I have been selected for a fellowship at Elon with a generous scholarship. I want to go into biology or chemistry, and I’m worried about doing this at Elon. I have gotten into UNC and it has always been my top choice, but I haven’t received any scholarships. With all the scholarships to Elon, it will be about $6,000 cheaper a year than UNC… which makes the decision hard. If I weren’t going into the natural sciences, it would be a no brainer, but I’m worried about not having as many options for concentrated majors, internships, research opportunities etc. Does anyone have any advice or input?
I was admitted to both schools as a transfer student and toured both. I will say that I wanted to major in communications, so I don’t know much about either school’s science programs. However, at Elon, I did take Biology courses, and (surprisingly) enjoyed them. The faculty is great, and you will get to know your science professors much better than you would at UNC. There are many opportunities to attend guest lectures, create your own research projects, and get experience as a TA. I never took chemistry, so I can’t really speak to the program.
I transferred out of a huge state college (same size as UNC), and had some issues working with UNC’s admissions team (they didn’t want to answer any questions as I hadn’t paid my deposit to attend yet). It was very important to me that I knew whether I would be able to graduate on time and see how my courses would transfer. I felt their admissions office and counselors were very much into the “you’re lucky we let you in” attitude, whereas I had long conversations with Elon employees prior to depositing and felt very confident in their program and interest in students.
Elon’s ROI in general is high, and their tuition isn’t too terrible for a private school. In the long run $6k isn’t going to make a huge difference, but you are getting a private school education. You won’t have to worry about not graduating on time, not being able to get into a class, or getting lost in the general shuffle.
Had a DD go to UNC as an out of state student. She got some aid but was an orientation counselor between her freshman and sophomore year and was an RA her last 3 years (double major) can’t remember her pay for the OC but being an RA gave her free room and board and a small weekly check. Which greatly helped us in paying! And ahe loved doing it!
Think about doing that before turning UNC down. They may be a state school but have a great reputation nationally. My DD was in a smaller major but got an undergraduate grant for research and got in to 4 nationally known grad schools and accepted the top (one in her field) in the nation. Best of luck to you!