<p>I am a high school senior from New York and I was accepted at UNC, along with many other schools. </p>
<p>I think that I want to go there, but I am a little bit unsure. It will cost me $30,000 a year and I will have to take out student loans to pay for it. But at Elon, I was accepted into the honors program and it will cost me $20,000 a year.</p>
<p>I don't know what to do. I love UNC because it is an amazing school with a big sports program. But, at Elon, I am in the honors program and it is cheaper for me.</p>
<p>I am trying to look at the big picture, thinking that it would be easier to get into grad school coming from UNC, but on the other hand, I don't want to be paying the bills for the rest of my life. I feel like my gut is telling me to go to UNC, but I just don't know what to do.</p>
<p>I also have a full ride at a school in New York (Hofstra), which I really don't want to take.</p>
<p>khizzle, both are good schools. Elon has strengths also--you have the opportunity to form close relationships with professors due to the smaller class sizes and smaller student body--good recs for grad school are important too. I had a son graduated from Elon in business and a daughter in law from Chapel Hill in anthropology. What major(s) are you considering? Feel free to PM me with any specific questions if you think I can help in some way.</p>
<p>In your case, those two schools have totally different enviroments. I would choose based on whether you're looking for a large school or a small school. Just think about where you'd be happier. Both are great schools!</p>
<p>Elon is a very nice school, with a lovely campus, but it is simply not on the same academic level as UNC. I can't tell you how many in-state kids I know who went there, because they couldn't get into UNC, and the ones I know who went there were simply not academically strong students--not by a long shot. Elon has a beautiful campus, is especially strong in musical theatre, and is gaining more national recognition every year, but I really think you're talking apples and oranges here with these 2 schools. Frankly, I'd worry that Elon wouldn't be academically challenging enough--just to be honest here. </p>
<p>I've hesitated posting anything like this, because people on CC are very enamored with this school and seem to equate it with other privates (like Davidson and Wake Forest) and with a top public, like UNC-CH, and Elon just isn't even on the same plane as any of these schools--just vastly different--not only in size, but in quality (academically) of the student body. </p>
<p>Again, it's a very nice small private school with a gorgeous campus, and students seem to really love it there, but these 2 schools are very different. I can't imagine a student loving both. You really need to visit, if you haven't already--and just choose based on fit. Sit in on some classes, too. And if musical theatre is your thing, definitely go to Elon. Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>^^I second what jack said. I'm not sure exactly why northerners seem to think Elon is on the same level academically as Davidson and Wake. While I haven't attended any of these schools so I can't say much about the comparison of their specific programs, I definitely assure you that the caliber of student accepted is not nearly similar.</p>
<p>What are the average high school GPA and SAT scores of Elon freshmen?
The middle 50 percent of Elon's incoming freshmen had a 3.5 - 4.4 high school GPA. The middle 50 percent SAT range was 1140 - 1280.</p>
<p>From UNC website:
Middle 50% scored between 1210 and 1380</p>
<p>It's really not radically different. And the honors program at Elon will put the OP with the "cream of the crop". I think it comes down to which school fits with the personality of the student, financial considerations, and possible majors (then look at strength of that dept.).</p>
<p>You can't use the average SAT's as an indicator of the two classes being comparable because statistically, it's a number's game that class size dictates. There are more students in an incoming class at UNC well above those numbers than students in the entire incoming freshman class at Elon. The average scores at UNC are brought down by the sheer number of students in the pool which also includes recruited athletes.</p>
<p>khizzle</p>
<p>I am probably the last person who would recommend spending more and incurring additional debt if all things were equal (or even close), which in this case, they are not. Elon is a very good school and an up and comer but simply not in anywhere near the same league as UNC from a national recognition perspective. As jack said, unless you are considering musical theater, a UNC degree will do far more than one from Elon. </p>
<p>The college environments and thus undegrad experience are vastly different as well. Elon is far more conservative, has far more dependence on the Greek scene for it's social activities and is far more limited in availablilty of fields of study.</p>
<p>Again echoing jack, I would be very concerned about the lack of academic challenge at Elon since you are an OOS student accepted at UNC. In our part of the world, Elon is considered a safety school for anyone qualified for UNC.</p>
<p>According to UNC's web site, only 92.1% of the incoming 2006 class reported a high school GPA; of that, over 85% of that class had a GPA of 4.0 or higher (which suggests that the majority have taken a lot of AP classes). The average GPA was 4.37, and over 76% ranked in the top 10% of their class; 39% ranked in the top 10. And, for what it's worth, there seems to be a big difference to me in those SAT scores quoted above. In addition, UNC has a much bigger population than Elon, so difficult to compare w/regard to these scores.</p>
<p>I'm just saying that the students in the honors program at Elon may not be as academically strong overall as the students at UNC (in honors or not).
