I have narrowed my selection down to these three schools. For BC, I would be going to the business school. Could anyone give me some insight on pros and cons with each school? Which school is most reputable? Which schools would be best for getting into grad school? Which school has the best atmosphere?
Bump: I know all of these schools are all different. I just wanted to see people’s different perspectives on all of them
These 3 are probably more similar than different. BC and Colgate have the same type of student body and vibe. Location vastly different though. Colgate is known for having a very strong alumni network which is helpful for internships, job placement, networking etc. Wake has a stronger greek presence than Colgate. You can’t go wrong with any. You should probably choose based on preferred location, because that is one of the biggest differences between these schools
Cost? Goals?
For grad school admissions, it won’t make a difference, Admissions Committees will view these three the same.
@WildestDream Cost is not really a factor. I plan on someday doing something in the world of finance. Maybe work for a company like Goldman Sachs in Manhattan
Also. Check out two great videos on YouTube or if you google it. BC “Happy” and Shake it off. BC. The later Taylor Swift tweeted out to her 45 million followers. They are great and give a good look at some facilities the kids and some fun
Oh BC for banking or finance.
Please don’t pick a school based on a Taylor Swift “Shake it Off” parody promo video…
Congrats on great acceptances.
“Cost is not really a factor. I plan on someday doing something in the world of finance. Maybe work for a company like Goldman Sachs in Manhattan”
You’ll love Wake Forest.
It’s not a parody video. That would indicate it was designed to mock or lampoon. It is well done and fun. It was produced by a student group for espresso yourself week. Think it gives a nice look at the kids. Some facilities and a bit of a sense about having a little fun. But if one were to select based on this it would be silly. But also it would be unwise to follow the advice of someone who seemingly searched out BC threads to post negativity. These are cream of the crop schools and kids. No bad choices. So fit and personality of a school does matter. In my opinion.
My best friend at work has a daughter visiting Wake next week. She was waitlisted at BC and not staying on the list at BC. Is ready to go all in on Wake. Much better weather too if you like outside non skiing sports for four months a year.
All great schools. Can’t speak to Colgate other than it has a great reputation as a leading LAC. Very familiar with Wake and BC (full disclosure, S attends Wake and was quite interested in BC - those were his top 2)
Similarities - Rigorous core liberal arts curriculum designed to develop critical thinking, expression (written and verbal) and well rounded students. Excellent business schools, beautiful defined, suburban campuses. Lots of school spirit. ACC sports. Community service driven (lots of ways to get involved that are actually fun). Student body is viewed as upper middle class, preppy, etc (although they meet full need and provide a lot of need based aid to those that qualify).
Finance specifically - both are very strong and have a good flow of grads recruited to banking each yr. Although neither is considered a target school (of the BBs- major investment banks), they both have strong alumni, many of which work on Wall St. BC is in a great market for Asset Mgmt. Several major fund companies are HQed n Boston so there’s way more opportunity for that. Wake is close to Charlotte (home of BofA and Wells Fargo) . Charlotte is considered the 2nd major banking city on the east coast so tons of corporate and investment banking jobs). Both do get attention from Wall St., just not as much as the Ivies or super elite schools.
Location - Wake is in Winston Salem. A nice town / city. Pretty artsy. Good food and pubs all over the place. About 10 minutes from campus (provides a shuttle service - actually has a downtown campus for it’s new engineering school so buses run consistently for students to attend classes). Very quaint setting but it’s not Boston. Boston is a thriving city that combines history, technology, politics,etc. A true destination city. BC is in a very nice suburb so you get the best of both worlds, beautiful self contained campus with easy access to a wonderful city.
BC is about twice the size of Wake (UG) . Wake has proven to be VERY solid in providing service. They pride themselves in “taking care” of the students. Advisors galore. Career Services is amazing.
Weather at Wake is fantastic! Easy to get to mountains and beaches. All four season but not extreme (good for a kid from FL).
S is having a fantastic yr. I’m sure he would have done the same at BC but he loves Wake and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
BC also produced 17 Fulbright Scholars last year. Top 20 nationally.
I can’t imagine cost isn’t a factor to SOMEONE - if you are indifferent, cost should be a consideration, just to be considerate. Just my two cents 
If cost is essentially the same among the three, the weather difference between Wake Forest and Colgate/BC will be vastly different.
What about ease of travel to/from school and home?
Weather is much better at wake
Which is the most elite, especially if I wish to pursue an ivy league grad school? Or are they all the same essentially?
Same
Really, they are all very similarly outstanding. About as close as you can get. How you do at any of them will be DRAMATICALLY more important than which one you choose. Choose the one you love. You’ll do better at the place that is the best fit. Work hard, have fun, take advantage of opportunities, make opportunities, treat everyone with dignity and respect. You’ll do well. Good luck!
(They are so close academically, really, here is one thing I’d consider–weather. Will you get up on a morning when it’s 10 degrees outside and there’s snow and ice everywhere to attend a required distribution class with a prof who is not all that exciting? If that sounds unpleasant, choose Wake, which has much better weather. You’ll have those bitterly cold early morning slogs a lot less often. If, on the other hand, that’s sounds fine and you like snow, then certainly consider the other two. If you really want to be able to go out in a big city, choose BC. Winston-Salem is a pretty nice small city, but not Boston. They all have A+ campuses; I personally liked Colgate campus the best, but that’s just personal preference. And I thought it would be really cold (Coldgate) (visited in the summer)).
But would Colgate or BC help me more with getting into a grad school in the northeast or an internship in the northeast than wake forest would?
Bc in Boston corridor I would say yes nyc and elsewhere it’s a student by student decision with equal weight to all schools.