<p>Hey, I was wondering if anyone could help me compare these two schools. I applied and got into both of them with pretty much the same financial aid.</p>
<p>I was accepted to the Carroll school of management and would most likely apply to Calloway at Wake when able to.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any advice on choosing between these two schools? I know they both have great programs but can anyone give me some pros and cons about the schools themselves? What about job placement after graduation? are they similar?</p>
<p>I applied to BC and Wake Forest as well – I was denied at BC and accepted at WFU. I always liked Wake better than BC, anyway, and would have definitely gone to Wake. They are very similar in that they both have sports teams and gorgeous campuses. Wake is most definitely warmer (it snows a lot in Boston). BC is also a religious institution. I personally am not religious at all, so this made me a little uncomfortable, although I know several people who go there and they tell me that it doesn’t really play a big part at BC.</p>
<p>Wake is very big on Greek life, while BC has no Greek scene. While I wasn’t a huge fan of Winston-Salem, I wasn’t a big fan of Chestnut Hill, either. Sure, it’s near Boston, but that’s a 45 minute train ride that I doubt I’d take many times. </p>
<p>It’s really a personal choice, but I would pick Wake over Boston College. It really depends on where you fit in the best, though. Weather was a huge deal for me – I’m not a big fan of cold weather and I would have to like a school a lot more than another school in order to go there over a warm weather school. </p>
<p>As for the business schools, USN&WR rates Carroll as #25, and Calloway as #30, while overall Wake rates #28 and BC ranks #34. This shows that the schools are rated VERY similarly in overall education – so your choice can really be about personal preference. There are many other factors to look at, though.</p>
<p>I hope this helped a little bit. Good luck in picking a school!</p>
<p>BC is the Wake Forest of the North and Wake is the BC of the South. Two great places, wonderful campus scenes. A couple of points to consider - BC is not only a Catholic (Jesuit) institution, it’s a very Catholic community - about 80% of the student body. It’s up to you if that’s a pro or con, but it’s not the same campus climate as Georgetown, another Jesuit school where the majority of students are not Catholic. Wake is less than half the size of BC - really almost a hybrid between a large LAC / small university. You’ll be well-served career-wise with either.</p>
<p>I am making the same decision right now! Both schools seem to have their positives and negatives. It is obvious that both schools offer a great education. BC is probably slightly stronger academically, but not significantly. I love wake for its warm weather, dorms, and greek life. I love BC for the fact that it is in Boston and closer to home for me. Both have sports and an overall amazing school spirit. You can’t really go wrong but it definately has caused me to have to deliberate strongly. I still haven’t decided! Good luck though, I hope it works out for you!</p>
<p>I have the same problem as everyone else. I’ve been accepted to Carrol at BC and am waiting on Wake. I think I would rather go to Wake for the weather and the parties, however, I would really love to get a job in the Northeast in Boston or New York after college, which I feel like BC would be better for. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?</p>
<p>BTW I love BC and if I didn’t live five minutes away I would go there without hesitation over almost any school. And to respond to the person who said the train takes 45 minutes it is actually much less from the BC stop on the B line to Kenmore or even Boston Common. Boston is very accessible.</p>
<p>just because BC doesn’t have greek life doesn’t mean it doesn’t have great parties. Plus, being near boston means you can party at BU, MIT, harvard, or any of the other many surrounding colleges…there is always stuff going on. 45 minute train ride??? What train have you been taking? Both schools are comparable academically…BC might have a slight edge and is of course a little harder to get into. Also, being near boston can’t hurt when it comes to job placement. Either way both schools are good I’m sure you would have a good experience at either one</p>
<p>Look at a map. BC’s campus is NOT way out in the suburbs. BC’s campus straddles the Boston/Newton line, so part of the main campus is IN Boston. There are always debates on college confidential about how long it takes to get from BC to the more urban parts of the city. It never seemed like 45 minutes to me. All I can say is that when I was a student there, it seemed like most people I knew took the trolley downtown multiple times per week, & nobody treated it like it was a big trip.</p>
<p>Also, unless you go out of your way to partake in things religious, you’ll probably forget that it’s Catholic at all. Keep in mind that whatever % of students report that they are Catholic, a lot of them are Catholic in name only.</p>
<p>Undergraduate business schools are regional in nature. Some have further draw, e.g., Penn-Wharton, but the majority of their sway is based on geography. BC will have it’s strongest name recognition and alumni network in the Boston to Washington DC corridor. Conversely, Wake Forest will have its strongest influence in cities like Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta and Washington. </p>
<p>This is primarily driven by two factors. First there are grads who choose to settle close to their alma mater. Second, local companies lacking a huge recruiting budget will recruit locally. So the smaller high tech company in Boston is not going to spend resources in going down to Wake Forest. The same will be true of a Research Triangle company coming up to Boston. The net result is more local grads staying put. That’s not to say that you won’t get a job in Boston or NYC with a Wake degree, it’s just that the BC grad will have more resources to tap into. Obviously, the opposite would be true when looking for a job in Atlanta.</p>
<p>So I’d strongly suggest thinking abut where you want to first work when you get out of college. Also, when S1 and I visited Wake 5 years ago, it struck this northerner as a prototypical formal southern school in a moderately sleepy town. It didn’t work for my son or me. To me Boston is the ultimate college city. But your mileage may vary. Good luck in your choice.</p>
