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Elon University Visit Report by K9Leader
Visit to Elon University in March 2008 by K9Leader (Parent of Student, HS Class of 2009)
(Member since April 04 2006 with 283 posts)
3 of 3 people found this visit report helpful
Visit Activities:
Information Session: Yes - Video followed by presentation by admissions rep. Very enthusiastic and gave the impression they really want to make a good impression. Surprisingly, not all of them do this (Duke - blah!).
Campus Tour: Yes - Very extensive -- about an hour and 40 minutes. Very, very nice campus, well-maintained, nicely laid out, nice symmetry (not a hodge-podge feel like some campuses).
Classroom Visit: No - We were there during Elon's spring break so very few students around.
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Campus Visit Notes for Elon University
Visit Description:
We (daughter, wife, and I) were very impressed. Lovely campus, real welcoming attitude, the exact programs my daughter thinks she is interested in but with a lot more to offer if/when she changes her mind. She is currently torn between communications/journalism and engineering. Elon offers the possibility of both (engineering via a 3-2 for program with several big-time engineering schools).
Seems to be the right size and setting for her. She has not liked any city schools, even the ones with very defined campuses (Emory, Ga Tech, Penn, Drexel, Yale) and seems to prefer the mid-size of 4,000-6,000 students. She really liked Elon according to the "end of tour bookstore visit" meter. This was the school where she wanted to buy the t-shirt and sweatshirt. Has had no interest in those from any other school (well, does have W&M due to brother's and parent's affiliation and Penn State where her BF goes).
We are somewhat concerned that it may not be challenging enough for her. She attends a math and science oriented charter school with a very rigorous curriculum and she has done very well (high GPA, several APs). Her standardized test scores are very high (math high 700s, verbal and writing high 600s)and she has great extracurriculars, which include a lot of service and leadership. Her GC has told her Elon would be a safety school for her. We know that any school is what you make of it, and the honors program/fellows program along with perhaps a double major in communications and engineering should provide enough of a challenge. And, it is the first of the 7-8 schools she has seen that she has liked and that offers the programs she is interested in (liked William & Mary where her brother goes and her mother and I went, Wake Forest, and RPI, but none offer exactly what she wants. Did not like Drexel, Emory, Ga Tech, Yale, Penn, Duke). Also, she is a better candidate for merit aid here than at most of those other better-known, more prestigious schools.
Bottom line is that Elon is, so far, the only one on her short list after a visit. Still have 5-6 more to see before application time rolls around. She and I would be very comfortable with Elon, although her mother is concerned with the distance from home (about 7-8 hours). It was the most impressive school we saw on this road trip, beating out Duke, Wake Forest, Emory, and Ga. Tech.