Daughter and I are doing a quick tour of Elon in a few weeks. We only have a few hours until we have to get back to RDU. What would you recommend to get a feel of the campus culture? Staying at Inn at Elon but arrive at midnight and leave the next afternoon. She’s an outgoing “girl next door” type (for want of a better description) with left-leaning politics. Poli sci/comms likely. Just want to be sure this could be a fit as this is our only visit. Not easy coming from Oregon and no personal contacts with knowledge of Elon. Thanks!
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The Inn at Elon is wonderful. Are you taking the tour? They do a very nice tour. Get a campus map at admissions if not. The campus is an easily walkable size. Go see the buildings you are most interested in. Have lunch at the Lakeside dining hall if you want to see what that is like. Walk over to the very nice bookstore. Elon is a cute town. You’ll enjoy it. My son wasn’t sure when he first toured, but now it’s one of the top on his list.
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Yes doing the official tour, which will also show demonstrated interest which I think they track … good idea on the food hall.
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I agree with lkbtnc! The campus tour is quite nice & should take you through the communications studios (funded in part? by news anchor Brian Williams; his son graduated from Elon). Enjoy your visit!
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There is a new Innovation Quad building for STEM that is beautiful and well worth going inside even if your D is not a STEM major. Elon has a great outdoors club. I think a student in the gym can tell your daughter more about their trips and equipment. The town of Elon is very small. Tangent is good for tacos and the Oak House is a nice coffee shop if you want to rest after walking around. The Inn at Elon is great, although it’s hard to get a reservation during peak times like Parents weekend or move in.
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I have not been to the school myself, but I know my 2 nephews love/loved it.
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Thanks, her main concern is that it may feel too remote. We looked at Bucknell but that felt too small. I’m a fan of Elon so hoping the campus will override her concerns about the smallish town.
Elon has twice as many students as Bucknell and offers a lot of events on campus. The comedian Alex Moffatt performed there recently. She could always rent a zipcar or go to other places with friends who have cars. Greensboro is not far away, with good dining options and an arena with concerts. My D has been to Chapel Hill, Duke and Charlotte (further) for a concert.
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Listen, Elon is GORGEOUS. we had a 1:1 tour during covid and not only is the campus beautiful but the students and administrators we crossed on the tour were super friendly.
But it is remote. There’s a little strip and that’s it.
It was high on my kid’s list and came right off.
So yes, now you’ll hear I’m wrong and Burlington has a Target and it’s ten minutes away.
Yes, Burlington is several miles away and that’s not the same as having things next to campus. I’ve stayed in Burlington for work and eaten in Elon and driven around and it’s just - small.
Remember your kid, not you, has to like it.
Great school, easy in…if they can get into Bucknell, they’ll have little issue at Elon, showing DI or not.
As long as she can come to her own conclusion, positive or not, it’s a worthwhile trip.
But while it’s been a long time since I’ve been in Lewisburg, if my recollection is right, there’s more there than adjacent to Elon.
Nonetheless it’s a beautiful campus and it seems like they have solid career outcomes.
Good luck whatever she decides.
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I don’t agree with the previous poster. Burlington is close and there is a campus bus so your child can go to Target, supermarkets, etc. a few miles away. I don’t think it is remote but it is not in a major city, which has its benefits too. I have a college student in a major city and the rents are two to three times higher than in the Elon area, not to mention less crime, no homeless people I have seen, etc .
I agree - Burlington is close - but not walking close. Next to campus there’s a small street of a few restaurants and that’s it.
When one has to take a bus somewhere - at least to me, that’s remote - because on an every day basis, when I hear - is it too remote I think - the student wants to walk off campus onto a neighboring street or neighborhood and have stuff to do - and at least in what I saw - that’s not Elon.
From my recollection, Bucknell has not a ton of that - but more than Elon.
So how you and I define the word remote may be different - but we are saying the same thing.
Again, and the student will ultimately decide, I, myself, personally thought Elon was gorgeous, the folks we cross friendly to us and our tour guide (they all knew one another and it was genuine) - and I thought great things. My daughter liked the campus fine - but she wanted to be in a place with things to do, etc. and its why it came off.
Ultimately, each candidate has to make that decision for themselves - all these schools are “awesome” - but not necessarily to each kid.
Good luck to the student on their tour - I hope they come to a conclusion - good or bad - that’s all that matters.
I disagree with many of your posts and characterizations about colleges. It’s not New York or Boston but it’s not rural or remote either. No need to argue with you. Good luck Bend Oregon and enjoy the Inn at Elon!
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Maybe it’s the background of the students or the location, or something else, but at least 1/3 of the students mine knows have cars. Maybe more. Lots of cars. At my older child’s school far fewer had cars with a similar setup - small stores close by and Target etc 10-15 minutes by car or bus.
It’s not Boston or New York, but it’s certainly less remote thank Bucknell, which is an hour from the closest city (Harrisburg) and not near anything else. Elon has 3 cities within an hour - Greensboro (30 minutes), Durham (30-40), and Raleigh (hour). 2 airports. You can take the train to Charlotte. Visiting Elon as an adult for work is not the same as living there as a student. They don’t need to go to stores every day!
BendOregon, I don’t have a student at Elon, but I live not too far away and my kids have friends in the area. In my opinion it’s not “remote”, but the main reason I wanted to post was because the Greensboro airport — airport code is GSO — is closer to Elon than RDU. It’s about 35 min away vs an hour for RDU so keep that in mind when you are considering travel to and from Elon.
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Is there anything going on the day you’ll be there? Maybe reach out to the departments of interest and see if anyone could meet with you or provide an additional tour. For the amount of time you have, the campus and tour will probably be enough. Oak House for coffee.
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I was just going to say this. My DD has just accepted admission. She. is planning. to bring. a car.
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One of mine attended and found a zillion things to do-when will she ever be surrounded by a village of 5k kids her age again? It is a busy campus, but my suggestion is see if anyone from your high school attends and contact them-they might take her to a meal or club meeting or practice or whatever. Mine found she learned much more about a college when parents were not around.
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Might I remind members of the forum rules: “Our forum is expected to be a friendly and welcoming place, and one in which members can post without their motives, intelligence, or other personal characteristics being questioned by others."
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/guidelines
Several posts which do not comply have been edited or deleted. I will not be entertaining further questions. Thank you.
I found this link that might help, too. https://www.elon.edu/u/student-involvement/upcoming-events/
I went to William and and Mary which has the same small town vibe of Elon. There was a small shopping center that we could take a good walk to or take the campus bus. I never felt like I had the need to leave campus very often. But I was from a farm, so even a smaller town was plenty fun. All depends on what you are used to. I expect my student will find most of his fun on campus. He won’t have a car.