My son is deciding between the two and is having a hard time. He is currently in a very competitive high school environment (B+ average) and wants a challenge but not a pressure cooker. Cost for both schools is about the same. We live in DC but have some ties to the Midwest. He wants to study public policy and eventually go to law school. While Wisconsin and Elon are very different, he is completely torn. I would appreciate any insight!
You are right, these are wildly different. Small rural school or large flagship university in a college town. As an aside, I have read elsewhere some negative comments about Elon. I’d have to go back and look to see what exactly they were saying, but apparently several who have visited recently were underwhelmed, perhaps more so by the tour than the school itself, but it’s hard to remember exactly. In this case I’d go with what he wants out of a university. Sports? Weather? Size?
The schools are different enough that it is hard to believe the student doesn’t have a preference.
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It’s definitely possible to like two very different schools, and to wish one could have both experiences. It can be hard to decide which one to let go.
Personally, for a kid who’s torn between these two, in the absence of any additional information, I would tend to default to Wisconsin, because it is a more “all-purpose” school with a wider range of strengths and opportunities, and I think it has a more reliable reputational “weight” wherever you go, whereas people’s impressions of Elon are more mixed, if they’ve heard of it at all. I also think that UW Honors is a little more distinctive than Fellows at Elon. (Elon uses a proliferation of Honors, Fellows, and Scholars programs to recruit students, so a relatively high percentage of students fall into one of these categories.) Also, UW has a strong “Wisconsin in DC” program, so if he wants to spend time back in DC, going to the “closer” school won’t confer any advantage in this regard.
So that’s my personal opinion, in a vacuum… but it isn’t a strongly-weighted opinion, and any number of individual factors could move the needle. (I’m also slightly biased by a family member who was underwhelmed by his experience at Elon, but I know that a single data point doesn’t mean much, as every school has students who love it and others who don’t.)
Probably the best way to get more helpful advice here is to show us your son’s own “pros and cons” list about the two schools. That would help us to see what’s appealing to him about each school, and from there, people can weigh in about whether those pros and cons seem accurate, which factors are most worth prioritizing, and so on.
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No direct experience by I had friends who had kids at both schools. The Wisconsin students seemed happier, had broader opportunities, and report more diversity in the student body. As such, my vote would also be for UW.
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This is the statement that makes me think Wisconsin. Why? Madison is not just a college town; the university is less than a mile from the state capitol. For someone interested in public policy, that means lots of options for involvement during the school year and not just summers.
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One rural and smaller with not much nearby. The other a massive big 10 school (big time sports), in the city. It’s also the state capital, which might provide opportunity. One gonna be brutal winters, the other milder.
He might ask to talk to an Elon Fellow to learn more about the benefits. Are they real ? My daughter was in an Honors enrichment program and the benefits and support were quite tangible. Elon Fellows includes travel to DC, as an example. Elon also has a Winter and Summer DC experience, if interested. Wisconsin offers a DC Semester as well and a summer program through WIPPs.
The thing with law school is - where you go won’t matter. But you need to be able to pay for it. That could be another $300k plus so make sure you can afford all seven years.
Interesting, looking at outcomes, Wisconsin (which has a public policy major) doesn’t have it listed in its career outcomes page. So I put poli sci - there’s no knowledge rate I see so not sure how many they captured. Hopefully you can read it but if not I put the link below.
Elon doesn’t break by major - but also has good outcomes - although you can inquire with the school specific to the major - in the likelihood law school doesn’t happen or you work for a year or two in between, as often happens today.
I think two fine opportunities - and he might love both. But I’m guessing one is better for him than the other - and if paying for law school is going to be an issue, then you might bring in door #3 that’s less expensive to help save.
Has he been to both - because honestly, if you want to have stuff right off campus, there’s only one choice here. But if you like quieter and more serene, well then there’s also only one choice here.
Good luck.
First Destination Survey – Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research – UW–Madison
Another point worth considering is that the student body at Elon is much wealthier. The easiest data to reference is the 2017 study done by the NYT - a little dated but I’m sure things haven’t changed all that much:
Elon vs. Wisconsin
Since the data is a decade old, I’d pay more attention to relative numbers vs. absolute ones… but it’s notable that Elon has nearly double the percentage of students from the top 20% in family income, compared to Wisconsin… and 8x as many from the top 1%.
The data on student outcomes is pretty limited anyway, but insofar as you try to compare, keep in mind that one school is going to have a lot more students in the “my family got me a job” category than the other. It’s a lot easier to achieve “good outcomes” with affluent kids. Both schools have good outcomes, generally, so it’s very unlikely, IMO, that the data should be interpreted to project a difference in expected outcomes for a particular individual. I’m sure this student can do well at either school; he just needs to decide which environment and program will be most conducive to his success.
Elon has taken massive tuition increases as well - if money were an issue. I can’t say it will continue to happen or UW won’t - but Elon has had several years of substantive increases. Not sure if either locks in tuition all four years.
Elon is a good school. I have been on campus several times and it’s nice. I felt like they do a lot to help their students out as far as job placement and getting internships, etc. There will be a LOT of out of state students there. According to their First Year class profile only 26% of students come from NC.
I’m in NC not far from Elon, which by definition of the US Census Qualifying Urban Areas is NOT rural. The Town of Elon is part of the Burlington Metropolitan Statistical Area (population 186,000). Elon is more of a suburban school than a rural school. Elon and Burlington are part of the Piedmont Triad area of NC which includes nearby cities of Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem, with an estimated population of 1.6 million.
That said, Elon is a very suburban experience compared to UW. Madison is a vibrant capital city and a massive university. It could be easier to “find your people” there or it could be easier to get lost in the cracks. Large universities in general don’t have as much hand-holding as smaller schools. Wisconsin will have more in-state students, but slightly more than half their first year students are not from Wisconsin.
I think he could have an excellent experience at either school. Will you have a chance to go visit both again? Certainly will be colder in Madison!
The town isn’t rural but the school is short of a car. There’s one or two little strips as I recall.
This discussion has happened many times on here by many. Some say it’s a 10 minute drive from Burlington (a small city highway exit). Others say - it’s rural, there’s nothing or little around to walk to.
Presumably the student has been to both but I’m discussing the reality of a first year student, not a census map.
But opinions vary. Btw the campus is gorgeous. I loved it. My kid - who was thrilled b4 the tour - didn’t apply. But that’s because she wanted suburban or urban - ie things around and in walking distance.
Really depends on what the student is looking for.
I agree. Elon is definitely not rural!
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If we are voting, I vote for Wisconsin. We toured Elon with DD, and I’d be happy to share our impressions via message, if you would like.