The community atmosphere at Elon University prompted sophomore Laurel Weibe to uprot from Chicago and relocate to a smaller town in North Carolina.
While Weibe said she loved the big city, she felt Loyola Chicago University lacked a sense of community and personal relationships with the professors.
“Classes were not engaging,” she said. “It was like I was being talked at.”
Weibe is one of 86 transfer students enrolled for the 2012-2013 school year, slightly more students than average.
Elon typically receives about 400 transfer applications annually. This year, 50 percent of transfer applicants were accepted, and 21 percent of those were enrolled in the university.
To apply for a transfer to Elon, a student must have 12 transferable credits, a minimum GPA of 2.7 and provide both high school and college transcripts.
Sophomore Kevin Amaya transferred to Elon after spending a year at Mitchville Community College.
“It’s all a new experience for me, but I know where my goals are,” Amaya said.
Amaya visited Elon before graduating high school, and although he wanted to apply, he chose to stay home for a year to save money.
“I came to the open house and really liked the environment of the school,” Amaya said. “I was so excited for Elon before I came, but being here is 10 times better.”
Unlike Amaya, Weibe did not originally look at Elon because she did not plan to attend a Southern school.
“I looked for what I wanted and Elon kept coming up,” Weibe said. “It’s amazing going to a school that everyone loves.”
The transfer students for the 2012-2013 school year range from freshmen to juniors, and three are international students.
“We want the students to be successful,” said Kaitlyn Schultz, associate director of admissions. “We set them up for success.”