<p>Hi everyone! I am a NJ applicant who is torn btwn these two schools- and I am still considering Villanova if anyone can provide some judgment on that as well.
I love Wake’s campus and the warm weather of course. I also love Bucknell’s campus and closeness to my home. </p>
<p>Both are great school so any one with some true pros and cons feel free to post.
I would love to hear thoughts on the preppy-nature of both campuses, thoughts on how far from home is too far- especially any one with experience, I am considering business so is Wake’s business school truly worth it? ANY THOUGHTS WOULD BE INCREDIBLE</p>
<p>Thank you so so so much in advance- I am so torn .</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at Wake. He loves it. He’s not a prep, but is fitting in just fine. Yes, the warm weather is great. Spring arrived in W-S long before it got to us here in Baltimore. But, yesterday it snowed there while we just had a cold grey day. A fluke, I’m sure. :)</p>
<p>The only negative I can share is that the Greensboro airport rarely has nonstop flights to/from BWI. So travel back and forth has been inconvenient and/or expensive. He had to use Washington National for spring break, and it cost nearly $800. Ouch. Dulles was the Thanksgiving airport. Ugh. My advice would be check into the flight frequency and cost from your favorite airport to Greensboro. This inconvenience was never a deal-killer for us, but it is definitely worth knowing what your flying hassle might be for the next 4 years. </p>
<p>My 11th grade D is interested in Bucknell. So I’m also subscribing to this thread to learn more about that school compared to Wake. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Congratulations – good problem to have. We visited all three schools. My impression (and some research supports this) is that Bucknell has such a strong Greek life that it really ends up as a party school with many people with similar backgrounds. I loved the campus at Wake Forest the best of these 3 and Wake Forest will give a rounder exposure to different types of people. The trip is a bit difficult though. I loved the community feel of Villanova. I’m not much help but wanted to give you my impressions.</p>
<p>My son is a student at Bucknell and it is a top academic university. These kids are not slackers. My son went to a top tier prep school and had Ivy League SAT scores . . . but is working very very hard at Bucknell. It is not a party school! The kids work very hard and know how to have fun as well. It is a place with wonderful balance. I highly recommend it overall. </p>
<p>However, one thing to watch out for is the housing situation. The school will not let any student out of the residential college dorms once they sign up. They must have a big problem trying to get kids to sign up for the special dorms and as the result once they have you they will not let you change and go into the general housing draw. This is the only real problem at the school that I have seen and I must admit it is a very big problem for some students. Just make sure you DO NOT sign up for the special dorms and you should be fine. The head of housing is very firm and will not let the kids out of the contract. They are quite unreasonable about this problem. Other schools are much more accommodating on the housing situation.</p>
<p>My son attends Bucknell. He is in a frat, and while he parties and has a good time, he spends most of his time in classes and studying. He is working very hard and professors are demanding. My son does have a difficult major, but I would not describe Bucknell as a party school. Bucknell is academically rigorous, but kids also have a good time.</p>
<p>My D is a junior at Bucknell and is an independent. Sororities were not for her. She has plenty of friends who are greeks and plenty who are not.</p>
<p>Bucknell is also very rigorous. I cannot tell you how many phone calls I have received this semester from a stressed out D overwhelmed by work. She has a lot of reading, many papers-both short and long, and research. She is now trying to decide whether to do an honors thesis next semester given the heavy load of her other courses. </p>
<p>My D was put in a residential college dorm as a first year to fill it. She did not sign up for the residential college dorm. No big deal. The dorm seemed to be exactly like every other dorm. The only difference was the students who signed up for the residential college dorm participated in some activities related to whatever the residential college dorm was. My D’s was environmental. My D had the option of attending these activities or not, as she never actually signed up. But kids who did sign up could opt out of the activities. </p>
<p>My D is now an RA and she is supposed to do “programming.” She was an RA last yr. for a non-residential college freshman hall. She had to arrange activities for the students (programming). So essentially the residential college dorms (more likely hall) and non-residential college halls are basically the same. So I am not really understanding Bucknellparent’s warning or problem.</p>
<p>Bucknell students do like to party like a majority of college students in the US. Greeks are not the only folks who party.</p>
<p>As a senior at Bucknell,and in an extremely rigorous Biology program with an eye towards med school, I can assure all parents who are considering Bucknell that your sons and daughters will be tested academically each week–to the max! Do not fall for the hype that Bucknell is some sort of party school. The courses are challenging–and if they are not–maybe something is wrong–or maybe your son or daughter is a genius, and does not need to work. I have taken many courses outside of Biology and the critical thinking involved in the upper level courses forces you to give your best effort. What I have enjoyed most about BU is the camaraderie between my professors and classmates–we work together to problem solve. My best friend goes to Harvard and he sat in on a number of my classes during a visit to Lewisburg–his opinion was this, “You guys get a ton of work!” Do Bucknell students have fun? Of course-I’m in a fraternity and it has been a good balance for me-but not every student needs fraternity or sorority life–there are plenty of activities to do-and people migrate to the things that make them happy. But truthfully, we are all flat out working our butts off–just ask my fellow engineering roommates–all three of them have been hired already before graduation-------but they spent a great amount of time booking it. No lie–you want to be academically prepared in a rigorous environment–come to Bucknell. In addition-----it’s a beautiful place to spend four years–if you visit in a few weeks as things begin to bloom—you will see why for yourself. I have no regrets–Bucknell has been great.</p>
<p>OK. I will share my thoughts that will get me flamed in no time.</p>
<p>WF was briefly on my son’s list (S got ED I acceptance to Bucknell). WF is the only school that I actually intervened and sort of steered my son away from. Two reasons:</p>
<p>*** WF is known for grade deflation. At least that seems to be the reputation. My son is in a field where GPA really, really, really matters for his post graduation plan. And, they don’t take into consideration that some schools have a tough grading policy.</p>
<p>*** I did some research on general cultural aspects of campus life. Here on CC WF site, I encountered an enthusiastic current student who was kind enough to answer a lot of questions from prospective students since she just loved the school so much. One of the questions she was answering was from a minority student who was wondering about the diversity related issues at WF (let’s face it - it is a southern school, after all). Her answer was “Oh, there is no problem what so ever. There is ONLY ONE frat that refuses to take black members” (don’t remember exact wording - something to this effect).</p>
<p>I was shocked!!!</p>
<p>My son is not black, but this was more than sufficient for me to make sure that he stays clearly away from this school. </p>
<p>WF came of the list VERY QUICKLY.</p>