Elon University | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

wildfandango23

Class: Freshman
Major: Communications
Gender: F

High School: Gilmour Academy
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

The big picture? Elon is an amazing place to spend your college years. Its an amazing place to learn, with great professors who are willing to go out of their way to help you-- inside and outside of the classroom. It is full of great people, and I've made some of the best friends of my life here. I like the small/medium school feeling because the amount of people in my classes doesn't overwhelm me, but I don't feel like I'm in too small of a bubble. Sure, the Elon bubble exists, but you are going to get that at most schools this size that aren't near/in a big city. Burlington is an okay city to have close to campus-- you can get everything you need, as a college student, there because they have a big grocery store, Target, Walmart, and plenty of fast food places (I recommend Cookout for the best milkshakes ever!). I guess some people complain about the lack of diversity here, but all I can say is that they are working on it. I really don't notice the lack of diversity, so it doesn't really bother me, but that's because I came from a high school that was the same way. One complaint I have is that the freshman require health and wellness class is basically a repeat of everything you learned in high school health. Other than that, students have a big voice here in the overall operation of the school. If something needs to be changed or improved you can bet that they will have a large say in if and how that happens. Overall, I'm proud to tell people that I go to Elon, even if they have never heard of it before. I got into schools that are more reputable than Elon, but I picked to come here because of ALL the great things it could offer me, moreso than just a school with a recognizable name: atmosphere, fun, experience, engaged learning, small classes, great spirit, lots of networking connections, and more.

Academic Life

My favorite classes here so far have been Intro to Psychology and Digital Media Convergence. Both of these classes have sparked my academic interest, leading me to pursue a second major in psychology, as well as to be more involved in areas requiring digital media skills. Elon students do have intellectual conversations outside of school, and some classes (especially the freshman required class The Global Experience) require that students attend on-campus cultural events like speakers or performers. Elon definitely encourages students and professors to build good relationships. Elon professors are given coupons to take a few students out to lunch on campus each semester, which allows them to get to know students better outside of the classroom. Also for Elon 101 many students are required to interview a professor, which is a great way of getting to know a professor better (I know the professor I interviewed has gone on to write me multiple recommendations for different things I've applied for--- it has been a great contact to make!). As a corporate communications and psychology double major, I've really loved the classes I've taken in my major fields so far. There are definitely some classes that require a lot more work than others, and certain teachers that will make or break certain required classes. But I like that Elon makes it easy for students to not only pursue a wide variety of majors, but there are tons of minors here, and they don't require that many hours, so pretty much every student has a chance to at least add a minor (or two!) onto their major. Plus, certain minors, such as Leadership, can be applicable to almost any major, so its a good way to expand your background (and your resume). In my experience, students here are highly academically motivated. I live in a learning community with a bunch of fellows, so obviously the school sees them as the most active students, but in general, I think that people here care a lot about their grades. Living in a learning community has also been one of the highlights of my experience here. I live in the communications learning community, and most students on this floor are really motivated with communications-related projects. Some boys on my floor even recently started up their own TV show that will run on Elon's TV station, ESTV, next semester. Another perk of living here is the availability of resources in other students. Older students can tell the pros and cons of certain teachers, as well as lend advice on projects and homework assignments.

Student Body

Students here are not that diverse, which is fine. I really don't have a problem with it at all. Most students are white and come from the upper-middle class. While the largest draw state is NC (about 25-30% of students are NC residents), most of the rest of the student population is from the north and the midwest (PA, MD, MA, VA, OH, etc.). But students here are also open to the LGBT community-- I've seen students many times around campus wearing shirts that say "Gay? Okay by me." One thing that I was nervous about before coming to Elon was the male/female ratio. I remember reading in one guidebook that there aren't many guys here, and of the guys that are here, half of them are gay. That is 100% NOT TRUE. Honestly, if I hadn't been told the male/female ratio, I wouldn't have guessed that its almost 40/60, and there are FAR more straight guys than gay, at least in my experience. I guess the student that might feel out of place here is someone who is very alternative-- gothic, very punk, very emo-- just because you don't see many students like that here. Students are also pretty involved in politics. There is a College Democrats club and a College Republicans club, as well as numerous clubs that have emerged in support of particular candidates for the 2008 Presidential Election.