Merit Aid at Wake

For those who are beginning at Wake this Fall, and were able to secure merit aid, would you share your information please? Such as your stats (test scores especially) and the amount of merit aid that you received. Thank you

So this is from last year, not this past admissions cycle … but my D was 32 ACT / 3.9uw / 4.5w, good EC’s w/ leadership, sports, etc. Applied RD, admitted, $0 merit.

Wake awards very few scholarships and/or merit aid based solely on Academic Achievement or stats. The Reynolds, Carswell, Stamps, Gordon, Graylyn and The Presidential Scholarships are awarded based on Academic Achievement, Talent and Exceptional Achievement. You only need to fill out the Admission Application to be considered for these awards. The exceptions are The Presidential Scholarship, The ROTC Scholarship and maybe one other who require a special application and/or permission to apply. I think the last number I heard was around 45 of these scholarships are awarded annually. The Presidential is the largest of these with around 20 awards given annually. All of these awards are very, very, very competitive.

The rest of the merit based scholarships and/or aid, are based on academic achievement and financial need. Therefore, to be considered for any of these awards, you would need to complete the Admission Application and fill out the FASFA form and complete the CSS-Profile for Wake Forest.

For this thread to be helpful for others, you should not only post your stats, but also you family EFC (if you are comfortable doing so).

Here’s a link to the available Scholarship/Merit Aid Awards.

http://financialaid.wfu.edu/merit/#scholarships

S, like @azmomof3 , last yr S was admitted. We are full pay, no merit. He was 3.96 UW / 5.x W (don’t remember- all APs, honors, etc.), 1420 SAT, Class Pres, 2 yr captain of varsity baseball / 4 yr varsity player, NHS and all the fixins, student ambassador, etc. Great LORs, Great Essays (very memorable). Repeat—No Merit.

He was RD so no trap with the ED route. EFC = more than 100% of COA.

Don’t like being full pay but he LOVES Wake!

Very few students receive merit aid at Wake. I believe the school is trying to increase need-based aid. But it basically has a financial model based on delivering outstanding academic services to students who are primarily full pay. It felt very need aware in admissions, which worked out well for those I know, fhough I can’t say for sure what the precise policy is, and how it might play out for any particular student. Good luck!

Following up on my original post, #1, D would have been full-pay (EFC 100% COA) to Wake. She had generous merit scholarships elsewhere, so she did not enroll.

The one I know: 33 ACT, 3.85 UW GPA, varsity sports and team captain, medical/science ECs, accepted, $0 merit or financial aid

From several cycles back - 35 ACT, near perfect grades, NMF, double legacy, exceptional math aptitude (thru multi-variable calculus, graph theory, physics C)—likely letter, but no merit. Kid #1 went else where (for no merit). We are a full pay family. That being said, we’re considering applying for kid #3 b/c my husband and I love the place so much and it is such an awesome school.

Does anyone know how accurate their Net Cost Calculator is on their website? Does it come close to what is offered?

In our case, the Calculator was pretty close. It was certainly eye opening. We didn’t think Wake would be an option before going through that process. We called financial aid just to confirm the accuracy of the calculator and, of course, it’s only as accurate as the info you put in so don’t exaggerate or diminish anything.