Candid advice.
Delivered with style, humor and heart.
Hot Listing: Elon University
For most of my life, my preconceived notions about North Carolina were more or less limited to chewing tobacco and Jesse Helms.
And I’ve never had much use for either. I care deeply about dental hygiene and find homophobic bigots generally distasteful.
For most of my life, my preconceived notions about North Carolina were more or less limited to chewing tobacco and Jesse Helms.
And I’ve never had much use for either. I care deeply about dental hygiene and find homophobic bigots generally distasteful.
But Jesse is long dead and my teeth look great. So it was inevitable that this moment would find me: speeding west from Raleigh in the driver’s seat of an ice blue vintage Saab, Godmother in tow, on my way to visit Elon University.
Sure, several people from my high school attended college here. As a long haul counselor, I’ve delivered several fabulous kids to its doorstep. And its reputation is quite strong in the “industry.” But it had long stood as one of the few colleges I had never visited in person - the enigmatic haze of the rural South always vaguely clouding its place in my mind.
But here I am - finally, if not a tad begrudgingly.
Though ultimately: shame on me. Because this place is fabulous.
Straight out of the gate, the visit experience is tight, impressive and well choreographed (one of the best I’ve ever had) - but also so full of genuine heart. The campus is as immaculate and gorgeous as the day is long - it’s actually a registered botanical garden. The sense of place on these grounds is acute, remarkable - almost fantastic.
And they gifted me a fabulous t-shirt that is really quite slimming - very GQ. Is James Perse making their merch?
If that wasn’t enough, here are three key reasons to love Elon (even more):
It’s a sensational value. Full cost of attendance here hovers at just under $67,000 per year. It’s a bargain these days (which is shocking, I know). At many similarly profiled private institutions, the price tag runs roughly $25,000 more per year, sometimes more. Mic drop.
It has one of the best Musical Theater programs in the country. What can I say? I’m a sucker for splashy production numbers and a bit of easily resolved drama. Elon grads have been populating key theatrical roles - particularly on Broadway - for many years, including in Dear Evan Hansen and Tina. I also think the strength of this program adds another vivid dimension to the institutional culture and helps support a particular diversity in the community at large. You know: the kind of people that will, sporting a cropped tank top, belt Flowers as they sprint down a primely located Fitness Center treadmill - and then glitter bomb your whole Comp. Lit seminar, just for the hell of it. Sorry, Jesse.
Elon is showing up for Jewish students. It was one of only two schools to recently earn a solid “A” on the Anti-Defamation League’s new Campus Antisemitism Report Card. The other was Brandeis. This feat is so very important right now - and one made all the more remarkable given its Bible Belt location.
I would be remiss if I didn’t take a hot moment to state the obvious: the academics here are outstanding. And in my opinion, pretty underrated nationally. When you go you will learn about their finely articulated commitment to critical thinking and experiential learning, and their uniquely impactful model for fostering faculty/student mentorship relationships. This last bit is worth its weight in gold.
Accordingly, it's my sincere belief that the cultural center of this community is not the bravado or snobbishness that sometimes befalls selective colleges. Nor is it needless, exhausting academic competition (which is mishegoss anyway).
It’s the people. And wonderful people, to boot. The enclosure of the campus and its relative isolation only makes those connections - those people - better, it would seem. And the community: much more of a tightly held embrace.
The folks I met here were eclectic, but all electric - extroverted, smart and really approachable. Not a whiff of pretension. Personality and openness and kindness must be in the water. Fun, random strangers smiled at me on paths and held doors for me in just about every building. My tour guide, Owen, was a popstar, and even the other people on the tour were saucy and connective and smart and stylish - they were people I’d be friends with.
Speeding east on I-40, I accidentally cut off a guy in a huge F-150 with a Don't Tread on Me bumper sticker. Sorry, sir: I should have stayed in the right lane. But I was lost in thought: “had Elon been there the whole time?” Well yes, it had. So perhaps it was me. My own smallmindedness. My own rash judgment. Or perhaps, like most things and people: it’s only gotten better and more welcoming with age.
