Parents: Do you want honest answers?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Elon University
1

If your child is considering Elon, and you have questions - please read this.

I am a mom of an Elon student. Here’s some information that I want to share to others on CC. When I was helping my son search for colleges, many friends suggested that I use CC as a resource. My son was a B student (more like a B+ or A-, but I considered him a B student as he did not have any AP courses). His ec’s were on the weak side. So I thought as a “package” he would be considered a B student. And I assumed he would have excellent letters as he had a bunch of teachers with whom he had good relationships and he did extra work with. We are Jewish and I was told about a thread on CC for Jewish B students, although this was not the most important criteria for my family, I wanted to have as much information as possible.

To the reader: take this information however you want. If after reading it, you have any questions, I will be happy to answer. If you feel anything is biased: ignore me! I noticed that there are a small group of parents who write on these boards very frequently. A reader may believe that there is a lot of positive information about a given college, and become interested in that school; yet after careful review, one may realize that the same “few” people write so frequently that they end up having influence. Every time a new person inquires about a B school for Jewish students, the same people will put a whole bunch of wonderful replies about Elon (and a few other schools too - I am not mentioning the others as this is an Elon forum). The same few parents reply to many (if not all) Elon questions on this forum too. I do not agree with many of their comments, and neither does my son who is there. However, the reason for my post is more to raise the awareness, that there is definitely a degree of influence by these frequent posters. In fact, the Hillel at Elon actually has a relationship with these families and has appreciated their “marketing” help. Please understand I am not saying it is a bad thing - I am saying be aware that it may seem like there is a great deal of satisfaction among B student parents about Elon, when in fact it is a very small group. I wish I had realized this during my search as I somehow believed information that I no longer do.

By the way - I think these few parents are delighted with Elon. I do not think they are sugar-coating anything; it is their opinions. They consistently comment how they want to raise awareness of this school. Again, these are their truthful opinion, my point is that it is a small group with a loud voice.

My opinion is much different. Socially, academically,etc. I do not want to be all negative, so I would rather let you know that I am willing to answer specific questions as honestly as I can. For parents of students above B: this is a B student school, in my opinion. Not that my opinion is all negative - this is not my point.

Also - I notice on CC that when one has negative opinions, replies always consider the poster “sour grapes”, or whatever expression. What is the point of a resource, if only positive opinions are accepted? I wish I had gathered more (and different) opinions rather than merely positive ones.

2

I’m sorry, I do not understand your point nor your thread. Are you saying you have private insider information you are willing to share if people want to know and they can private message you? Why so secretive?

3

I feel I understand the OP’s comments. To be predictably successful in many of life’s critical decisions, it really boils down to due diligence. Like I tell my kids when they come to me with a long-winded recital of new information…please report the source and the sources credibility reflective to the subject of which you are speaking. Some learn this life skill sooner than others. Fortunately, for college students many of these errant life decisions can be resolved with minimal collateral damage ~ with unplanned pregnancy being a major exception. Sometimes, even with reasonable due diligence…you win some and lose some. So for the OP and their student the remedy can be as simple as a college/university transfer.

4

Every parent and every student is 100% entitled to their opinion - and to like or dislike any college. No college is going to be the right fit for every B student or for every Jewish student. I am an enthusiastic Elon parent, but I would never say that Elon is the right choice for every Jewish B student. I do want to clarify that I do not have type of official, special or unique relationship with Elon or the Elon Hillel. It’s not like I am a celebrity being paid to tweet about a product! (Cool idea though!). Feel free to criticize Elon all you want.

5

I will give my 2 cents. Fwiw I am not a very frequent poster anymore, as my son is a senior. A little background—Elon, at the time, was a safety for my son. He was accepted to many schools that were, on paper, “better.” And by that I mean higher ranked, etc. However, from the beginning Elon just felt right to him. He is a laid back kid who works hard and who wanted to put more importance on experiences than hours spent in the library. So far he has studied abroad twice, finished two internships and plays in a well-respected band. He has made many great friends who are witty and accomplished and who are from every race, religion, sexual orientation etc. He is in a fraternity, but is not the “fraternity type” in the stereotypical sense. There is no hazing, they give back to the community, they have to maintain a certain GPA, and their motto is “Building Better Men.”

