<p>A CC poster and mother w/ two at Elon sent me a PM suggesting I look at the Elon student reviews on a newer review cite ( won't post the name b/c the mods seem to redact that type of info) which she though presented a more accurate view of the school. </p>
<p>Because the PM and several posts on this thread suggested that any reliance on the PR description was misplaced b/c that info was outdated or inaccurate, I was surprised by how similar the current student reviews were to the PR description. The words "rich," "country club," abound as do references to drinking and the importance of Greek like. The three most common complaints about the school: lack of diversity, snooty rich kids, being located in the middle nowhere (terms from the reviews - - not my assessment). There were also comments about the prevalence expensive clothing. </p>
<p>The student reviewers overwhelmingly give Elon high marks, so for them and no doubt many others the positive aspects outweigh the negatives. But the PR description is not as off-the-wall as posters here have suggested.</p>
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But the PR description is not as off-the-wall as posters here have suggested.
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<p>But the point is that without visiting and spending some time seeing for yourself you are basing your decision on third-hand and second-hand anecdotal evidence, a miscalculation made by many on CC about many schools, both positive and negative.</p>
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<li><p>most decision on trimming the prelim list or determining whether to visit necessarily rely on second-hand info and anecdotal accounts (in conjunctin with CDS and other statistical data); and</p></li>
<li><p>even a visit provides only a quick glimpse that is rarely an accurate or reliable portrayal of what it would be like day-in and day-out for four years, but again it's better than nothing and you have to work with what you have.</p></li>
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<p>If you're deciding not to consider a school because it has 'a lot of rich kids' or because of greek life or because of the gender ratios, you're going about your college search in completely the wrong way.</p>
<p>And for the record, the class of 2010 is 50/50 boys/girls. The gender differences, along with many of the assessments are, in fact, outdated.</p>
<p>No, I think the male/female ratio is current. The class of 2012, from Elon's website, is 60-40, as was the class of 2011. 2010 might be an anomaly. But the bigger issue I have with that statistic is that it seems to be widespread and not really an "Elon thing". Most schools fall somewhere in the 55/45 -- 60/40 range. </p>
<p>I any event, I agree with NYC that in the absence of unlimited funds, SOMETHING has to be used to narrow down a list. I wouldn't rely solely on PR or any other publication, but using a broad selection of guides, going to college nights, talking to admissions people, reading boards like this, etc. is certainly appropriate. I really don't think that eliminating a college because of its demographic profile is all that unusual. Elon is about at the high end of my son's "Greek life on campus" scale. I can guarantee you that DePauw or Washington & Lee would never have gotten a second glance from him. And all that's OKAY!</p>
<p>I was told by the admissions department at another college that 58% of the current college applicant pool in our nation is comprised of women. This helps to explain the gender differential. Also wonder if the fact that Elon used to be a teachers' college plays into the male/female ratio, ie., from the standpoint that historically, more women were teachers and Elon's reputation with aspiring educators was/still is strong? Would also add that from our personal experience with the choices made by our friends' children, more men than women seem to be drawn to larger state schools.</p>
<p>I don't know why, but 60/40 seems to be the tipping point - - the point at which female students complain about the ratio. Also, in the case of Elon, I'm certain that being somewhat isolated exagerates the imbalace.</p>
<p>Elon is big enough that any perceived advantages from sex ratios aren't a significant factor. It isn't like Elon used to be an all girls school like Goucher or anything.</p>
<p>The common date set from Elon (2008-2009) shows that of the men who applied (3301), 1567 were admitted - or 47% admitted. For women, 6133 applied and 2423 were admitted - or 39%.</p>
<p>In the private college admissions world, there is affirmative action for male students, and this is a big disadvantage for the females. Most state schools are gender blind-- it's all about the grades so females have better odds getting into the more pretigious states schools than they do w/ the private college counterpart.
I heard a professional address this topic four years ago and said this is indeed a concern for our nation. Why are the males not applying to obtain a higher education? Some theories are emulatation the music, mtv culture and professional sports, (additonally male birth rate population is lower about 1%). "looking for the quick bucks" Scary stuff.</p>
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Elon sounds like a great place from some of the books I've read but what can a current or recent student tell me?</p>
<p>What do the kids do for fun? Is there any diversity? What's a typical Elon student all about? Do you have to visit the school to be accepted? Are the dorms nice?
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<p>I am currently a freshmen at Elon and I can tell you that it is a great place!</p>
<p>As far as what kids do for fun, I can say that for the vast majority of weekends, or sometimes Wednesdays/Thursdays, people go out to either a house party or to one of the few small bars that are close to Elon. </p>
<p>Probably 90% of the parties I go to at Elon are controlled by any given campus fraternity. Although, it seems like the places I usually end up are slightly off campus. As far as drinking, I would say that most students do drink quite a bit, but I have met many people (particularly some girls) who I was surprised to find out do not drink at all, or drink very little, although they will still go out on the weekends. </p>
<p>You do not have to visit the school to be accepted, although I hear it helps. </p>
<p>The dorms are....dorms. Some are old buildings, but they are clean and reasonable for the most part. I live in Smith which is known as the worst dorm to live in at Elon cleanliness wise, and it's not that bad. </p>
<p>I would say although the typical Elon student does plenty of partying, they always put academics first. Even some of the heaviest drinkers/procrastinators I know still manage to get things together when it counts.</p>