So I got off the Wait List at Wake Forest University last Friday, and they gave me until tomorrow to decide if I’m going to matriculate…I was already going to Boston College, and now I can’t decide between the two! Help me please!
<p>This is basically just a question of where you want to go and what are the financial aid packages. </p>
<p>According to USNWR, Boston College is ranked 37 and Wake Forest is ranked 27. First, this isn't much of a difference. Second, USNWR rankings are kinda stupid. Third, the rankings changes plus or minus two each year. Fourth, who cares between Boston College and Wake Forest. This is not between Yale and State U. Both schools have the same academic reputation. Both are elite mid-size universities with strong research that both concentrate on undergraduate education.</p>
<p>A big difference is location. Boston versus the middle of nowhere in NC. I don't mean this as a criticism. Some people like the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>I am not sure of the culture at Boston U; but it is in Massachusetts, and so I assume that it is politically liberal. If it is, then the political climate on campus might be the biggest difference. Wake Forest is very politically conservative. It was closely associate with the Baptist church until the mid-1980's. It no longer is, but some of the culture is still there. There is very little diversity; I believe the figure is 85% white.</p>
<p>The schools are academically the same, and so your choice is probably based on location and campus culture. Congratuations on being able to go to either one. Whatever you decide, don't look back. You will love wherever you are by Xmas break.</p>
<p>I'm flipping a coin for you. Hold on. Heads - congrats you are going to BU.</p>
<p>That's one magical coin! BU wasn't even one of his choices!</p>
<p>Sorry, I just had to do that.</p>
<p>As to the original poster, listen to dufus3709's advice.</p>
<p>location is probably the biggest issue...where are you from? do you want to get away from home or not?</p>
<p>as for politics/ campus culture</p>
<p>I dont know much about Wake but I do know that BC may not be as liberal you may think mainly because it's a rich preppy school. (I'd choose wake just to avoid the massive numbers of kids from my preppy catholic high school that end up there) </p>
<p>I say - take a risk and go to the one that's farther away - academically, they're both very solid.</p>
<p>When I went to a presentation on Boston Univ, the admissions officer said that every year they get a dozen essays describing how the applicant would love to be an Eagle and attend Boston College. She said that they set those applications aside and do everything that they can in order to get the applicant their wish. :)</p>
<p>well, considering that I live in California - they're both plenty far from home :) WFU is definately more conservative than BC, but that's not a really huge issue. The main thing is that I'm kinda scared about WFU's academics. I know that shouldn't put me off or anything, but I hear that it is near impossible to get anything above a B, and considering I wanna go to grad school, a higher GPA would be preferable.</p>
<p>I have heard that about the grades, too. (Apparently the nickname for Wake Forest is Work Forest.) </p>
<p>The schools are not similar in two ways. 1) BC is in a major city that is considered one of the best college towns in the country. WFU is in a small town. 2) Based on the fact that BC is in Boston, I would imagine that it is politically liberal. WFU is very, VERY conservative. </p>
<p>You have BC already. I would ask what attracts you to WFU. Any answer is fine in my opinion unless its because WFU is #27 on USNWR while BC is #37. That isn't a big enough difference to make any difference, especially considering the urban/rural and liberal/conservative issues.</p>
<p>Dufus...Wake Forest is not in a small town...it is in Winston Salem, NC...one of several metropolitan areas in North Carolina...with a population of over 250,000 people. It is not Boston...but definitely not "middle of nowhere NC". </p>
<p>As for the VERY, VERY conservative thing, I would disagree on that too. Having had several friends that went to Wake Forest, all of them were VERY VERY liberal. They said the professors that they had were all liberal as well. The student body more than likely is more conservative than say a school in New England...but it still is a national university with all types of students. Just avoid gross generalizations and everything will be A-Okay.</p>
