elon and Maryland…I know, I know, polar opposites but she just can’t decide. Loves the school spirit, greek system of a large university but also enjoys a smaller classroom, knowing your professors and going abroad opportunities that Elon affords.</p>
<p>Glad it worked out kierens! If it makes you (or anyone else) feel better, I work in a high school and this story - “classes are too easy, can’t find kids I like” - is not at all unusual from first semester college freshmen regardless of where they are at college. Second semester is often different story. </p>
<p>At Christmas a freshman from Univ of Richmond said her courses were too easy, the professors were boring and the kids weren’t serious students. Same student just came back to visit again during her spring break - much better classes and profs, got involved in the right groups and found “her” people. Now she loves it. A freshman at Columbia told us she has less academic stress now than she had at our rigorous high school! My D at Elon had several friends who completed transfer applications after first semster and were accepted for transfer at some good schools (Boston College, UNC-CH) during their first year at Elon who ultimately changed their minds and stayed at Elon.</p>