Elon College is a private university in North Carolina.

Founded in 1889 by the United Church of Christ it remains a church-related institution. Despite the church affiliation, in the mid-1980s Elon was ranked as one of Playboy magazine's top 10 party schools in the country. Since then, Elon has raised GPA and SAT requirements in an effort to focus on academics.

The beautiful 575 acre (2.3 km²) campus features ancient oak trees, well-kept lawns, brick sidewalks, a fountain, and two lakes. Visitors to Elon's campus often remark on the friendliness of the people and the strong sense of community. Elon is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. At the graduate level, it offers master's degrees in business administration and education, as well as a Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) program.

With a student body of 4,500, Elon offers the opportunities and facilities of a university in a close-knit community atmosphere. Since its founding in 1889, Elon has grown to be a nationally recognized institution. Seventy percent of Elon's students come from out of state, and forty-seven states and thirty-six nations are represented in the student body. Student satisfaction is consistently high: 87 percent of students eligible to return to Elon do so. Freshmen and sophomores are required to live on campus. Students are housed in one of the thirty residence halls on campus. In addition, there are thirteen fraternity and sorority houses. Students with at least junior standing may choose to live in nearby apartments. All students may have cars on campus, however, all students may not be able to find parking spaces for those cars.

In addition to a challenging academic curriculum, Elon encourages students to participate in five programs known as the Elon Experiences: student undergraduate research, study abroad, internships, service learning, and leadership. Elon is ranked number one nationally among comparable institutions for the percentage of students who participate in study-abroad programs. Seventy-five percent of Elon graduates complete internships, compared to approximately 33 percent nationally, and approximately 88 percent of Elon students volunteer in the community. Students can record their participation on an Elon Experiences transcript, which is issued as a companion to the traditional academic transcript.

Elon's exceptional sports facilities include two gymnasiums; a baseball park; a new, on-campus football stadium and field house; six athletic fields; and an Athletic Center. The Athletic Center features the 2,400 seat Alumni Gym, an aerobic fitness center with a weight room, racquetball courts, an indoor pool, and a dance studio. The Jimmy Powell Tennis Center is a twelve-court state-of-the-art complex. A member of the Southern Conference, Elon competes in NCAA Division I (I-AA in football). Before becoming a member of the NCAA, Elon won two NAIA national football titles as well as national championships in golf and tennis. When affiliated with NAIA, Elon teams won eight straight conference excellence awards, emblematic of the league's top athletic program. Intercollegiate sports are baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, soccer, and tennis for men and basketball, cross-country, golf, indoor track, outdoor track, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball for women. Campus Recreation administers an extensive intramural program with seven multipurpose recreational fields. Other components include aquatics, fitness, open recreation, outdoor programs, special events, wellness, and competitive club sports such as baseball, field hockey, lacrosse, rugby, and swimming.

The University has more than 140 organizations, which include ten national fraternities, ten national sororities, the weekly student newspaper, the yearbook, an FM radio station, a student-run cable channel, a dance organization, the Black Cultural Society, the Student Union Board, Catholic Campus Ministry, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Elon Hillel, Model UN, Habitat for Humanity, and Elon Volunteers. Ninety-seven percent of seniors report having been involved in at least one organization, and 70 percent were involved in more than one.

Through the Elon Career Center, students can enroll in 1-credit-hour courses such as Choosing a Major and Securing a Job. The center also sponsors a Transition Tactics mentoring program, job fairs, and on-campus interviews with employers and helps students arrange internships and cooperative education experiences. More than 92 percent of the students who work with the Career Center have jobs within six to nine months of their graduation.

Elon's historic campus is located in the beautiful Piedmont region of North Carolina, adjacent to Burlington, a town of 50,000. Elon is just 30 minutes from Greensboro and within an hour's drive of major universities — Wake Forest, UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, and North Carolina State.

The campus was recently named one of the most beautiful in the nation by The Princeton Review. Beaches and mountains are only 3½ hours away by car. Major bus, train, and airline transportation is nearby. Interstate 85/40 is within 2½ miles of the campus.

External links

• Official Site