hey i’m a high school junior and i’m really interested in elon right now!! i went on the tour and it sounded and looked great but when i researched it more at home it sounded like a big party school for rich white conservative kids. Is that true? If I’m not the biggest partier are there other things people do there? Are there people that aren’t that stereotype/is that really the majority of students? Thanks!!
Hi @lirice,
Elon is definitely majority white, with that percentage of the population falling around 80%. Many of these students also happen to be from privileged backgrounds, but there are definitely people here who are not considered wealthy by any means as well. There is a decent conservative population, but there are also many liberals as well. Most of the students are from the northeast, where it is majority liberal. From what I understand, most of the student body identifies as Independent/moderate. I have friends who come from many different backgrounds and have many different political views, and I think that’s great 
There are definitely kids that don’t go out. I’d say about 40ish% of the people I know don’t party. I personally go out, which I definitely recommend trying at least a couple times if you do go here, just to get a sense if it’s right for you. If you don’t like going out, there’s many things to do on and off campus.
There’s Turner Theatre, the on-campus theatre that’s about a 5 minute walk from where I live. They put on movies every weekend, some of which are hosting by Student Union Board (SUB), and they’re VERY GOOD usually. I just recently saw Crazy Rich Asians and Searching, both of which I loved. These movies are free, and when SUB hosts, free popcorn and candy are available as well.
There’s also many different clubs to join, including political ones, relay for life, ElonTHON, SUB (which organizes events like movies and concerts), career oriented ones, major oriented ones, club sports, fun ones (think outdoor adventures, cooking, ball room dance, yoga, etc.), religious organizations, and a wide variety of greek life. The regular, panhellenic greek life rushes in January, and I plan on rushing then, but if that’s not for you, I know there’s also honors greek life, community service greek life, pre-professional greek life, biology greek life, etc.
The gym also offers unlimited workout classes for just $20 paid once per semester. I have taken spin, yoga, zumba, pilates, and kickboxing, but many many others are available as well and all are very fun.
There are also a wide variety of events on campus going on all the time. I saw a guy come talk about the dangers of Facebook and how it can be used for bad. There’s chorale concerts and acapella performances and dance shows and public speakers and plays and so so much more. They’re going on around campus.
We also have Oak House in downtown Elon. Oak House is a bar (I’ve heard it’s great to go to once you turn 21!) but they also put on other events. We went to a cool painting class once, and another time we went to a latin dance themed night.
Finally, we also have LLCs (Living Learning Communities). These are certain areas in residence halls dedicated to students with certain interests. There’s a substance-free one, where you can definitely meet other students who don’t like going out as no alcohol/drugs of any sorts are allowed. There’s outdoor learning which involves hiking/outdoor excursions. There’s major specific ones like biology and communications. It’s a great way to meet likeminded people and get to do special organized events with them if that’s your thing!
That’s just on campus stuff - Greensboro is about 20 minutes away, Raleigh/Durham is about 50, Charlotte is about three hours. If you or you have a friend with a car, you can easily make these trips at night or on the weekend. There’s also the beach which is 2ish hours away and the mountains which are 2 1/2 hours away. Chapel Hill area is also nearby. There’s so much to do in these cities and locations and I definitely recommend exploring all North Carolina has to offer if you can. Pretty beaches, museums (ones in Raleigh/Durham are FREE), civil war era sites, restaurants, hanging rock, nature, etc.
Also, keep in mind that I’m a first semester freshman, so I probably still have much, much more to discover to do that I haven’t already
Whether it’s Elon or another school, I wish you lots of luck in the college application process and who knows, maybe we’ll be welcoming you to the family in a year!
@hopefulgirl3 That was an excellent post and so helpful
I have a couple questions if you know…Do you know about how Elon works with getting internships or research for sciences? Are students pretty much on their own or is there a career fair where employers come out? Any info on kids doing the pre-med track?
How prevalent is fraternities/sororities…what if don’t want to join? Can students find good friend groups without that? Lastly, is there any decent clubs on campus for church groups?
Thanks!
Since I’m only a freshman, I’m not sure about internships quite yet - although I am a bio major
To get an internship, you can ask professors you’re close to, find one on your own, or go the center that specializes in that (career center I believe?). Doing undergrad research is typically with a professor’s guidance so you’d most likely communicate with them as well in that case.
There have been multiple career and pre-professional school fairs here within the first semester. I know there was a med school/PT/PA/nursing grad school fair with many reps a couple months ago. Employer fairs are often, probs 2-3x a semester.
I’m on the pre-med track (called the pre-health track here). There is a prehealth email list with information on such fairs and lectures and meetings that could be of importance to us as well. You automatically get put on this if you check prehealth interest when picking your courses for freshman year. Many students I’ve met are pre-med here but I wouldn’t say there’s a high pressure environment where you feel competitive- more like you want to all help each other succeed Professors try not to weed out and will support you even if your GPA is not up to standards - biggest class that kids change from being pre-health is gen chem instead of orgo.
As for greek life, about 1/3 of the guys and 60ish% of girls are affiliated. I think it’s great and you should rush to at least get a sense if it’s for you - it helps in networking and for leadership positions - also just fun - but if it’s not I know many upperclassmen who are unaffiliated. As I mentioned above there’s lots of other stuff to do.
As for religious stuff, I know we have a great Catholic Campus Ministry group. They host fun events aside from religious ones, some involving dogs You can even live in a catholic LLC as a sophomore and older.
I have friends who are Jewish and do the Jewish organization here. They say it’s lots of fun and they’re all very close. There’s a Jewish frat too haha
As for other religions, not too sure, but services are always offered on campus and I’m assuming they must have something - again only a freshman
Hope this helps!
as for my summer plans as a pre-med, I’m shadowing two doctors (pediatrics and dermatology) and traveling Europe for the summer - no internships planned until later on 
Very helpful thank you!!!
@hopefulgirl3 or anyone else, any new comments on the social scene described above? A little concerned about the party school reputation I am hearing, for a nonpartier son (but he does like to have a social life). Thanks!
Why did you ask the same basic question on 4 different threads?
Trying to increase my chances for a response, I guess. If this is bad netiquette I can delete.