Around our parts, a few well-to-do smartish kids get in Wake every year via ED. Not super duper tippy top stat kids, but smart 31 ACT type kids. Always full pay - always. For whatever the reason, I tend to use Wake as an example, is it worth it to pay $80K per year to go to Wake Forest? I think Wake is a big draw for some because you can get an answer early on in the senior year and be done with it.
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Deleted.
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For those who want it, Wake is a unicorn. Small, not too small, but with big time sports and school spirit. Great liberal arts academics, but also a business school after sophomore year should you want it. For my kid, there was no other place like it.
In our parts, the same kids who apply to Vanderbilt apply to Wake and Richmond.
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I think your description of Wake was probably correct 5-10 years ago. Not now. Wake is getting a much stronger group applying and kids want it: Going south is trendy, ( NC is considered South to those in NYC/NE) and whether or not it is true, Wake is not considered as aggressively woke as most of the LAC schools it competes with.
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Yes, our school is the same @shmom41 : the kids who ED at ours and get in are typically above the median GPA but below the top 20%, so 3rd-4th decile, still tend to have good scores and rigor but not as high as the RD admits. I would bet the majority are full or close to full pay as well, as our school is a private HS $30k a year with only a small group on financial aid.
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And Wake’s BS-Engineering is now ABET accredited! It is ivy/Duke/Vandy sized, with similar focus on a liberal arts-based curriculum even for the Engineers and Business students, plus has lots of sports and arts, yet is an easier admit than the top-15s.
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This describes our experience almost exactly… top 30% of our high school class, typically full pay do well with WF. My D declined to apply because she felt too many kids from high school (private with class size of about 120) go to Wake… which I think was silly. The kids we know there are very happy.
At our high school, the kids targeting Wake are also applying to SMU, Vandy, Duke, Richmond, W&L, etc.
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This has been true for decades- way back when I was a student we all found university easier than HS. Our collegekids- including the ones currently in grad school- say that nothing since then has been harder- or more pressured- than grades 11 & 12 in secondary school.
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Actually, Wake reminded me an awful lot of Lehigh, though with a more intellectual bent.
Yes, Wake was the only school that blatantly said, “If you’re not full pay, don’t ED.” My perception of Wake is that while it’s a terrific school, it’s a barbell school: lots of 1%s and a good number with great need. They skip over the upper middle class.
wake does interviews for RD?
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Was that the admissions office? My son is interested in Wake but I really don’t want to be a full pay parent.
My S21 opted to do an interview when he applied RD. It was first come first serve as I recall. And you signed up for an interview slot.
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The past two years, interview slots ere all filled before ED was complete.
My daughter had an interview - and in the end, as we self toured and she didn’t like it, she didn’t apply.
So - at least two years ago - you didn’t need to apply to get an interview.
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thank you. My daughter said it was optional and no slots were left.
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I agree with this assessment and with your other post. I don’t think Wake is a barbell school though. I have met very few students with significant need there over the years. Maybe they exist and are not visible?
Not true. Our D21 who applied RD had an interview. She sent her app in very early, though, before the ED deadline.
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right. You can’t wait until Feb to try to get an interview. Our D who applied RD did her interview in November.
Agreed it’s not a barbell school (although I’m not really sure how anyone defines ‘barbell’ school).
Per 2021-22 CDS Section H, 75% of Wake Forest first years were full pay (25% had financial need according to how WFU calculates need), and around 73% of all undergrads were full pay.
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