Virginiafan13

Well Elon is really the only safety/match school that I would really like to go to. I have a few questions though just out of curiosity.

1) From those who came from smallish private schools, did you feel like Elon was just that all over again or did you feel like there were plenty of people that you didn't know and that you weren't just inside of a bubble?

2) I have visited Elon, however while the on campus food has impressed me the most out of any school, I was a little disappointed by the classic college restaurants. I'm not picky and enjoy Chiles and On the Border just as much as the next guy. However are there any non-chain restaurants that is famous to Elon students?

3) For those who graduated or went for competitive internships, did you feel like Elon's reputation was enough to keep you competitive with graduates from the likes of UNC Chapel Hill and Wake Forest?

4) I know this is a typical student question but could you say your top 5 favorite and least favorite things about Elon? Anything goes here including traditions at Elon, events or things that just aren't limited to the academic part of the school.

5) Finally this one is a little bit of a curve ball, but how fast is the internet? While this technically isn't on the top of my criteria list, it does annoy me that my high school's internet is slow. I guess because I am kind of a technical guy it is kind of a pet peeve. However this is the least important question so don't feel obligated to answer it if you don't want to.

Thanks and any help would be appreciated.

ChiDad2008

Very interesting criteria you are basing your decision on. I hope you are just trying to have discussion and not really rating the school based on chain restaurants and internet speed.

noccamtmom

Elon is top notch. It shouldn't be considered a "safety" school.

Virginiafan13

If you read what I said, I asked the questions just out of curiosity. Do you really think I would base such an important decision on internet speed? In fact, question 3 would possibly be the only question that I would really use in making my decision.

Also by no means am I calling Elon an average school. However it is by no means a reach for me nor do I or my college counselor think it is a high match. When she looked over my list, I asked her if I needed another safety. She asked me if I still planned to apply to Elon and the Public U. I said yes and then she said no, another safety would not be necessary.

Hopefully we are all happy now?

ncmentor

Elon is a funny place to define because they look for people who are going to contribute to the community and not just a lone ranger 4.0 kid (but last years students averaged a 3.96 WGPA).

The Elon bubble often comes from studying long hours in challenging courses and then not wanting to leave the campus because there is always something going on and fun people.

No chain food - but lots of variety from comfort to more formal dining (all on the meal plan).

UNC Chapel Hill and Wake Forest are always going to be noted on an application but Elon is a special school and will hold it's own, especially in the northeast. Recruiters will likely understand very well the difference between A student who choose to attend Elon instead of UNC or Wake (you understand the difference). One major diff is the amount of alumni available to help with connections UNC and Wake have large bases and Elon's is small by comparison, but it was estimated that something like 85% of Elon grads are likely to go on to grad school at some point so undergrad alumni become less important.

fast internet...

Good Luck - But if you read last years posts you will find that Elon is not safety for anyone. Because of growing demand most talented students are chosen ED / EA.

Virginiafan13

Thank you NC mentor. Exactly what I was looking for. Long answers aren't needed. These are just curiosity questions. However the answer pertaining to reputation was really good. I guess I won't think of Elon as a saftey, but more of a high match now, just so I'm not surprised come decision time.. I just know students last year who got again, that maybe had a 3.2-3.5 UW at my school that weren't even taking a rigorous course load. However they were involved in the fine arts at school which might have helped. I do have a great history with community service on my side if that helps though. I do feel lame for asking question 5 now about the internet.

Rex212

1. Yes; enough people
2. YES. Sandy's, GrillWorks, Brown & Co.
3. I haven't applied for anything yet though whenever I tell people I go to Elon, they are impressed...
4. Too lazy, I will come back and answer this one
5. Incredibly fast. In fact: http://i36.tinypic.com/1263ds1.png

1 Sky Pilot

1) Elon is a great sized college because you will always be meeting new people, yet you get small college benefits such as small class sizes, even in introductory classes.

2) There are tons of restaurants on campus, next to campus, and around campus (I ate in a really great lunch diner off campus the other day). Not being native to north carolina, I am not sure if some of the places in the surrounding area are chains or not (they are new to me though). But there are plenty of chains too. 1889 (named after founding date for Elon) is a restaurant worth eating at (from what I have heard) that accepts meal swipes as payment but I haven't made it up there quite yet. Acorn cafe and Varsity are awesome too.

3) As a freshman, I can't speak much about this but I hope so lol. I know the upperclassmen seem to have luck with communications internships because Elon has lots of contacts in this field. But as an individual you really have to take the initiative to make yourself a competitive applicant for whatever you want to apply to. Elon's reputation is growing but secretly I do have some concerns about how much an Elon degree is worth compared to other schools. But we shall see what happens in the coming years .

4) Top five...and more: student size, beautiful campus, small classes, easy freshman transition, decent food (but I hope you like sandwiches because those are a huge staple here; enough sandwiches to last you a lifetime), can bring a car here freshman year, college coffee (free breakfast) on tuesday mornings, great scholarship opportunities, some professors like to get to know students more personally (i.e. going to their house to bake cookies), ultimate frisbee is huge here & actually feel wanted here as opposed to being looked down upon
Bottom five...and more: liberal arts education requirements, meal plan is kind of a rip off, lots of people look as if they are dressed to get on a yaught (tons of boys wear croakies to hold their sunglasses on for when they finally get on their yaught lol), many professors take attendance (I'm not one to skip class but I'm in an extremely easy stats class that is consuming both my class space and nap time), other than Khaled Hosseini I haven't been impressed with the speakers who have come here so far, sometimes feels like a continued high school experience, active greek life & not much to do in the surrounding area

5) I think it depends where you are on campus and how many people are using it at the same time. I believe that the entire campus is wireless. I have found it rather slow lately but that could be due to my laptop.


And I encourage you to keep digging for more information about whatever schools you are interested in, no matter how random it is. You are going to be LIVING there for at least four years; now's the time to figure out all those small details and quirks that make a difference to you. And if you have any more questions, just lemme know! As seen above, I have no problem being brutally honest . Overall, I have enjoyed my few months at Elon though, don't get me wrong.

Virginiafan13

Absolutely perfect answers pilot. Thanks a lot.