Hi guys! As a handful of y’all might of seen in my last thread, I got deferred from WFU.(By the way thank you to everyone who responded to that you all give amazing advice , and it really helped me out!) What I basically gathered from that thread is that while I can still keep Wake on my list, it’s for the best that I set it aside for now, and focus my attention to applying to other schools. I’ve taken some time over the past few days to really research other colleges and update my college list.I have a bit of a long list, but hey it’s winter break now, and that’s the perfect opportunity to turn in some apps! I know that RD deadlines are approaching, but I’m confident that I can turn these all in over break. Here is my current list-all opinions and comments are welcome! Other school recommendations would be especially appreciated!Thank you in advanced to everyone that takes the time to read through this whole list-you’re the best!
A few things I loved about Wake that I’m looking for in other colleges
Campus- I know I know this shouldn’t be such a giant factor, but I want to go somewhere that has a pretty well kept campus
Location- I like that it’s in the south, and that it’s in a nice city, but at this point location is becoming less and less of a dealbreaker to me
Graduate schools/programs- I’m interested in either pursuing business or law, so I definitely want to go to a school that will help me pursue either of these interests.
I like the “work hard, play hard” mentality at Wake. I would love to go to a school with a good balance between good academics and a lively campus.
Stats
-3.8 GPA. My school doesn’t offer AP/honor courses
-Not submitting any test scores
-Plan on full paying
-Just received my 1st term grades which are all As and A-s
-English/writing tutor
-Local zoo intern
-Selected to be on a local charity committee
-Part of set and wardrobe design for school plays
-JV tennis player
-Part of several school clubs
-Involved in a lot of visual art things. I’m part of a local art club, and I’ve had a few pieces of work selected to be in small exhibits(don’t want to pursue art as a major, but I might submit a portfolio)
Ok with all that out of the way here’s my list so far.(Props to you if you’re still here!)
Richmond
SMU
Pepperdine(definitely a lot more different than the rest of my list in terms of geography, but I love it!)
Pepperdine has religious aspects / requirements so make sure you understand them ?
You will be late for Pitt merit and Tulane is tough by any standards, but especially if you missed EA/ED.
Rhodes is an LAC.
While you can pay full do your want to ?
You have big, midsize, small and non existent (GW).
Rhodes is not in a good area. Not South but Macalester would be better. If South, maybe Rollins or Oglethorpe to stay South and to get bigger, U of Tampa which is really nice. You had Elon b4. Great choice
Well kept big is Alabama and it will be inexpensive. Ms State will also be cheap and is well kept. If you want a nice town/campus in a booming area look at Arkansas. College of Charleston is a smaller Pitt and right in the heart of things. Miami of Ohio is a really nice campus - 45 mins from Cincy.
GW is most similar to NYU and BU amongst others. American would be the more similar to Wake but I don’t think it’s overly well kept or attractive.
Keep the faith and best wishes.
Ps check deadlines. Clemson is really nice but if you missed a deadline would be hard to get into.
I know it’s definitely a lot different from the rest of the places on my list. Honestly though I feel good about it I’ve talked to people who have gone there, and have done a lot of other research about it. Also I was raised in a family that is very active with our church and faith, so I think it could be a good fit. I am still keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll get some good news from Richmond or SMU though!
As ridiculous (I think) it is to pick a school mainly on aesthetics, my son basically did…was in at Purdue engineering with merit but once he saw the honors form at Bama he was sold.
My daughter rated schools for dumpiness…loved Washington and Lee and Emory.
My favorites Va Tech (enormous) and Duke.
Whatever works for you. Hope Wake still works but did you notice they have parking lots in front of each building instead of garages ?? My daughter hated that.
Elon is beautiful as is William and Mary. Honestly so many nice college campuses and everyone has their own opinion.
I went to Syracuse. It’s gorgeous yet no magazine ranks it highly !!
That’s so funny you should say that about the parking lots-I’ve heard that quite a few times! People really seem to be bothered by that! I love W&L but it seems nearly impossible to get into. I’ll definitely check out VA Tech. Someone actually just recommended Syracuse to me! Said it’s amazing. Thank you again !
Richmond, Tulane and SMU I understand. The rest meh. Nice schools but they don’t match your requirements. Pitt grad many years ago and recommend highly but doesn’t check your boxes.
Miami is a no brainer. If you’re open to bigger schools FSU might fit the bill. S21 is there and loves it so far. The have a circus on campus.
As you’re looking at time…a school like FSU has already gone through priority registration. You can still apply and it’s on common app…but this is where you have to cull down and you should look at which deadlines have passed, etc. but you have 20 common app slots so use them, especially if no extra essays. A school like FSU or UMD at this point would be a reach.
FSU also requires a test…all Florida and GA publics do. So if you haven’t taken the SAT/ACT you can eliminate them.
Great suggestion by @chmcnm in fact it was one of my daughters final 4. And it’s cheap !!
Just be sure as you’ve been given varied names that you look at the requirements and deadlines.
If a school has EA and ED, they will be harder (but not necessarily) impossible to get in RD.
I think the only test required are the FL and GA publics. The privates in those states are optional.
I finally have to weigh in here about Wake Forest and parking lots in front of buildings. Wake does not have parking lots in front of buildings. The academic buildings all front beautifully landscaped quadrangles or tree lined streets, with parking behind.
If one were to drive through the campus and not get out of a car one might get that impression. I think there was another comment about too many parking garages. Wake has no parking garages…none.
That explains it. When we visited (there, High Point, and Richmond), we were given permission to drive through but not get out. We did come back on the other side but my daughter had eliminated it by then . At other schools on the same trip…my daughter commented on the garages and how it was nice there were not cars all over campus.
Truth is there’s a million campuses and a million opinions of them. I love my alma mater. Niche gives it a low grade. I live in TN…everyone thinks the UTK campus is gorgeous…but Princeton Review rates it one of the ugliest.
Everyone has an opinion. Obviously Wake is a wonderful school in so many aspects….hence one of the college gate parents the other year bought their kids admission. That’s a stamp of success right there…for real. Sinister, criminal and all that etc but if they felt that strongly about getting their child in, that says a lot about the school itself…just not the dirtbags that played a part.
If you look at ten lists of top 50 nicest campuses, you’d probably get 250 or 300 names.
Good to know tho on the office park thing. I was equating it to UAH
Definitely check out Elon - one of the most beautiful campuses I’ve seen. Also, not sure if it’s too small for you but Davidson also has a beautiful campus.
My daughter goes to VT and their campus is amazing. It’s a big school for sure but everything is walkable, and Blacksburg is a great college town! Their sense of community and school spirit is for real.
We also toured UTK and thought it was a pretty campus and one of the cleanest campuses we saw.
My daughter is at Clemson, gorgeous campus, amazing school spirit, work hard play hard atmosphere. She also had a higher gpa than the op, good test scores, all honors/AP classes, and was rejected from Tulane (no demonstrated interest, I’m assuming the OP is the same).
LOL at the collegegate parent ‘buying’ their kid into WF- wonder how the kid took it when they discovered the truth in the nickname Work Forest
I don’t understand at all why GWU is on your list: it is the antithesis of your #1 priority (pretty campus) and you don’t reference any of their best things (eg, no signs that you are a polisci/IR or pre-health student).
Davidson is a tougher admit these days than people realize, but is the closest analog to WF on this list.
