Every spring, Elon University welcomes approximately 50 new students to campus. Referred to as “spring admits,” these students start their Elon experience one semester behind the rest of their peers.
Like the rest of the student body, they come from various places and have various reasons for accepting the spring admit status, including deferment, over-enrollment and transferring. But one thing they all seem to have in common is a love for Elon and a strong desire to be here despite the late start.
Starting at a school in the middle of the year is by no means easy.
“The transition to Elon has been, in one word, hectic,” said Kendall Crosby, a freshman spring admit who began studying at Elon a few weeks ago.
Students like Crosby arrived on a Sunday or Monday and attended a small convocation, met with their Elon 101 instructor, had an Engaged Learning session, went on a campus tour and had an orientation meeting all before beginning classes on Tuesday.
“The first couple of days were definitely pretty hectic,” said freshman spring admit Chloe Tagariello. “Orientation felt a little rushed, and having to start classes the next day was overwhelming.”
Making matters slightly more challenging, the Sunday that the new students move in always falls as the same day as sorority bid day — a day when hundreds of girls accept their invitations to join Fraternity and Sorority Life.
“Moving in during sorority recruitment was especially challenging,” Crosby said. “If I’m being honest, I didn’t like the fact that move-in was the same day as bid day. I would say that the majority of my friends here at Elon are guys because they are the only ones that have had time to hang out. I still haven’t been able to meet girls who are in sororities.”
Spring admit students, in general, are not allowed to take a class during the Winter Term before they enter in the spring. And since many students who do not participate in recruitment chose to go home for Fake Break, the spring admit students and newly affiliated women are often the only people on campus.
“I remember my first day at Elon moving in to a completely empty dorm,” said senior Catherine van Eyck. “All the girls on my hall were at bid day and came back wearing shirts with their new Greek letters.”
Getting adjusted
Laurin Kier, an assistant professor of sociology, considers the added difficulty her Elon 101 students face.
“I once had a spring admit student who had been placed in a Danieley flat with seven students who had arrived in the fall, all of whom had just gotten into a sorority,” Kier said. “Not so much fun for my student as none of her flat mates had time to spend getting to know her.”
Aware of these challenges, Kier spends extra time making sure the new students get set up with their schedules by providing them with as much information to make the transition run smoothly.
But with a mountain of information needed to be learned as quickly as possible, Elon 101 students received visits from several different organizations and resource centers.
Between presentations from Elon Volunteers!, the Student Professional Development Center, the Leadership office, study abroad and Fraternity and Sorority Life panels, much is covered in Elon 101 classes.
“I believe all of that helps them know what Elon has to offer both academically and socially and, I hope, makes a difficult transition at least a little bit easier,” Kier said.
Changes and challenges
Aside from the normal anxieties of meeting new people, finding their way around campus and adjusting to new class schedules, spring admit students are often shocked to hear that in their first week at Elon, they already owe a $200 housing deposit and have to figure out who to live with and where to live for the next fall.
“Coming in not knowing anyone to live with or anywhere to live is scary, especially when you have to know your living situation so soon,” Tagariello said.
The spring admits’ Elon 101 classes have a representative from the Residence Life Office come in and explain the logistics of the housing selection process since it happens so early in the spring semester. Because many of the spring students come to Elon with few or no college credits, they get last pick on where they want to live.
“Between the money and meeting people who I am going to live with next year I felt very overwhelmed,” Crosby said. “All of the fall semester kids knew who they were going to room with so it was a struggle to find girls I liked enough to want to live with next year. I pretty much get last priority for housing which is a bummer.”
In an effort to assist the new students in matters like this and several others, Elon’s Transfer and Special Admissions department created a mentor program. The program has been designed to provide incoming transfer students access to a student resource before they arrive on campus.
In this program, mentors contact incoming students prior to their arrival on campus and follow up with them once they arrive.
“She answered questions that I wouldn’t feel comfortable asking a teacher or admission person,” Crosby said of her mentor. “She did an incredible job making me feel welcome at Elon.”
Finding a home
Despite the challenges, the new students are happy to be at Elon. Whether they chose to work, stay home for the semester or transfer from another school, many of the arriving students saw something in Elon that made them want to wait.
“I really have been in love with Elon ever since my sophomore year of high school so, coming here spring semester was still a dream,” Crosby said. “This is the most amazing school and even though I came a semester later I felt so welcomed. This still feels like my home.”
“No school compared to Elon, and I just couldn’t see myself anywhere else, which is why it was worth the wait,” Tagariello said.
Elon continues to welcome new students through the spring admit program and continues to work to make the transition is as seamless as possible.