So go see Elon. Because the moment has come to stop being afraid of the deep South. And I volunteer to go first.
Warren Buffet Might Tell You to Go to Purdue
I have a crush on Warren Buffet.
Disclaimer: not romantically. No offense. But rather because he’s an extraordinary human being. And because he knows money.
I have a crush on Warren Buffet.
Disclaimer: not romantically. No offense. But rather because he’s an extraordinary human being. And because he knows money.
If, by chance, you live alone in a dark hayloft outside East Jesus, Nowhere, and don’t know who he is, Warren is a brilliant, beloved and insanely wealthy investor and philanthropist. He has, in his nearly 70 year career, made his trademark focus on “value” a widely trafficked and heralded approach to equity investing - one that prioritizes strong fundamentals and long-term thinking. It has netted him and his company - Berkshire Hathaway - billions of shekels. And rather admirably: he’s got a heart the size of Nebraska itself.
You may think it strange, but I often find myself emulating and channeling Warren in my life and work. I talk about value a lot - what’s “under the hood” of colleges, and how that connects with the goals, instincts and desires of students. Fit and value, indeed, go hand in hand.
But Warren is also a devotee of the concept and power of compound interest. I’m not going to explain it, because you have access to the internet. But you should learn about it before you decide where to go to college.
Dance break disclosure: I am not a certified financial planner or wealth manager. But we can still do a simplified and hypothetical exercise, just for fun.
You are currently a high school junior. You are an only child. Your parents have earned well, saved religiously, and invested shrewdly since before you were born. Thus, you do not qualify for need-based financial aid. Sidebar: if this is you, let’s acknowledge that you are supremely privileged and quite lucky. You should be humbled, and beyond grateful. You should mow your parents' lawn for free for the rest of their lives.
You love Cornell. You also love Purdue. Both are fabulous fits with much to offer you in every conceivable way, and you would be happy to attend either.
Ultimately, you apply to and are admitted to both. Great work.
Now, for the cold, hard truth:
Here is the projected, rough chop cost of your four years at Cornell (Arts & Sciences): approximately $387,000.
Here is the projected, rough chop cost of your four years at Purdue (Out of State): approximately $190,000.
Here is the difference: $197,000.
Enter the stylish queen with the compound interest calculator.
If you took that $197,000 and invested it in my favorite, dowager-approved mutual fund (Fidelity Puritan) today and left it untouched for the next 14 years, it could grow to around $675,000 by your 30th birthday. That future sum will have the buying power of about $456,000 today.
Pause, and say this number out loud: $456,000.
That could help you start your dream company. Or help you walk off a job that is giving you grief. Or you could stay home with your first child. Or buy a condo - in cash - in many fabulous parts of our country.
You could hire Cardi B to perform at your 30th birthday party - the bass line from Money shaking the floor as $20 notes and gold confetti rain from the ceiling.
You could - a la Warren himself - give a sizable chunk of it away to people and organizations doing good in the world.
Hell: you could do all of these things and then some.
Of course your parents could reclaim that money - and retire to Boca five years early. A well earned and just reward for supporting and loving you since birth.
The rub is that I can’t assign value in and to other people's lives - I can merely encourage them to consider it for themselves and their families. And no judgment: if Cornell is worth that much more to you, go for it. In the end, it’s deeply subjective: we like what we like, we want what we want, we need what we need. We all have different viewpoints and priorities and paths to follow. And some would posit that fundamentally: money is meant to be spent, and investing in kids is a good way to do it.
And please do note: even if you do end up falling into the expansive category of people who will rightfully qualify for some need-based financial aid, you may very well still have to make a similar decision about what it’s all worth - just with differently scaled numbers.
And when that moment comes, be sure to keep value - and a smiling, 93-year-old Midwestern mensch - at the center of that conversation. Think about it longitudinally; Warren himself proves that life is both long and fabulous. Just don’t forget to compound the interest along the way.
To close, I’ll do something I rarely do in polite company: I’ll tip my hand. I would likely tell you to go to Purdue.
And I think Warren might, too.