Hello everyone, I have just started looking at Wake Forest but as a student with little time and a lot of colleges on my list already I want to know if it is worth applying to. Money is incredibly important in my decision and the most my parents will allow me to pay is $25,000 (give or take $1000). What are the odds of me getting down to that number realistically?
My Stats
31 ACT
3.8 UW GPA
Boatload of EC’s
2 Jobs (Bus Boy and Caddy)
Lacrosse Team (2 Years)
Golf Team (4 Years)
Estimated combined parent income is around $150,000
I just want to know if that is at all realistic for a student such as myself. Thank you!
You will qualify for need based aid (depending on family assets and that type of thing). That may knock 10-15k off total cost. Do you have a sibling in college? That will help also.
Merit is very competitive at Wake. Realistically you wouldn’t receive any as they are looking for the tippy top kids who would otherwise go to Duke or IVY.
Every case is different but S had a higher GPA (3.95 UW), class pres, baseball captain, mentor, etc. and he didn’t receive any. We are full pay as is approx 50% of the student body (higher if you remove athletes from the mix).
@daly829 Wake Forest mom here - I agree with @rickle1 that you may get a small amount of need-based aid, but with a Cost of Attendance at $71,000 per year, and your family income at 150K, nothing will bring the out-of-pocket cost down to $25,000. Wake has very little Merit Aid (only 3% of incoming students receive any Merit Aid and as they said, those are the kids that could qualify to be at IVY’s.) If you apply to a less competitive school than Wake, you have a much greater chance of getting more Merit Aid. And as stated above, 50% of student body pays the full price.