Elon University - is it as good as it "looks"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elon's average SAT score for the class of 2018 is a 1920, and the average weighted gpa is a 4.0. Elon grads are recruited by institutions such as J.P Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Nat Geo, ESPN, Morgan Stanley, and MTV. Although Elon was far from prestigious 30 years ago, its recent efforts has placed it on the radar as an impressive university. It's considered one level below little ivies, and in fact many who are not accepted to the little ivy of their choice attend Elon. Any one who argues that Elon is for "stupid people" today is ignorant of the facts, and has no business commenting on this blog.

no that would be places like Georgetown, John Hopkins, Notre Dame etc., with admission rates under 20%. Elon's is 50%. With those odds, I'd consider it a safety.

no, those are on par with the LITTLE IVIES (Amherst, Middlebury, etc, not sure if you get it...) Below that are schools like elon

Check U.S. News rankings. Those schools are not on par (whatever that means) with Amherst, Williams etc.).
And Elon is not "just below" those mentioned - it is well below. In a different league altogether. It is a decent regional school with a 50% acceptance rate. Not sure if you get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elon's average SAT score for the class of 2018 is a 1920, and the average weighted gpa is a 4.0. Elon grads are recruited by institutions such as J.P Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Nat Geo, ESPN, Morgan Stanley, and MTV. Although Elon was far from prestigious 30 years ago, its recent efforts has placed it on the radar as an impressive university. It's considered one level below little ivies, and in fact many who are not accepted to the little ivy of their choice attend Elon. Any one who argues that Elon is for "stupid people" today is ignorant of the facts, and has no business commenting on this blog.

no that would be places like Georgetown, John Hopkins, Notre Dame etc., with admission rates under 20%. Elon's is 50%. With those odds, I'd consider it a safety.

GTown, JHU, ND are certainly on par with the lower end of the Ivy League Schools (Cornell). They are a notch or two below the TOP Ivy League schools (PHYC). Since PP used "Ivies" I think it is accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The point about Elon could've been made w/I the random out of left field ivy comment. Shows how bad your insecurity is.

I posted that comment back in April. The mention of the Ivies has nothing to do with envy and was not out of left field, nor was it a knock on the Ivies. Many earlier posts in the thread talked about Harvard and Princeton's reputations in academia and the workforce, and also voiced concerns about Elon students' post graduation job prospects.

As mentioned, contrary to the belief of some previous posters in the thread, Elon graduates can and do procure impressive jobs in the workforce and are accepted to top graduate schools. I've been a Biglaw partner for 30+ years and I've worked with many brilliant folks from the Ivies, and I've also worked with a fair amount that didn't last for the reasons originally mentioned (or however you want to characterize it). I've also worked with successful and non successful colleagues from across the academic spectrum. The point is not to bash the Ivies, but to highlight the fact that a Ivy league degree (widely considered the gold standard) does not guarantee professional success in the same way an Elon degree does not guarantee professional failure. At some point, it comes down to the graduate.

Replace "Ivies" with "traditionally top ranked universities" if it helps you digest the overall point of my post. It's puzzling that you feel the need to provide such a vehement defense against the Ivy league schools in a thread about little ole' Elon.

[Anonymous]

^ all that may be true but Elon is nowhere near one notch below the Ivies. that's just crazy talk. And to the poster of 6/17 who said it is comparable to Cornell, Cornell has acceptance rate of 16% or so. Elon's is 50%. I know a couple of local kids who couldn't get into U.Va. who went to Elon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ all that may be true but Elon is nowhere near one notch below the Ivies. that's just crazy talk. And to the poster of 6/17 who said it is comparable to Cornell, Cornell has acceptance rate of 16% or so. Elon's is 50%. I know a couple of local kids who couldn't get into U.Va. who went to Elon

I'm the PP and I wouldn't argue you there. All I can say about Elon is that it is a wonderful university with a quickly rising academic reputation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: NP here. We recently visited the campus. It is quite nice. But, we came away wondering whether/if the academics really are the caliber that the school professes. We saw an amazing video presentation at the admissions office which was well done and quite effective. However, is this how one should select a college? DD wasn't impressed and while everyone was quite nice and the tour informative but DD has moved on. I'd take a good look at this one before signing up.

Funny we had the same impression and result....it just is hard to believe that the academics and results are what some in this thread profess....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elon's average SAT score for the class of 2018 is a 1920, and the average weighted gpa is a 4.0. Elon grads are recruited by institutions such as J.P Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Nat Geo, ESPN, Morgan Stanley, and MTV. Although Elon was far from prestigious 30 years ago, its recent efforts has placed it on the radar as an impressive university. It's considered one level below little ivies, and in fact many who are not accepted to the little ivy of their choice attend Elon. Any one who argues that Elon is for "stupid people" today is ignorant of the facts, and has no business commenting on this blog.

no that would be places like Georgetown, John Hopkins, Notre Dame etc., with admission rates under 20%. Elon's is 50%. With those odds, I'd consider it a safety.

no, those are on par with the LITTLE IVIES (Amherst, Middlebury, etc, not sure if you get it...) Below that are schools like elon

Check U.S. News rankings. Those schools are not on par (whatever that means) with Amherst, Williams etc.).
And Elon is not "just below" those mentioned - it is well below. In a different league altogether. It is a decent regional school with a 50% acceptance rate. Not sure if you get it.

