<p>So I just got accepted to Wake and its a great school and I really like ir but I keep seeing these awful reviews about it....These reviews say that it is too conservative, too snobby, too materialistic....I have read that there is an eating disorder craze going around the school?....and that the parties are super sketchy/super lame?....Of course there are many reviews with people who love it....but I just don't know who to believe....I'm not some tall blonde southern girl with old money....so does this mean I will hate it?</p>
<p>extrememely conservative
it can be snooby but not too much… (you def do not want to be on the outcast, involved is a must)
idk about materialistiv even though mostly everyone there is rich
parties are amazing
everyone is skinny and they talk about i all the time and workout facilities being used all the time so yes there is a huge awakrness about physical looks
basically:
extrememely hard academics with great partying over weekends and skinny atheltic conservative people</p>
<ol>
<li> Yes, it’s conservative.</li>
<li> I wouldn’t say it’s snobby per se here, but it’s very preppy and cliquey, certainly. Everyone is always dressed up nicely, even for classes. You stick out if you don’t dress the same way everyone else does. Wake is a bastion of homogeneity, which is a great thing if you fit in and horrible if you don’t.</li>
<li> Most people here are pretty well-off.</li>
<li> Haven’t heard anything about an eating disorder, but fat people are almost unheard of here.</li>
<li> I’m not sure what you mean by sketchy, but the party scene here is huge. If you want a party, there’s no shortage of them. I don’t attend the parties, but I guess they’re good if my entire hall vacates every Friday and Saturday night.</li>
</ol>
<p>Long story short, if you consider yourself a jock/preppy, in with the latest fashion and into partying every weekend, you’ll really enjoy it. But if that’s not you, I would reconsider attending.</p>
<p>I went to Wake Forest. I was/am liberal and wasn’t remotely preppy. I never felt like an outcast and found plenty of friends. I think that Wake Forest is much more evenly divided politically than the previous posters. While Wake isn’t Brown, I think it’s actually much more bellwether than anything. If it leans right, I’d say it is generally more of a libertarian streak (i.e. don’t tax me, but don’t restrict me either). At the same time, service is big for many students.</p>
<p>There are 4500 students at Wake Forest, and honestly I think there is a place for all types. Sure, there are parties (okay, calling them sketchy or lame does sound snobby). There are also students hanging out in the dorm watching movies and students checking out the downtown area.</p>
<p>As long as you find some activities you enjoy as well as some like minded friends, you’ll be fine. I actually think it’s pretty easy to do–as long as you are willing to put yourself out there a little bit.</p>
<p>D graduated from Wake in May. She never “dressed up” for class and she was definitely NOT some sort of outcast. She was super involved in lots of campus activities and had tons of friends. From our many times on campus, I can say that not everyone is skinny, and D never talked about eating disorders – unless this is something that has just started this year? Oh, she doesn’t come from “old money,” either – whatever that means these days. Honestly – you can find people who have negative things to say about every single college in this country. Since the negative stuff is usually the loudest, that’s all some people hear. </p>
<p>OP, have you visited? You need to make up your own mind if Wake is a good fit for you.</p>
<p>Agreeing with previous post. My son is a very happy sophomore at Wake Forest. We are not wealthy and he would be the last person to dress up for classes. We are Jewish and he has not felt discriminated against or mocked in any way.</p>
<p>It’s unfortunate that these negative stereotypes persist. While I am sure there are some racist students at Wake - as there are at any university - it seems to me to be a challenging academic community with friendly students. Do what we did - visit - speak with current students - and decide for yourself.</p>
<p>My oldest son went there, Asian, thrived and did well. Feels that yes, it is conservative, but there is room for other viewpoints. Didn’t join a fraternity. He is into basketball so doing intramurals was big for him. Strength was the small class size and professors who were very accessible; emphasis on service. Weakness–diversity not as high as other schools in that caliber. Son really liked it a lot and made good on the opportunities there. Depends on how you feel when you visit, if you think it is a place you will fit in as other posters said. Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m not a tall blond southern girl with old money (well, I am from the south), and I really enjoyed Wake.</p>
<p>I never considered that I was dressing up for class. Jeans and a t-shirt/sweatshirt (a Wake sweatshirt, naturally) were pretty standard for me. Maybe at other schools I would’ve felt comfortable going to class in sweats? Probably not, knowing me. And I definitely remember people coming to class in sweats/gym clothes.</p>
<p>I think that, if pressed, there were more conservative students than liberals, but the liberal contingent was outspoken enough that it never felt particularly biased. And from what a I saw, a lot of students were socially liberal even though they may have voted the other way because they were not economically liberal.</p>
<p>Though I wouldn’t have wanted to go somewhere where no one was like me, I also wouldn’t have wanted to go somewhere where I would completely blend in either. That would’ve been boring. I think almost everyone can their niche at Wake.</p>
<p>I’m a student here: self-described liberal, Jewish, not that rich but comfortable, never dresses up (aka I wear sweats or jeans to class every day).</p>
<p>True the racial diversity is low here, but as people mentioned, community service is a big thing here and I think that plays into the fact that Wake is really welcoming. Most ppl I know here are not the old money, southern conservative type</p>
<p>Sort of laughing since I’m sitting here in sweats and a hoodie that’s like five times too big for me :)</p>
<p>I just messaged you about this, but I just wanted to let people know that the regulars on here have posted about this several times, so for additional information feel free to use the search bar You’ll probably find things we forgot to mention this time around.</p>
<p>My D goes to Wake and one of the best things I can say about the frat parties is the system they have for designated drivers. In one frat (maybe all of them) the pledges have to stay sober so they can be available to drive their brothers (and their dates) or other friends to and from the parties which are not far off campus. Since so many of the kids do have cars, the system works very well – a true win win situation, in my opinion.</p>
<p>In several fraternities, they will have 4 or 5 pledges sober drive, while the rest will be able to go to the party, and most of the parties are open to people who are not in the fraternity (whether greek or not, whether guy or girl) which is much different than most greek-heavy schools</p>
You’ll probably find things we forgot to mention this time around.</p>