Elon's newest students will arrive for Move-In Day on Friday, Aug. 23. Here’s what they have to look forward to, along with resources to help ensure a smooth transition into life and learning at Elon.
The countdown is on, as Elon’s newest students prepare to arrive on campus in a matter of days and excitement builds for the start of a new academic year.
Elon will welcome one of the largest classes in its history on the morning of Friday, Aug. 23, with new students settling into dorm rooms and beginning the transition to college life. The Class of 2023 consists of 1,675 first-year students arriving on campus, with 10 members beginning their Elon careers with a semester in Dublin, Ireland, through the Global Pathfinders program. Sixty-six transfer students will join the Elon community as well.
The Class of 2023 boasts an average SAT score of 1,241, an ACT score of 27 and an average GPA of 3.99. They'll be arriving from 43 states across the country and from 26 countries around the world. The class is made up of 61 percent women and 39 percent men, with 18 percent from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Each brings with them their own personal experiences as they launch their university careers.
Elon offers an intense and exciting introduction to the university and college life for these new undergraduates throughout a busy New Student Orientation program. First order of business — settling into new homes, as hundreds of students, faculty and staff lend a hand to help these new members of the Elon family cart clothes, refrigerators, works of art, instruments and electronics into residential communities across campus. The campus will come alive as these new students are joined by family members and scores of faculty, staff and current students eager to help them settle in and start their academic journey at Elon.
“We want to show these new students that we are a community that cares about each other, and everyone contributes to this community,” said Emily Krechel, director of New Student and Transition Programs. "This is a chance for everyone to work together to help these new students begin to feel at home."
Click here for a complete list of activities during the weekend and to keep track on your smartphone, be sure to download the Elon University Guides app on Apple or Android, and download "Elon Orientation '19" once the app launches.
On Friday morning, students and their families will be greeted by teams of Elon students there to help them find their way to their residence halls, unload their vehicles and get them settled in their rooms. Along with the more than 100 Elon Orientation Leaders, hundreds with student groups and athletic teams on campus are chipping in to help Move-In Day run smoothly. Throughout the weekend, staff will be on-hand at the New Student Orientation headquarters in the Moseley Center to assist.
Krechel said that Orientation Leaders have a special role in that they can be some of the first upperclass students the members of the Class of 2023 will interact with. Along with playing a significant role during New Student Orientation, these student leaders will continue helping them thrive throughout their time as an Elon student.
“It’s really a relationship that we hope will last beyond orientation, and could grow into more of a mentorship relationship,” Krechel said.
At Move-In, students have staggered move-in times depending upon which floor and building they will live on, with the first wave at 8 a.m., the next phases beginning at 9:30 a.m. and then 10:30 a.m. Students and families can find their proper move-in start times here. In addition to arriving at the assigned move-in time, students and their families should follow the driving directions to their assigned building and neighborhood. These driving directions will ensure all have a smooth move-in experience and everyone can get where they need to go as quickly as possible. Driving directions are located in Elon Bound and can also be accessed here.
Staggered move-in times and following your driving directions helps with the high volume of students and their families who will be coming to Elon’s campus during move-in day. The schedule reduces congestion, particularly on roads and parking lots around campus, as well as in the residence hall hallways and stairwells.
After beginning to settle in on Friday morning, these new students and their families will begin a series of information sessions that offer a variety of useful insights into navigating the academic and social aspects of college life. Family members can attend workshops on their first day covering topics such as student health and wellness, academic support, student involvement, the university transition and other subject areas.
Students begin a supportive and informative orientation journey by meeting their Orientation Leaders and small groups, and getting to know fellow students in their neighborhoods.
New Student Orientation doesn't just play out in classrooms around campus. Students will start getting to know others in their neighborhoods through multiple social and interactive events throughout the weekend. Friday night brings Late Night Elon in the Moseley Center, which Krechel said will offer students a taste of the variety of events and programming they can expect to see throughout the year.
New Student Convocation on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 24, will officially launch these new students' careers at the university, with Elon President Connie Ledoux Book welcoming students and their families to campus and sharing her thoughts about the experience they are beginning. The event begins with members of the class gathering in Alumni Gym to hear remarks from Vice President of Student Life Jon Dooley. The class will then process from Alumni Gym through Alamance Building, where they will pass the historic bell that hung in Old Main which was destroyed by fire in 1923, and then take their seats Under the Oaks.
As they depart from Under the Oaks following New Student Convocation, new students will receive the traditional gift of an acorn to mark their start at Elon one bookend to their time at Elon with the presentation of an oak sapling at Commencement as the other.
On midday Saturday, new students will say goodbye to their families during the Farewell Lunch at locations around campus including the Martin Alumni Center (blue tickets), the West Moseley Lawn (yellow tickets) and the West Koury Athletics Center Lawn (green tickets). Students have additional programming Saturday night, including late night events in their neighborhoods.
Sunday afternoon offers students the opportunity to participate in the HealthEU program that centers around making health choices while at Elon. Among the topics that will be addressed are gender-based violence, healthy relationships, consent, and alcohol and substance use and abuse. They will also begin exploring topics of identity and inclusion at Elon and will have an opportunity to speak with their peers about who they are and the many aspects of themselves they’re bringing with them to Elon.
On Sunday students will participate in Phoenix Flops Live, a discussion with campus administrators and students sharing stories about when they have failed, and how they learned to be resilient. That night, students are invited to show off their Phoenix pride during a 8:30 p.m. pep rally in the new Schar Center followed by The Koury Kickoff, a late-night event beginning at 10 p.m. in the Koury Athletic Center and on Young Commons that will offer a variety of wellness activities for students to participate in.
Monday programming helps get students in the mindset to begin their classes and get to experience what a classroom environment is like during the What to Expect in the Classroom and the Engaged Learning session with an Elon faculty member. New Student Orientation officially concludes for students over lunch with their Orientation Leaders when they will wrap up their experience and prepare to be fully immersed into Elon the next day.
Fall semester classes begin on Tuesday, Aug. 27. First-year students should also put the Aug. 29 Organization Fair on Young Commons on their calendars. This is an opportunity to learn about Elon's many student groups and make plans to get further involved in the life of the university.