How to Apply to Elon University for Undergraduate Biology: A.B. and a B.S. with Three Tracks in a North Carolina Private University, Departmental Scholarships for Majors, for U.S., International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. The biology degree is offered by the Department of Biology in Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences. You apply to the university as a whole, not to the department. This article follows Elon’s own pages, with sections for U.S. applicants, international applicants and applicants from China, then transfer students. Chemistry is not covered here; medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health and exercise science are outside the scope of this article, so please see Elon’s website.

1. Degrees and programmes in biology

• The department’s degrees: the department offers a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.) with a major in biology, and a biology minor for students in other majors; the Bachelor of Arts is also offered with teaching licensure.
• The three B.S. tracks: all B.S. biology majors take the same core courses and then choose a track: Integrative Biology, Foundations for Medical Sciences or Biotechnology/Molecular Biology. Foundations for Medical Sciences has a “Human or Veterinary Disciplines” version and an “Allied Health or Therapy Disciplines” version, so the admissions site lists one A.B., one A.B. with teacher licensure, and four B.S. versions.
• Course lists: required and elective courses and credits for each degree are held in Elon’s academic catalogue and are not published on the pages read; please check the catalogue.
• Facilities: the department is housed in the McMichael Science Center, with a DNA sequencer, fluorescence and scanning electron microscopes, a flow cytometer, HPLC and PCR thermocyclers, and also a greenhouse, an herbarium, an undergraduate anatomy lab and Elon Forest.
• Related programmes: the admissions-site biology page lists biochemistry, environmental studies, exercise science, nursing, public health and science education as related majors; the Biochemistry B.S. is administered by the Department of Chemistry and has its own admissions-site page, so it is not covered here.

2. How admission works: apply to the university, choose a major later

• At application: the application requirements page does not ask for a major or say that biology has its own admission standard; Elon’s international FAQ says students need not declare a major until the end of sophomore year, though those who know what they want may begin major courses in the first year.
• Entry requirements for the biology major: the admissions-site and department pages read give no GPA threshold, prerequisite grades or cap on places; not published, please contact the department.
• Internal transfer into biology: not published; please contact the department.
• A first-year scholarship: the fact sheet says the department awards Jane M. Baird Scholarships to selected first-year students who participate in the pre-medical programme (selection criteria are not stated on the pages read).

3. Prerequisites and course selection

• High school courses: see “Recommended high school courses” in the application section (mathematics 3-4 units, at least 3 units of science including a laboratory science); no specific high school biology, chemistry or calculus requirement for biology is stated.
• AP and IB credit: the international FAQ says Elon gives university credit for AP and IB, with students “typically” needing 4 or better on AP and 5 or better on IB Higher Level to be considered; which AP/IB exam earns credit for which biology, chemistry or maths course is not stated on the pages read, and A-Level treatment is not published.
• Aims and learning style: the fact sheet says the approach stresses hands-on experience in the classroom, laboratory and field, with off-campus experiential opportunities and research seminars; one of the department’s listed goals is an experiential learning opportunity through either research or an internship.
• International study and field research: the department says faculty lead two international field research programmes during Winter Term — Belize (tropical rain forest and coastal habitats) and Peru (Amazonian rain forests and high-altitude cloud forest) — and biology majors have taken semester programmes in Australia, Denmark and the Turks and Caicos islands.
• Research and internships: the admissions-site page says biology majors are encouraged to pursue research and present at institutional, regional and national conferences such as the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. The department lists internship hosts including the Carnivore Preservation Trust, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the North Carolina Zoological Park, Alamance Regional Medical Center, LabCorp and Massachusetts General Hospital.
• Honours and scholarships: the fact sheet says academically talented students planning to major in biology may qualify for the Elon College Fellows or Honors Fellows programmes, which offer scholarship support, study abroad grants and special courses.
• Competitions: the pages read do not say how biology olympiads are viewed in admission; not published.

