The 2018 edition of the popular college guide offers a selective, subjective and systematic look at the country’s top colleges and universities.
Elon University is included among the nation’s leading institutions in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2018, a top-rated guide to the country’s best colleges and universities that offers exclusive academic, social and quality-of-life ratings for each school.
In its profile of Elon, the Fiske Guide notes the university’s support system for first-year students, its academic rigor and its emphasis on undergraduate research, internships, service learning, study abroad and leadership. “All schools want students to grow holistically, but Elon is the only one I’ve heard of that actively pursues that goal on many levels,” one Elon student told the guide.
For more than 30 years, students and their parents have turned to the Fiske Guide to identify schools that offer high academic quality and affordable cost. All of the schools on the list fall into the inexpensive or moderate price category and most have four- or five-star academic ratings.
The Fiske Guide highlights Elon’s academic climate and broad array of degree offerings, the high percentage of students who participate in undergraduate research and study abroad, and the university’s six Fellows Programs. It notes the recently expanded School of Communications and new majors such as cinema and television arts, media analytics and communication design. “Elon’s best asset is honestly its commitment to engaged learning,” one student told the guide.
Professors are “readily accessible and love to meet with students outside of class to discuss anything and everything,” one student said. More than half of all classes have fewer than 20 students, the guide notes, and the academic climate is described as “rigorous.” The professional backgrounds of many faculty offer them “a variety of real-world experiences to share with students,” one student said.
Elon received praise from the guide for making service to the broader community an integral part of the university experience, with 88 percent of students participating in community service both domestically and abroad during their time at Elon. One student notes that “service is one of the bigger components of life as an Elon student.”
This is the 34th annual edition of the Fiske Guide, which lists about 300 of the “best and most interesting” colleges and universities out of the nation’s 2,200 four-year schools. Edited by Edward B. Fiske, former education editor for The New York Times, the annual guide is based on academic ratings, price category, quality of student life on campus and other factors.