Like Rockvillemom says, everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, opinions posted on CC should be taken with a grain of salt. The forums on CC cannot replace visiting Elon and getting a feel for the school in person. Spend a night, sit down with a current student, visit various departments. There is no One Size Fits All when it comes to college. And there is no sure-fire way to really know if a school is right until a student has experienced it first-hand. Unfortunately it doesn’t always work out and a student feels the need to transfer. However, students(or their parents) should not bash a school they transfer from. After all, there must have been a valid reason they chose it in the first place? My son has thrived during his time at Elon, and we couldn’t be happier.

6

Reading these responses has solidified what troubles me about this post. By offering to give “honest answers”, there is an implication that the posters who are positive about Elon are not giving “honest answers”. It’s perfectly acceptable to have a conflicting opinion, and to have had a negative experience, and to want to inform others. But that doesn’t mean other posters answers are less “honest”.

7

It appears FriendsFan and CB45678 are not loving Elon. Are you one in the same? My advice is don’t pick your college based upon College Confidential.

8

OP, this thread would be much more useful if you would actually post your opinions. I agree that families searching fro colleges benefit from gathering a range of opinions, not just positive or just negative. If you really want to help families avoid your experience of relying too heavily on the opinions of a few enthusiastic posters, then please describe the experiences you/your son has had with Elon.

9

My only comment back concerns the B statement. Did a lot of research before my son went to Elon. Even had a couple of heads from Departments from other schools give advice on the whole rating deal. Elon is a highly rated school now. But as a professor at another school told me, look to the teachers, are the people teaching the class Professors with a PHD or a TA, Elon provides a high number of real professors. My son was accepted to other schools, one Ivy League school. He choose Elon. Yes B students can do well at Elon as well as A students.

10

Love to hear what you have to say! We like to weight all opinions…
How do I contact you?

11

As the mother of a freshman boy, I can chime in with a mostly positive, but mixed, review. My son took all Honors and some AP classes in high school, ended up as a B/B+ student with high test scores. He did not apply to any reaches. He felt attracted to Elon from the time we visited; in the end it was between Elon and U. Miami, which we nixed because they didn’t offer quite enough aid.

The pluses: He seems very happy, made tons of friends, and got involved quickly with activities, like doing a radio show. He also is working on campus at a job he likes with a boss he loves.

Less positively, in his first semester, he felt the teaching overall was not as good as at his (public) high school–though he did say all of his instructors were very nice and helpful. In some classes, he felt some of the students weren’t particularly academically-minded (he’s not been one to be judgmental about this in the past). He was initially overwhelmed by how many wealthy students there are and knows no one else on work-study.

However, so far this semester, the classes seem to be more interesting, and hopefully this will continue to be the case as he progresses.

So far, I would say it has proved to be mostly a good fit for him.

12

naggymom - my son has work study - so now you “know” someone else! I find that if you look at private universities in general - not just Elon - you see a lot of wealthy students. My older son attended Wake Forest - and with the $60,000/year pricetag - lots of very wealthy families. One of his funniest observations was junior year - he lived in an 8 person suite - and commented to me that he was the only one of the 8 whose family did not own a beach house, ski resort condo, or both! But it really didn’t bother him - and he enjoyed some perks. I do think there are plenty of middle class students (like my sons) at both schools - it’s just that the wealthy students - like the party animals - tend to be more conspicuous.

13

I have to add - I love work study or having a job on campus in general. Both of my sons worked throughout college - son at Elon has 2 on campus jobs - and I feel it helps them budget their time and not waste hours, in addition to helping them cover some expenses. I also believe it builds character and responsibility. Not ashamed or embarrassed by it in any way.

I would also agree that as they move into sophomore and junior years and are taking higher level classes and more classes in their major - the academics becomes more challenging and the students are more focused.