Campus Spotlight: Elon University

In today’s campus spotlight, College Solutions Senior Counselor/Writing Coach Manager & Transfer Specialist Anna Brown shares her takeaways from a recent visit to Elon University. Learn what makes Elon unique and why you might want to add it to your college list!

Earlier this spring, I finally got the chance to tour a college that I’ve recommended to countless students: Elon University. I’m excited to share what I think makes Elon stand out among colleges.

Elon is a beautiful campus of red brick buildings and leafy trees located about 10 minutes from the small city of Burlington, North Carolina. There are 5 undergraduate academic units that Elon’s 6,400 students can choose from: the College of Arts & Sciences, Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education, Martha & Spencer Love School of Business, the School of Communications, and the School of Health Sciences, but it’s easy to take classes across the 5 units. I was particularly impressed with the facilities in the School of Communications; they have a state-of-the-art television studio that made me feel like I was about to be on the nightly news!

One campus tradition that stood out to me on my visit (and is apparently much loved by students!) is College Coffee. Each Tuesday morning, this campus-wide event brings faculty, staff, and students together for free coffee and breakfast in one of the outdoor commons areas. My tour guides emphasized the sense of community on campus, and this event certainly contributes to its closer-knit feel, as does the fact that many students choose to live on campus for all four years (even though they’re only required to do so for two).

Elon’s focus on applying what you learn in the classroom is another one of my favorite things about this university. The five core Elon experiences are study abroad, internships, research, leadership, and service, and students are required to participate in at least two of these. Over 90% of Elon students participate in a study abroad program, including via their shorter Winter Term, making it a foundational part of the student experience. 

If you’re looking for a medium-size school with a sense of community and tons of study abroad and experiential learning opportunities, you might want to add Elon to your college list!