<p>Why does Princeton Review give Wake a 76 under quality of life ratings?</p>
<p>most students don't appreciate what downtown has to offer and there is little else in the community to participate that isn't school-related. there was one main bar within a short distance of campus, but the school bought and closed it this past year. thus, partying is restricted to your dorm and RAs make rounds every 2 hours. the other options are frat houses and that's a mess in itself. there is very little diversity at wake and i think this causes a social fatigue to set in since so many people are sooo very similar. also, the admin seems to be bungling everything they try lately, including changing our logo and pushing for unpopular changes on campus (starbucks, flyer columns, etc.). the food options are very limited and our football and basketball facilities are off campus. they're still close, but many of us would love to have them closer. the athletic facilities on campus are run down and old and students are constantly advocating for them to be refurnished or replaced. parking is awful and increasingly expensive ($175 jump this past year alone). even the admin admits that the dorms need alot of work and the majority or your free time during the week is spent with your books, rather than your friends. </p>
<p>other than that, its great.</p>
<p>I've heard others confess BadNews' observations. Perhaps paradoxically, while Wake has been a nearly transformed institution (much more academic/intellectual with a much more national student body)since parting ways with the Southern Baptist Convention 25 or more years back (it was required that something like 40+% of students be NC babdusts, for example ... today, I think only 25% or so of student body are native Tarheels)... coincidentally the old rule of "party hardy but keep the brewskis outta my sightline and life'll be beautiful 'cause we can genuinely report no confirmed sightings of Bud or Blue Ribbon" (big back then! :cool:) and everyone aside from the dudes getting picked on by the frat boys sitting on the wall, drunkern skunks and not a can in sight, was pretty much happy. Specially those lads on the wall in front of their frat lodge. But that change, and more so just the times and the litigious potential for ramifications of both underage and excess drinking have seemingly transformed the social scene since the good ol' days. Can't speak to "how it is" aside from different and less susceptible to homogenous ho-downs on the quad. Perhaps others can be more enlightening about "what is" vs. "what was." History can be interesting but doesn't lend much to Friday nights in Winston-Salem and the Reynolda compound known as WFU.</p>
<p>So the SBC departure, legal alcohol/substance issues of our time, and the addition of MANY more affluent students and their Beamers have contributed to different social, academic, economic and demographic dynamics and may lend some insight to the identity issue that Wake's recognition has not quite caught up with its world-class realities. It also may enlighten about the more recent and relevant reputation of "Work Forest" as the campus is now home to more, and more competitive upwardly mobile aspiring MD's, Ph.D's, and attorneys interested in practicing in Boston or NYC vs. Raleigh and High Point. For higher ed historians, WFU is one of the more interesting stories of a campus that's successfully and incredibly been transformed, a fete/feat/feet? VERY difficult to do. The proverbial turning an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Mississippi. :eek:</p>
<p>That said, my own observation is it's one of the coolest collegiate combinations on the planet. Small, teaching institution with strong profs offering undergrad research and individualized attention; great campus in a good climate in an area that's booming relative to much of our country; growing rather than diminishing reputaion (most grads can be assured that their alma mater will be MORE and BETTER recognized 25 basketball seasons from now ... many others will not genuinely be able to make that claim); a real university but enough separation that the grad programs don't drain the till from the undergrad focus; big time spectator sports; huge endowment/student; and forward looking leadership. It's far from perfect, but in the real world where none can have everything, Wake seems to have a lot. If one could buy stock in colleges and campuses, WFU would be a sure-thing, imo.</p>