4. Rounds and materials

• Platform and fee: apply with the Elon University application or the Common Application; the fee is $60, non-refundable unless a waiver is issued. Required: the application, an official high school transcript and the School Report (included in the application). Elon says it receives about 19,000 applications for 1,685 first-year seats.
• Rounds (dates as printed, mostly without a year; please check that they apply to fall 2027 entry): Early Decision (binding) due November 1, notification December 1, and a non-refundable $1,000 deposit by January 10; Early Decision II (binding) due January 15, notification February 10, deposit by March 1; Early Action (non-binding) due November 1, notification December 20; regular deadline January 10, notification March 20; spring first-year December 1 (rolling). The deposit for EA and regular is May 1. Elon lists the benefits of ED as faster admission and aid notices, a $3,000 Elon Experiences grant and priority for a Living Learning Community.
• What is considered: Elon says the most important factors are the academic record (courses, grades, class standing), then the application essay, with leadership potential, extracurricular and service activities, special talents and ability to contribute to the campus also considered. Teacher recommendations are not required but may be submitted; the essay length is not stated on the pages read.
• Testing: SAT/ACT are optional; scores may be self-reported and official scores are required only after admission and enrolment; applicants may ask Elon not to review scores already on file. Elon says all students are considered for merit scholarships without scores; homeschooled applicants and nursing (BSN) applicants must submit scores.
• Recommended high school courses: English 4 units (3 completed for consideration); mathematics 3 units (Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry), 4 recommended; science 3 or more units including at least one laboratory science; social studies 3 or more (including U.S. history for U.S. residents); world language 2 units, 3 recommended (students without two units of one language take a 121-level language course at Elon).
• Honors, Fellows and scholarship programmes: apply to Elon by November 1 and to Honors or Fellows by November 10; the Odyssey Program (for students with high financial need) is due January 12; Scholars has its own application (the page says it opens in February and is due April 15, printed with 2026). Recipients also receive a $1,000 Global Study grant.

5. U.S. applicants

• Costs (2026-27, newly admitted students): the page lists tuition $50,386, student activity fee $292, health and wellness fee $690, housing (first-year average) $9,306 and food (basic meal plan) $8,229; it totals tuition and fees at $51,368, food and housing at $17,535 and the total at $68,903; the financial aid cost of attendance (adding books $1,000, transportation $1,500 and miscellaneous $2,000) is $73,403. Elon is private, and its cost page gives one tuition figure with no in-state/out-of-state split; no extra fee for biology majors is listed; not published.
• Aid: need is based on the FAFSA, and the page mentions federal, North Carolina residency need-based and institutional need-based aid; forms should be completed by mid-January. Other categories listed: merit-based, programme-based, exceptional need- and merit-based, and need-based scholarships; amounts are on Elon’s site.
• Testing and in-state preference: testing is optional; any in-state preference or guaranteed admission is not mentioned on the pages read; not published.

6. International applicants

• Who counts as international (Elon’s definition): any non-U.S. citizen (in the U.S. or abroad), any U.S. citizen attending school outside the U.S., any U.S. permanent resident, and any U.S. citizen who also holds another citizenship.
• Materials: the application and $60 fee; official secondary-school records in English sent directly to admissions by the school’s designated official; SAT/ACT optional; English test scores (below); the School Report. The FAQ says international students who have spent at least three years of high school outside the U.S. may apply without SAT/ACT scores; teacher recommendations are not required.
• English: required if the school’s language of instruction is not English — TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo. The international requirements page: for TOEFL taken before January 21, 2026, minimum 80 (internet-based); for exams taken on or after January 21, 2026, minimum 4 (internet-based, as printed); IELTS minimum 6.5; Duolingo minimum 110. The international FAQ lists only TOEFL 80 and IELTS 6.5, which differs from the requirements page; please rely on Elon’s latest page.
• Interview: Elon says that if the applicant has chosen to do an InitialView interview, it invites the applicant to submit it.
• Scholarships and aid: all first-year applicants are considered for the Presidential Scholarship, the Elon Engagement Scholarship and the International Scholar Award; the Fellows and Scholars programmes need a separate application and interview. Elon gives the total scholarship range for international applicants as $3,000–$23,500 per year; it does not currently offer need-based aid to non-U.S. citizens and offers no full scholarships.
• Visa documents after admission: passport copy, Certificate of Financial Responsibility, and an original bank statement or letter from the last six months; these are not used in the admission review and are submitted after admission to issue the I-20. Applicants must show funds to cover tuition, fees, room and board and miscellaneous expenses.

7. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the pages read do not say how Elon uses Gaokao results; not published, please contact admissions.
• Interview and English: see the previous section; Elon accepts an InitialView interview that the applicant submits, and the English-test requirement depends on the school’s language of instruction.
• Transcripts: records must be in English and sent directly by the school’s official; China-specific guidance on transcripts or school-leaving examinations is not published.
• Elon has no other China-specific guidance on the pages read.

8. Beyond costs: departmental support and outcomes

• Departmental scholarships (the department’s wording): the department has several scholarship funds for biology majors in their junior and senior years; each is for one academic year and students must reapply. The call usually goes out in early February, with forms due in late February or early March (another passage on the same page says mid-March); awards have ranged from $500 to $2,000, and all applicants must complete the FAFSA so that need can be assessed. The funds are the Reddish-Morgan, R.D. Rao, Jerry W. Lawson and Watts Biology scholarships (the Watts scholarship gives preference to students from a farming background). Biology majors interested in the health professions may also apply for the Lincoln and Edmund Scholarships awarded by the Health Professions Advisory Committee.
• Outcomes: the department says its graduates are prepared for graduate school, medical and other health professional schools, teaching and industry, in fields such as biotechnology, field biology, health care, education or research. The admissions-site page lists jobs in biology (health care professional, biomedical researcher, educator, field biologist, biotechnologist) and past internship hosts including Duke University Medical Center, LabCorp and the Ocean Mammal Institute. The pages read give no percentages for graduate destinations; not published.

9. Transfer students

• Criteria: Elon lists a minimum GPA of 2.7 from a regionally accredited two- or four-year institution; at least one full-time semester completed with at least 12 transferable credits; a record of consistent success; a Student Conduct Form from every institution attended; the transfer application with a $60 fee; official transcripts from every college; and a final high school transcript with SAT/ACT scores (which may be waived for some advanced or non-traditional students). Elon adds that previous college work is the primary factor, followed by high school performance and SAT/ACT scores.
• Deadlines: fall July 1, spring December 1 (no year printed; please check); applications are usually still accepted after the deadline on a space-available basis, and on-campus housing for transfer students is not guaranteed.
• Credit: evaluated course by course after admission; up to 65 semester hours from two-year institutions; grade of C or above; courses in the same department and similar in nature transfer as equivalents, otherwise usually as electives; three-credit courses are accepted (Elon uses a four-credit system); Math-Stats is the lowest math course accepted. Courses taken elsewhere between admission and enrolment must be approved.
• International transfer students: a Visa Clearance Form and related paperwork are required after acceptance if enrolling, not for the application review.
• Specific requirements (prerequisites, grades) for transferring into biology: not published; please contact the department.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Elon application or Common App; ED November 1, ED II January 15, EA November 1, regular January 10 (check the year); $60 fee; testing optional; teacher recommendations not required
• A major can be declared as late as the end of sophomore year; B.S. students choose a track after the core courses; departmental scholarships are for junior and senior majors

International applicants (including China):

• TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo if the language of instruction is not English (scores above); English-language transcripts sent by the school; an InitialView interview may be submitted; ask admissions how Gaokao results are used
• Scholarships of $3,000-$23,500 a year, no need-based aid; financial responsibility form and bank statement after admission

Transfer students:

• Fall July 1, spring December 1 (check the year); GPA of at least 2.7; one full-time semester and 12 transferable credits

Sources: Elon University, Majors list; Biology (admissions site); Biochemistry (admissions site); Biology: about our program; Biology: majors and minors; Biology: fact sheet; Biology: departmental scholarships; Application requirements; Dates and deadlines; Test-optional FAQ; International admissions requirements; International FAQ; Transfer requirements and deadlines; Credit transfer; Tuition and aid. Most dates on the admissions pages carry no year and a few notification dates print 2026, so please check that they apply to fall 2027 entry; costs are 2026-27 figures. Rely on Elon’s latest official pages.