<p>I get where you’re coming from kierans. When we looked into Elon last year it seemed almost too good to be true. D was accepted Early, and we went down for the Spring Orientation looking for the cracks in the story - there weren’t any. Everyone was on the same page - faculty, students, etc. The place truly did seem to “run like butter” (Princeton Review rates it #1 for that). They truly believe in Engaged Learning. The campus is really that beautiful and well-maintained, and the cost really is $15k less than similar colleges in the Northeast. (If there’s a negative - Elon can’t afford to give out much FA. But since their pricetag is lower to begin with, it’s kind of a wash. And they are committed to keeping it relatively affordable).</p>
<p>We were recently at a gathering for alumni & parents where President Leo Lambert was the keynote speaker. The Trustee who introduced him mentioned jokingly that he still hasn’t figured out how Lambert gets the ENTIRE staff to “drink the Kool-Aid,” but they all do. </p>
<p>As for fitting in at a Southern school, only 24% of the class of 2014 is from NC. The second and third most popular states are MA and NJ, at 10% and 9% each. There are at least as many kids at Elon from the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic as there are from the South, and remember Elon has kids from 44 states and a lot of foreign countries.</p>
<p>I think Elon tends to be a safety school for Wake, and High Point tends to be a safety school for Elon. Someone asked President Lambert who Elon’s competition/peers were for students, and he said that quite honestly it’s all over the map. But generally the final decisions parents and students are making seem to often be between Elon and flagship State Univs.</p>