Acceptance rate is a poor indicator of Academic Prestige. Here are the Fall 2012 acceptance rates for some schools with a lower acceptance rate than Cornell:

Curtis Institute of Music
Philadelphia, PA 6.8%

United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, MD 6.8%

Cooper Union
New York, NY 7.0%

United States Military Academy
West Point, NY 9.0%

College of the Ozarks
Point Lookout, MO 9.5%

United States Air Force Academy
USAF Academy, CO 9.9%

Alice Lloyd College
Pippa Passes, KY 10.2%

United States Merchant Marine Academy
Kings Point, NY 12.4%

Pitzer College
Claremont, CA 15.7%

Mississippi Valley State University 1
Itta Bena, MS 16.1%


Wellesley, on the other hand is over 30%

SOURCE: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/lowest-acceptance-rate/spp%2B50/src%2Bstats/page+2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point about Elon could've been made w/I the random out of left field ivy comment. Shows how bad your insecurity is.

I posted that comment back in April. The mention of the Ivies has nothing to do with envy and was not out of left field, nor was it a knock on the Ivies. Many earlier posts in the thread talked about Harvard and Princeton's reputations in academia and the workforce, and also voiced concerns about Elon students' post graduation job prospects.

As mentioned, contrary to the belief of some previous posters in the thread, Elon graduates can and do procure impressive jobs in the workforce and are accepted to top graduate schools. I've been a Biglaw partner for 30+ years and I've worked with many brilliant folks from the Ivies, and I've also worked with a fair amount that didn't last for the reasons originally mentioned (or however you want to characterize it). I've also worked with successful and non successful colleagues from across the academic spectrum. The point is not to bash the Ivies, but to highlight the fact that a Ivy league degree (widely considered the gold standard) does not guarantee professional success in the same way an Elon degree does not guarantee professional failure. At some point, it comes down to the graduate.

Replace "Ivies" with "traditionally top ranked universities" if it helps you digest the overall point of my post. It's puzzling that you feel the need to provide such a vehement defense against the Ivy league schools in a thread about little ole' Elon.

The above poster is entirely correct re: career and graduate school prospects.

Elon 2007 Grad. Double major in Economics/History. Part of Fellows Program, but did not graduate cum laude. T14 law straight out, then BigLaw. My best friends are doing very well in Finance, Advertising, and Media. Great opportunities for leadership, and excellent "teaching" professors (as opposed to being focused on research). Cannot speak to the hard sciences, but had a great experience in the business school and school of arts and sciences. Alumni network is young, but very helpful to one another. It's a great place for somebody who is a B+ student that doesn't care about being at a school with big time D-1 sports, is a social extrovert, and is okay with a rural setting.

[Anonymous]

Why do you say social extrovert?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you say social extrovert?

A couple of reasons. School's size means most classes are 30 students or less. It's hard to be a quiet student in the back in classes that size. Also, there's a ton of clubs/intramural sports/service organizations. Almost everyone does something, so if you're the type of student that's interested in just going to class and going back to the dorm room or coffee shop to read, you might not feel like you fit in. Finally, Greek Life is a big deal at the school. I'd wager a majority of the school's non-athletes join. It's been my experience that folks with an extroverted personality do better in that setting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you say social extrovert?

A couple of reasons. School's size means most classes are 30 students or less. It's hard to be a quiet student in the back in classes that size. Also, there's a ton of clubs/intramural sports/service organizations. Almost everyone does something, so if you're the type of student that's interested in just going to class and going back to the dorm room or coffee shop to read, you might not feel like you fit in. Finally, Greek Life is a big deal at the school. I'd wager a majority of the school's non-athletes join. It's been my experience that folks with an extroverted personality do better in that setting.

so then if you DC is an introvert they go to the Ivies instead?

[Anonymous]

yeah that's what i meant. get a life.

not everyone is cut out for ivies. and more importantly, not everyone can get into an ivy. if your child can get into an ivy, doesn't absolutely hate the place when they visit, and your family can afford it, why wouldn't you go there?

Elon is not an ivy league school. I don't think it would be realistic to suggest otherwise. Elon's peer schools are places like College of Charleston, Richmond, Furman, W+L, Wake Forest, though I would agree it is probably a little easier to get into than most of those schools and a tick below on the academic qualifications of its students.

But Elon graduates can and do succeed in graduate school and the workplace. I'm proud of my school and proud of its graduates. It's a wonderful, special place and I think it really prepared me for what came after. Just one person's story.

[Anonymous]

I think a lot of people from southern schools are really proud of them. The standards just aren't the same in the south. Look at the annual rankings of which states have the best and worst public h.s. education. Southern states are always the worst ranked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people from southern schools are really proud of them. The standards just aren't the same in the south. Look at the annual rankings of which states have the best and worst public h.s. education. Southern states are always the worst ranked.

Elon didn't really click for DS when we visited, but I can't say it was because it had a southern vibe. It felt like a Mid-Atlantic school that happened to have warmer weather.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yeah that's what i meant. get a life.

not everyone is cut out for ivies. and more importantly, not everyone can get into an ivy. if your child can get into an ivy, doesn't absolutely hate the place when they visit, and your family can afford it, why wouldn't you go there?

Elon is not an ivy league school. I don't think it would be realistic to suggest otherwise. Elon's peer schools are places like College of Charleston, Richmond, Furman, W+L, Wake Forest, though I would agree it is probably a little easier to get into than most of those schools and a tick below on the academic qualifications of its students.

But Elon graduates can and do succeed in graduate school and the workplace. I'm proud of my school and proud of its graduates. It's a wonderful, special place and I think it really prepared me for what came after. Just one person's story.

This is pretty accurate except for the Wake part. Elon is miles below Wake.