The students I know who went to Elon applied and could not get into UNC-CH in-state. I just think it might be something the OP should consider--most especially given that he/she was accepted out-of-state, which is a very difficult acceptance, and suggests that he/she is very strong academically.</p>
<p>That said, Elon is a good school with some strong departments, I'm sure, and a beautiful campus. And students absolutely <em>do</em> love it there. The "Elon bubble" is talked about quite a lot. Again, I would encourage the OP to visit both campuses, if possible, and try to sit in on classes. And, yes, I agree about the financial considerations--obviously no small factor.</p>
<p>I really have to echo what jack said. I'm in state for Chapel Hill, and every year the only kids I know who go to Elon were the ones who were rejected from Chapel Hill. I am sure that it happens, but I have never heard of anyone I know taking Elon over Chapel Hill. I have also heard a lot of complaints about where it's located. There just isn't that much to do in the town surrounding Elon. My brother's friend transferred from Elon to Rutgers for that very reason.</p>
<p>For me, that decision would be a no brainer. But I know it's more difficult with that, especially with some money. I'd still think of UNC Chapel Hill as a better investment of my money, though.</p>
<p>I totally agree with Jack and eadad. All 3 kids from my d's school (in NC) who are going to Elon, applied to UNC, but did not get accepted. One kid also applied to N.C. State and was denied there as well. I also agree that you should visit the schools if at all possible. We started out over a year ago thinking that my d would probably be happier and more successful at a small private university. After a few visits; Duke, Davidson, Furman, W&L, etc. she knew that type enviroment wasn't what she was looking for in a college. We visited several large universities after that and she felt and liked the difference in the large campus enviroment, but as soon as she attended Carolina 101 last spring, she pretty much knew, like her dad has always told her: She's a Tar Heel born & bred!</p>
<p>UNC and Elon are completely different schools..Elon is becoming known as one of the hottest schools around and is truly a community where one can mature and advance with close guidance. Just because it is not a big name does mean the professors will not provide academic vigor, in fact because of the close relationships with their students they will be able to uniquely fit ones needs.</p>
<p>There are advantages to a smaller school like Elon: There are only professors teaching, no TAs; you will not be in a class of hundreds (the largest class size is about 40), and you will have ample oppurtunites for undergrad research. I may be a little biased because my daughter goes there (she was accepted at several good schools and Elon was the best fit for her). She chose Elon for the above and the small size, and loves it there.</p>
<p>At my school, there is something of an understanding that everyone who applies to Elon is accepted. Many of the people I know who are going to Elon were not accepted to UNC.</p>
<p>I'm instate and yes Elon is a good school with a beautiful campus, but it is not academically as prestigious as UNC, Wake Forest, or Davidson. Also the town it is in (elon, nc) is near Burlington, NC...there isn't much to do there...its about 45 minutes from UNC-Chapel Hill I would say, but Burlington area is boring.</p>
<p>Elon is known to be "rich" "frat" oriented community, at least from what I've heard. and yea, not many people turn down UNC for Elon unless they have a big scholarship.</p>
<p>I know 10,000 is a lot of debt, but u have to consider ur future. I would almost say that Elon would be a safety for me (and my stats are above average instate, but probably worse than urs if u got into UNC oos).</p>
<p>just something to think about. I mean u won't go wrong either way, but if I had to choose...</p>
<p>How can you say Elon is better academically? Their strengths are business and theatre, and Chapel Hill has one of the best business schools in the country, so I guess Elon's only advantage is theatre. And as for every other academic concentration, Chapel Hill is stronger than Elon. </p>
<p>I think you're just harboring some resentment over your rejection from Chapel Hill</p>
<p>Carolina's basketball team is getting better. Thus, athlectically Carolina's team is better than Elon's. Academically, by contrast, Elon is far better. Jmho.</p>