<p>I apologize for saying that WFU was in the middle of nowhere. I didn't realize how large Winston-Salem is. However, I didn't mean "middle of nowhere" as a negative comment. I can certainly appreciate someone wanting to go to a rural school (which WFU apparently is not). WUSTL (St. Louis), Emory (Atlanta), Vanderbilt (Nashville), and WFU are often compared and contrasted. Of the four, WFU is in the least populous area and so I exagerated this fact in my own mind.</p>
<p>However, I do not see a problem with generalizations. There are certainly some everywhere who won't fit into a generalization, but generalizations are simply summarizations. Mathematics is the science of patterns. How else can someone descibe the general student life or culture of a campus.</p>
<p>Fiske's Guide says that most WFU students are conservative, clean-cut, studious, easygoing and involved in many activities on campus and in the community. Only 29 percent of Wake's students are native Tar Heels, though many of the rest hail from other Southern states. The Princeton Review's Top 357 Colleges chose as representative student comments that "Diversified is the last word that could ever be used to describe Wake, but honestly, most like it that way. The few that do stand out are pointed out and would hardly be said to fit in". and "The majority are also white, middle-class, very Christian, Republican, and Greek." Greene's Hidden Ivies points that WFU separated from the Baptist Convention in 1986 but that "Wake Forest continues to emphasize its traditional values that are based on the teachings of the Judeo-Christian tradition.</p>
<p>Fiske's Guide says that thirty percent of BC's students come from the greater Boston area, and Catholics comprise about 80 percent of the student body. The Princeton Review's Top 357 Colleges says "The students at BC describe themselves as looking like they have all just stepped out of an Abercrombie or J. Crew catalog. One representative students says "All of the students hear look exactly alike. There's pretty much no diversity."</p>
<p>I realize that there is room for everybody on both campuses, and am not trying to sway the original poster in either direction. I was trying to differentiate between the two schools which are both excellent. The major differences seemed to be Boston versus Winston-Salem, and Northeast versus Southern. The reputations of the two schools are very similar as is nearly everything else about them. I would verify that I have heard that grading is very strict at WFU, but any grad schools that you apply to later would no doubt take that into account.</p>
<p>Re Catholicism/diversity at BC: Fiske is wrong. I asked and they said that they don't keep stats on who is what religion but that a voluntary survey indicates about 60% self identify as some form of Catholic. I also got the sense that Catholicism at BC manifests itself more in "liberal" causes (gay rights, anti-war, social justice) rather than "conservative" ones (not Catholic here, so maybe my preconception is off). As for the diversity, the official stat is that 25% are "AHANA" (the term they use for minority) and 10% are international ... pretty good, although it did seem "whiter/preppier" (sorry for these terms!) during my visit.</p>
<p>Note to reveilleforet: By now you've probably decided, so be happy with your decision and don't look back!</p>
<p>No opinion here---both good schools in interesting locations. BC is not actually in Boston though. It is in a suburb called Chestnut Hill. BC is an excellent school but do not kid yourself----it is very Catholic with statues and crosses all over the place plus over 80 retired preists living right on campus.</p>
<p>Well, if you're willing to hear my opinion here it is:</p>
<p>1st of all, don't go by the US rankings....they're crap
2nd of all, both are great school, so let's just start them off by saying that they're equal in greatness....
3rd....Boston vs. Winston-Salem- consider weather and which place you're more comfortable
4th....Work load....it's true...Wake might be a really hard school. I heard that too! But guess what? I picked it. We're accepted into these great colleges because they obviously think that we can handle it. It's just whether or not ur up for the challenge? We already know we're capable of rising above your average high school crowd, but dare to prove you can rise above a crowd where everyone is nearly or even smarter than you?
5th....diversity...how much does it matter to you? I'm a minority, and I picked Wake over other great schools that have a great diversity. Would there be times where I will be uncomfortable? No doubt. but I'll get over it. And not because it's 85% white, it doesn't mean 85% would be mean to me.</p>
<p>6th....religion...I'm catholic...boston's catholic, wake is baptist....but I don't think it really matters. I'm a devout catholic and I chose Wake. </p>
<p>It just depends on what you think you know. Good Luck and congrats on getting in to such great schools!</p>