If you're visiting-

Elon Tour Guides are awesome. They are equipped with so much information to share with you and have their routes down to a science. Tours are limited to a certain duration, though, so you really only get a perfunctory glimpse at our amazing campus. Once I became a student at Elon, I realized there was so much more to campus than the tour made it seem. Also, you can't get the inside scoop from your tour guides on everything. My friend and I love Elon and are wannabe tour guides. Every time we see prospective students and their parents walking around, we try to strike up a conversation. We can't apply to be tour guides until the spring, and even so, probably won't get the positions- since we are white females- and if the tour guide position isn't coveted enough as it is, it's even harder to land the position if you're not diverse. Anyway, following your info session and admissions tour of campus, if you want to meet for coffee to hear more about Elon or want to see some more buildings , my friend and I would be glad to meet up with you.  It sucks visiting a college where you have no inside connection with a student to talk to. No one from my high school came to Elon, and I really wished that someone did so I had an actual student to get more information from and ask my questions to. My friend and I are totally willing to be that insider for you, though, so message me or comment if you'd like haha!

What are you curious about?

The segments I have planned to post about soon are:
- Academics and my experiences with professors
- Elon's Social Scene (Deny it all you want, but I know you're probably curious about parties)
- My favorite places to hang on campus
- All about the dorms and housing
- All about food

What do you want to know, though? What other area would you like me to write about? Comment letting me know, because I honestly am just making this blog to help you out. I was in your shoes last year, and it's scary- having to pick just one college, picking the college but not knowing all that much about it etc.

How safe is Elon really?

Posting this segment, because I know safety is a common concern of parents and prospective students. Elon isn't going to post on their website information about murders or anything of the sort, so how do you know how safe campus actually is?
ELON IS ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY SAFE.

I've never felt safer in my life, and I grew up in a small village of 1700 people.
Elon's campus is quadruple the size of my village, and I feel safer at Elon than I did at home.
The town of Elon itself is really small and primarily made up of just the college, so there is not a lot of traffic or outsiders coming through the area.

Elon must report to students when there is a safety incident, and we've yet to receive a report this year. The most dangerous thing I've heard to happen is a few cars were broken into- which was traced back to something pledges had to do during recruitment. (Which is dumb.)

We have a blue light system, but I've never felt the need to use it. Campus is very well lit; I've walked from the library to the coffee shop at 12:30 AM several nights and it didn't even phase me. After the UVA missing girl incident, I started carrying pepper spray for my late night escapades when I'm alone, but only because my parents insisted, and I guess you can never be too safe. I have never felt the need to use it, though.

All the dorms are very secure; you must swipe into them, and you can only swipe into your own dorm. The majority of the buildings even have a double swipe system-- you have to swipe to get into the lobby, and then swipe again to get into your hall. You also have to swipe to get into the library and other buildings after hours, so this ensures that no outsider can get into the building you're studying in late at night.

I'm generally a really paranoid person, so the fact that I feel so comfortable on Elon's campus 24/7 speaks volumes for campus security. They do an outstanding job at keeping our campus safe, and I commend them for that.

My Favorite Places on Campus {Studying Edition}

As much as we'd all like to pretend college is fun and games, it's not, and you're going to need to do a lot of studying throughout your time at Elon. You can try studying in your dorm room or common room, but chances are, you won't get much work done there. I love everyone on my floor, so sitting in the common room or the study room connected to the common room doesn't work for me-- my friends always walk by and it's impossible not to get interrupted.

Here are my favorite study spots:

• Global Commons
• The Great Hall is huge and has several tables and comfy chairs. The tables even have outlets right on them, so you can easily charge your devices. The chairs at all the tables are cushioned impeccably well, too, so you certainly will be comfortable. This hall was originally meant to be social, but it's generally very quiet. It is not designated silent, but at times it seems that way when it's not that crowded. It's definitely quiet enough to study, but at times there will be obnoxious people in there who talk really loud, and the room is huge and echoes badly. So if you're looking for a completely silent place, the Great Hall isn't it. (Perk- Great Hall is open 24 hours and in the same building as a cafe)
• Second and third floor of Global Commons are conference rooms and common areas with tables. These are generally quiet and a great place to study, especially if you want to get away from the crowds in the library and Great Hall. 
• The Computer Room is located adjacent to the cafe, Argo Tea, on the first floor of Gloco- our loving nickname for Global Commons haha. There are some chairs and a table in this room, as well as four computers and a printing station.

• The Library
• Not my favorite, by any means, but worth mentioning. I cannot get comfortable in the library. Third floor is completely silent, and I feel awkward if I even breathe or unzip my backpack. If you're sick and you cough, even just once, prepare for stares of death.. Second floor is quiet- you're to talk in a hushed tone there- and I'm fond of that atmosphere, but don't find the seating and tables comfortable for long periods of work.
• First floor of the library has been recently refurnished, and I find the chairs and tables in the Writing Center area nice. (Note: you don't need to be getting help from the Writing Center to use their tables-- they will only ask you to move if all the other tables in the WC are full, which is rare) First floor is rather social, though, so don't expect it to be that quiet. 
• The library is open 24 hours.

• Lindner Reading Room
• This room is on the first floor of the Lindner Academic Building, in the Academic Village. It looks similar to a room from Harry Potter, so it's dubbed the Harry Potter Room. It's completely silent. There are some large leather chairs that are super comfortable if you have a lot of reading to do and want to feel at home. The lighting isn't the greatest in this area--it's kind of dim--but if that doesn't bother you, I highly recommend this space. Note that there are blinds that can be opened, so if you open them during the day you receive adequate light. Only at night does it get kind of dark. (Perk- this room is near all of the academic buildings, so if you need somewhere to study between classes, this is the place. There is no printing station here, though.)
• You must swipe into the building before 8 PM I believe, but once you are there, you can technically stay as late at you want/need.

• Numen Lumen Pavilion
• Oasis Room: This room is located on the second floor on the Numen Lumen Pavilion, and feels and looks just like your living room at home. There's a dock for your iPod, a flat screen TV, bean bags, a shelf of board games, etc. It's meant to be more of a hangout than a study room, but it's generally really quiet since people don't use it that often. Whenever I'm nostalgic for home while doing homework, this is where I go. 
• Study Rooms: There are also a few individual study rooms in this building. They're really small without windows and seem like glorified closets to me, but if you like having a space all to yourself, these are for you.

• Acorn Coffee Shop
• Acorn is open until 1 AM every night- err, morning- so it's a perfect place for late night studying, especially since you have food and coffee access at your fingertips. The coffee shop is kind of small, but there will generally be a chair or table open you can work at. It's a very social and bustling environment. I need to study in quiet, but if I'm just doing something that doesn't require much brainpower and I need a change of scenery, I go to Acorn.

• Oak House
• Very similar atmosphere to Acorn. I think the interior is slightly nicer-- the chairs are more comfortable and there are more tables. The only downside is they are not open as late as Acorn, and it's a bit louder. (They have an awesome playlist of music that's always on, which is great, but can be a distraction if you're trying to read)

Honorable mentions: Irazu Coffee Shop (located in Moseley Student Center), Along Lake Mary Nell or Lake Verona (bring a large blanket and do your work while enjoying the beauty that is Elon's campus! But beware for bees and wind that will blow your papers into the lake.. sadly, yes, that did happen to me lol), and in any classroom on campus. (if you live in the Global Neighborhood, I highly recommend you take advantage of the beautiful classroom on the first floor of your building!!)