Potential Fellows compete for spots this weekend

Almost 500 high school seniors are scheduled to attend the competition that begins this Friday

Alyse Knorr / Arts & Entertainment Editor

Fellows candidates for the class of 2010 will compete across campus this weekend to earn a spot in one of five Fellows programs and the Engineering program.

Greg Zaiser, associate dean of Admissions and Financial Planning and director of Undergraduate Admissions, said that 496 high school seniors are scheduled to attend Fellows weekend this year.

"This is the most complex weekend we do at admissions," Zaiser said.

"Just about every faculty member is involved."

Competing students will check in at noon Friday and spend the afternoon on campus in an atmosphere similar to spring orientation.

At 7 p.m. Friday, each Fellows program will hold a reception for its potential members.

"It's an opportunity for prospective Fellows and their families to meet the faculty and see students already in the program," Zaiser said.

Saturday morning, candidates will attend general information sessions, and throughout the day, each candidate will share a 20-minute interview with a faculty member.  Also on Saturday, candidates will sit in on one of 23 seminars across the disciplines and write a reaction paper to this seminar.  The reaction paper and interview are both part of the competition and selection process.

Throughout the weekend, current Fellows will be stationed around campus to answer questions and help the new candidates.  Current Fellow students will also guide candidates to their interviews, answer questions at receptions and speak as members of a panel that parents will attend during student seminars.

Freshmen Honors Fellows Amy Reitnouer and Larissa Ferretti are both working as volunteers this weekend. They will help answer questions at the Honors reception Friday evening and at the Honors Pavilion open house Saturday afternoon. They will also  give tours of the building and talk to candidates and their families about life in learning communities.

"I want this year's applicants to see how awesome the school is," Reitnouer said.

Freshman Communications Fellow Conor Britain is also working at Fellows weekend.

"I missed some of Fellows weekend last year because of the time it took to travel to Elon," Britain said.  "So I want to share in the experience that I missed before and help get the students comfortable with the program."

"Fellows weekend is an opportunity for us to show off the very best of Elon," Zaiser said. "It's a worthwhile endeavor for the entire university."

Reitnouer said that Fellows weekend was a very important factor for her in her application process. "Last year's Fellows weekend was what made me decide to come to Elon," she said. "It was such a warm and inviting atmosphere.  People were so friendly, and it didn't feel like a competition."

Ferretti expressed a similar appreciation for her Fellows weekend experience.

"It was only my second visit to Elon, so I got to learn more about the school and I got to talk to more directors," she said.  "I felt better about Elon because I saw how much everyone liked it. Everyone had good things to say about it."

The competition began for the potential Fellows with a separate application and essay that was due in January.

The Office of Admissions received over 1,000 Fellows applications, and of these, 55 percent were invited to attend Fellows weekend activities.

The Elon College, Honors, Journalism/Communications, Business and Isabella Canon Leadership Fellows programs will all be represented this weekend, as well as Engineering, which is not a Fellows program but gives scholarship money.  The sixth Fellows program, Teaching Fellows, is state-run and has a separate competition process.

Fellows gain many perks at Elon, including scholarship money, a value-added curriculum and unique classes.  Retention of Fellows in the program is relatively high, but lateral entry is available for all the programs except Communications, which accepts people by lateral entry only when a spot is open.

Contact Alyse Knorr at pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247