<p>Winston Salem is not prototypical sleepy southern town. Its just not all honking cars and neon signs like NYC. It has a vibrant night life, huge arts scene and is close to skiing in the mtns, and a bit further to the beaches (which are awesome). Its also a budding high tech center for employment purposes.</p>
<p>Hard to beat Boston for stuff to do and sports. The difference is that at Wake the sports scene is all ACC stuff and otherwise have to go to Raleigh or Charlotte for professional sports; and in Boston you have the Bosox, Bruins and Pats and Celtics to entertain you in addition to ACC sports at BC. </p>
<p>Wake actually has a large Catholic presence in the student body and its Baptist heritage is fading fast. Wake is a HUGE draw for northern kids, particularly New Jersey and parts of New York, Maryland etc. Its a very diverse student body, geographically. There is a HUGE rivalry in the ACC and Wake people are decidedly NOT UNC-Duke, NCState fans. So if you go to Wake, you will be immersed in Wake Forest culture (which is awesome.) Their facilities are top drawer. They dont ever do anything on the cheap. Ever. </p>
<p>For job prospects, both BC and Wake kids get jobs in NYC if that is what you mean. But BC will be strongest north of NYC and Wake strongest south of Baltimore. Both schools are well known and enjoy an outstanding academic reputation, and for admission to graduate and professional schools. </p>
<p>Both schools have a sort of cult following and so its an either/or situation, depending on which club you want to join. Its a lifetime commitment. Not many kids transfer out of either school, though it happens everywhere. </p>
<p>Congratulations on being admitted to both fabulous schools. Well done.</p>
<p>*Uhhh, are you sure about that? I’d never heard of BC at all before I started college-hunting. Wake, on the other hand… *</p>
<p>Wow…never heard of BC? I think I’ve known about BC my whole life…and I’m a native California girl. I don’t think I had ever heard of Wake before 6 years ago.</p>
<p>^^^^ not a sports fan, mom? LOL. Wake has history in sports for decades. BC only since Flutie. Wake was financed by RJR Tobacco and moved from Wake Forest village outside Raleigh to Winston Salem. That was to counter the move by the Duke family who owned American Tobacco and who financed and renamed Trinity College in Durham. </p>
<p>Before colleges went “national” most of them were all regional powerhouses and really for local kids. Wake was a pure Baptist college for many years (so was Brown by the way), but left the Southern Baptist Convention 25 years ago. </p>
<p>BC won its first national championship in hockey in 1949 and has always been a power in that sport. </p>
<p>It also had some very strong football years in the 1940’s, going to the Cotton , Orange and Sugar Bowls. Frank Leahy was the coach then before deserting for that school in Indiana…</p>
<p>go to the website students review dot com and read the reviews of students attending both. for whatever reason, BC has a 41% “wouldn’t attend here again” score whereas Wake Forest has 29% (which is about average for a satisfaction score). But more than the score, really read ALL the reviews carefully… the Positive, the Negative, the neutral, and the Advice. The intangibles come to the fore pretty quickly in unedited student reviews. Oh, and try to avoid any review written by a first year… they’re all over the place and don’t have much foundation.</p>
<p>BC and Wake share many similiar characteristics but let me tell you how my son came to choose between the two. He flew down to Wake last January for an interview. Prior to that visit, BC was ahead of Wake on his list. He was so impressed by the southern beauty of the campus even in the dead of winter. The brick buildings, the big magnolia trees, the warmer temps! Everyone that he and my husband met on his visit couldn’t have been nicer. But the one thing that struck my son was how friendly everyone was. From the admission reps to the professors and students, everyone took the time to tell him how much they loved being part of the Wake Forest family. The night before his interview he and my husband were wandering around campus trying to find the admissions bldg. A group of students coming back from the dining hall asked them if they were lost. When they found out my son was a propspective student they asked him if there was anything that they could answer for them and then they offered to take him around and show him some of the campus. They just sat on a wall outside of this dorm and asked him where else he was thinking about going and what he was looking for in a school. The thing that impressed my son is that when he told him where else he was applying that they all listened and those that had either looked at the same schools or were familiar with them tried to explain to my son how they thought Wake was different or the same as compared to the others. There was never any of that “hey, don’t go there, we are better” stuff. Just helpful, honest answers. I can only tell you from the minute he visited there he thought he loved it. </p>
<p>Two weeks later, my husband and son went back to BC for a visit. They had tickets to the Duke-BC basketball game also. A completely different experience. He found the students not quite as friendly. Prefered the Wake campus to BC hands down because it reminded him more of a traditional campus. Did not like that the Newton campus (where alot of freshman live) is removed from the main campus, he thought that gave a detached feeling. Loved the game (BC upset Duke) but was amazed how dead the campus seemed after the big win. But both he and my husband said it was the difference in the attitude of the college and students that was most noticeable. </p>
<p>Now I should say this. My son is quite familiar with BC as we are from CT and my Dad graduated from there. He said BC had a northeastern edge to it and Wake had more of a southern hospitality. He chose Wake and it is everything he expected it to be. I will tell you that he is a big, big, sports nut and although we live in the NY area market he grew up a Boston fan because that is how we were all raised (my Dad is from Southie and to anyone who knows Boston they know what that is). He is a red sox nut, and the one regret he has is that he isn’t in school down the street from Fenway. He would have loved Boston and all that it offers and honestly, I think he would have been quite happy at BC also. But, for him, I think he wanted to experience life in another part of the country, that he had tired of the whole northeastern pace/vibe. There are tons of kids from the NE down at Wake but they all seem to be a bit more relaxed in the southern environment. </p>