<p>I'm a white junior from Tennessee. I've been set on Sewanee for about 6 months now, but the more I read about Wake Forest, the more I like it: top 30 ranking with a small-school feel, from what I hear.</p>
<p>So one thing led to another and now Wake Forest is my number 1.</p>
<p>Is there any advice that accepteds/current students have to give?</p>
<p>A few questions to get started:
Should I take SAT IIs?
How important is service in the admissions process?
How important are interviews in the admissions process?</p>
<ol>
<li>SAT IIs are not required (they don’t even look at SAT I scores if you choose not to submit), however I think having some good SAT II scores might help you a little. (I had one 800 on mathiic)</li>
<li>Yes, just like any other colleges. Service hours are very important.</li>
<li>They say interviews are important since they made SATs optional. It’s not required or anything though. Apart from that - my personal experience - I thought I did a horrible job on my on-campus interview and i still got in. Seems like it didn’t really hurt my chances:)</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>So is it worth my time to take them? Especially since I have relatively low grades in class (I didn’t do homework the first two years of high school), I’d like to show them that I know what I’m doing even though I was lazy.</li>
<li>My school requires 15 hours/year, would you recommend going above and beyond?</li>
<li>How early did you complete your interview? I haven’t even visited yet and I feel a little behind.</li>
</ol>
<p>" I have relatively low grades in class (I didn’t do homework the first two years of high school), I’d like to show them that I know what I’m doing even though I was lazy." </p>
<p>This is a BIG obstacle to overcome, and you better do everything you can to overcome it, like great SAT I and II. Even then, it is something they don’t easily dismiss. There are too many strong applicants that took school serious. Getting your act together for basically a year and a half probably isn’t enough at Wake or any top school.</p>
<p>^False, assuming the grades are bad but not terrible, excellent SATs will compensate at Wake Forest. I would think 1450+ will put you in good shape and 1550+ and you’ll be set (out of 1600). However, weak fresh/soph grades are nearly impossible to overcome at ivies and top 10 schools. (This is coming from a senior who didn’t try fosh/soph and had high SATs).</p>
<p>Jump - um… that’s what I said. And, yes, 99 percentile scores do wash away some gpa problems, but it is easier said than done. Are you in at WF? What are you basing your comments on?</p>
<p>By “relatively low”, I meant that I had one C+ freshman year, and the rest of my fresh/soph grades were high Bs/low As, whereas now we’re talking As in honors/APs. Is Wake really competitive enough that several Bs and a C would keep me from admission, even if I end up with 1450+?</p>
<p>Granted, there aren’t set criteria for admission, but I would think that they would “give and take” some. If they take students with excellent grades but an SAT so bad that they didn’t send it in, why wouldn’t they take students with decent grades and a good/excellent SAT?</p>
<p>So now that we have a grasp on the type of student I am (ha), would applying Early Decision be smart for me? (The site says ED applicants are given some preference) If I’m not accepted ED, can I still apply regular?</p>
<p>I did basically the same thing. Almost exactly, actually. Never did homework, got a lot of grades that were only one or two points short of being an A, and got a C sophmore year. Now I’m all A’s, all AP’s, with a decent SAT score, and no SAT II’s. I did interview, and I don’t think I did too well, but I think being able to expand on EC’s and explain the whole grade situation was a big plus. If you’re really set on WF, the interview in December will probably be your best shot at proving that you really do belong/want to be there. They focus more on your personality than your grades.</p>
<p>Well, WFU is SAT-optional now, and it is the first year of them doing that. So, we really do not know how much of an influence high SATs have for admissions. (then again, they need to keep a high average for the rankings…)</p>
<p>In an article talking about making the SAT optional, the Dean of Admissions at Wake Forest talked about in previous years that some people might’ve gotten admitted just because their SATs were 30-40 points higher than someone else. She went on to say that was a horrible criteria to distinguish applicants and that is why they are now striving for near 100% of applicants interviewed, so they can get to know the individual.</p>
<p>Is the SATs really not that important to them, or are they just playing lip service? I guess we will find out in the coming weeks when decisions come out.</p>
<p>And yes, ED would give a bit of an edge for admissions as long as finances are not a problem, or you and your parents are okay with whatever fin aid package Wake Forest will give you.</p>
<p>hahaha kaydog are you actually calling my expertise into question. My statement is based on past admissions decisions wf has made (of applicants from my school). I understand that they have very recently become SAT optional, but its probably a ploy to increase applications and eventual SAT score ranges. I doubt admissions in now putting much less emphasis on the test. And my admission is still pending (RD).</p>
<p>CollegeboundTN – If you are deferred ED, you will be reconsidered for admission along with all the regular decision applicants. If you are rejected ED, that’s final; you will not be considered for admission that year (you can’t apply regular decision). That’s true for all schools, not just Wake Forest.</p>
<p>for eds are most welcomed at wake, shall’t give a better chance for thee. but beware that ed acceptance letters should block any kind of financial package that you deserve.</p>
<p>I believe that if you need aid of any sort in order to attend, you should not apply ED. ED is binding so if you apply and are accepted you are obligated to attend. By going ED, you are saying, “Yes” I will go to Wake Forest if accepted and must withdraw other applications. You will not know your aid packages until after the decision. Someone, please correct me if I am wrong. My senior son almost applied ED, but decided he was not ready to commit for sure so took his chances with RD.</p>
<p>As for for hucmenzu’s comments, I don’t know anything about how ED affects eventual aid offer.</p>
<p>I don’t think a few B’s or even a freshman C+ necessarily means you would not be accepted, but clearly the stronger your whole package, the better. Also, it depends what you mean by a few B’s… a 3.3 GPA is far different than a 3.7, for example. From what we could tell during our search process, GPA is very important but doesn’t necessarily have to be 4.0 to gain admittance. Essays, interview (they strongly recommend), strength of schedule, EC’s, service, etc… all come into play. Hard to tell how big a factor the SAT is with the new system, BUT clearly a high SAT can only help and not hurt.</p>
<p>OP, I think you might have misunderstood Hicmenzu’s post. </p>
<p>ED applicants are evaluated for both merit-based and need-based aid just like RD applicants. Applying ED does not lessen the amount aid offered; however, it does not give you the flexibility to consider other school’s packages nor does it let you decline their offer of admissions if you feel that the aid is not sufficient. The only way to back out of an ED agreement (at any school) is if you literally cannot afford to attend, even with their aid package, and that is based of how the college thinks you should be able to afford. Wake Forest is both need-blind and meets 100% of demonstrated need with a maximum loan/work-study offered at 4k/a year, so there will be no way to back out on their offer, as the “meet full demonstrated need”, so theoretically, your EFC + their Fin Aid = COA.</p>
<p>If I was you, I would go run some EFC calculator and predictors and see what they say your EFC is. Then talk to your parents and see if they are willing to pay in that range (your actual EFC might be higher/lower, every school has their own formula, so the estimator is a rough idea).</p>
<p>What Wake Forest’s Financial Aid package would look like is COA - EFC = Aid Package. So, if say WFU is 52k a year, and your EFC was 12,000 then…
52000 - 12000 = 40k a year in aid. 36k a year in grants (free money) and 4k a year in loans/work-study. This would actually be a little less because I believe Wake Forest expects students to make around a couple thousand a year in the summer, but it about how much you should expect with that EFC.</p>