The 2005 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges, one of the nation’s top-selling college guides, calls Elon University a “rapidly rising star … with a welcoming environment and a supportive faculty.” The guide also lists Elon among 23 of the nation’s “best buy” private colleges and universities.
This is Elon’s first inclusion in the Fiske Guide, which lists 297 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 has been published since 1982, selecting top schools from around the country based on academic quality and other factors.
The Fiske Guide notes Elon’s strong emphasis on global perspectives and hands-on learning experiences. “Students here are encouraged to branch out into new areas of learning and to take an active role in their education,” wrote the authors. They also said Elon is “arguably the most architecturally consistent campus in the nation.”
The guide says Elon is a quality liberal arts university “making a name for itself” by “emphasizing service learning, research, and an active, engaged style of learning.” The guide also calls Elon students “exceptional” and “interested in both academics and leadership opportunities.”
In the Fiske “best buy” ranking, Elon is listed among only seven schools in the South, along with Wake Forest University and Warren Wilson College in North Carolina, Washington and Lee University in Virginia, Centre College in Kentucky, and Rhodes College and Sewanee: The University of the South in Tennessee.
The Fiske “Best Buy” ranking is based on the quality of the academic offerings in relation to the cost of attendance.