<p>Hey everyone, I recently discovered that Wake Forest was a pioneer in my anticipated field of study...so now I'm really considering applying! I just have a few questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Does anyone know how to begin answering this prompt from the common app?
"Think about your academic passion. Design your ideal seminar class in the context of a liberal arts curriculum." (400 characters)
-Course Title:
-Instructor(s):
-Required Readings:
-Field Trip:
Are they looking for something real/legitimate or imaginative? And for "instructors" are they supposed to be WF professors or something?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it true that Wake Forest does your laundry. I heard this from a friend whose cousin attended but he wasn't 100% sure. A yes or no answer will suffice (:</p></li>
<li><p>Are undergrad internships available at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Sorry in advance if any of these questions seem overly ignorant...</p>
<p>Can only help with #2. (D just graduated in May.) WFU doesn’t actually do your laundry, but the machines in each dorm are “free” - i.e. no coins or laundry debit cards needed.</p>
<p>I do know of a couple of formal internships available over the summer, but if you’re a Wake student, it’s probably easier to e-mail the professor you’re interested in working with and asking if there’s anything you can do in his/her lab. LOTS of Wake students do research (in fact, it’s a requirement to get a BS, rather than a BA, in one of the sciences), and all the professors are really accommodating. I know a lot of people who did research over at the medical center (myself included, though it wasn’t in regenerative medicine).</p>
<p>Domer16 (are you an ND fan?) I think one of the strengths of Wake’s application is that they will ask what seem like kind of “out there” essay questions. When my son applied 2 years ago he struggled at times with answering some of their questions because, like you, he didn’t know if he should be imaginitive or not. All of the other schools he applied to asked straight forward “give me an essay on this topic” questions. I think that Wake’s app requires students to think outside the box. I think that in the end, the readers get a much better idea about the potential applicant rather than a traditional college supplement. There is no right or wrong way to answer this question. The point of the essay is to let them know what you are passionate about. How you answer it will tell them more about you. Let’s suppose I was passionate about American fiction in the mystery/suspense genre. I may choose the ideal professor as someone like Stephen King. Is he a college prof? Not that I know of but if I was going to take a class like that, I sure would love it if he taught it. (I wonder how many applicants will answer that they are passionate about Poetry and have Maya Angelou as their ideal prof!). There are so many ways to answer questions like this. Some applicants will use humor, others will answer straight and conventional (I would tend to lean this way on this question). How you do it, will tell them things about you. If you are into regenerative medicine, you might want to tell them about that. What were the readings, books that got you interested in that branch of medicine? Who is someone who is a pioneer in that field? Where would you like to go to see this branch of science “at work” so to speak? All I can tell you is that, at first, their app may be a bit offputting, but I think when you finish it, you will actually enjoy the process because it is so different from other schools. At least, that was the experience my son had when applying. Their app gives you many opportunities to show who you are, try and give them a well rounded picture of all facets of your personality. Good Luck. Wake is a great place.</p>
<p>I think that the question is also to get you thinking about the seminar classes that you’ll take while you’re at Wake. During the first year, everyone has to take a First Year Seminar class (FYS) and most people have to take a writing seminar unless they’ve placed out of it. The point is to get freshman students into small classes (capped at about 15 students) that are similar to the classes they’ll enjoy when they get into the upper-level classes of their majors and minors.</p>
<p>My FYS is still one of the classes that I enjoyed most while I was at Wake. I get the feeling that a lot of the professors are teaching the things that they’re really interested in that don’t fit into the curriculum elsewhere. So were I answering this question, I would think of something that I really wanted to learn a little about and decide from whom I wanted to learn it. I wouldn’t assume that it had to be a serious topic, only that I was serious about wanting to know more about it.</p>
<p>To get an idea of some of the FYS classes that have been offered, here’s Wake’s website about them. There are links to lists of the classes that have been offered for the last few years: [WFU</a> | Wake Forest College | First Year Seminars](<a href=“http://college.wfu.edu/academics/fys.html]WFU”>http://college.wfu.edu/academics/fys.html).</p>
<p>“2. Is it true that Wake Forest does your laundry. I heard this from a friend whose cousin attended but he wasn’t 100% sure. A yes or no answer will suffice”</p>
<p>Wake’s laundry rooms are free to use, but I think what you’re talking about is Wake Wash (I don’t think anyone has mentioned this yet, but if so, sorry for being redundant). Wake Wash is Wake’s student-run laundry service. You pay some fee at the beginning of the year and a group of students does your laundry for you (you put your clothes in a Wake Wash bag on a certain day, they come pick it up, and bring it back to you on another pre-picked day).</p>
<p>Thanks SO much for the responses - they were really helpful! I think I have a much better understanding of how to approach that prompt now(:</p>
<p>@pinkcupcake14: That sounds right, probably what my friend’s cousin was talking about. How reliable is this service? And if I choose to do my own laundry, is it still free like CBBBlinker mentioned?</p>
<p>“@pinkcupcake14: That sounds right, probably what my friend’s cousin was talking about. How reliable is this service? And if I choose to do my own laundry, is it still free like CBBBlinker mentioned?”</p>
<p>The service is pretty reliable although I don’t really have first hand experience with it. I know a few boys who use it, but, in my opinion, if you can’t do your own laundry you need to learn! Wake Wash is a great student-run service, but I would feel really lazy using it. </p>
<p>The laundry rooms are always free. You use your Deacon One Card to unlock the laundry room door (there is a laundry room in every dorm building). Then you can go nuts ahhahha.</p>