<p>We just returned home from initial college tour. Daughter really liked Wake Forest. The size seemed not too big, not too small. The campus is beautiful and she likes the school spirit/big athletics aspect of it. Students seem very serious about school and yet care about fun. She needs to expand her list. Is she reading Wake correctly and, if so, what other schools have similar characteristics/feel?</p>
<p>yes, I would say she is reading the school correctly.
She should take a look at Wesleyan too. The Campus is phenomenal and the academics are superb as well.
Vassar is very nice too, but might not be for everyone.
anyways, what part of the country does she want to be in?</p>
<p>Take a look at Duke and Vanderbilt also - smaller schools with big time sports. Davidson might be another to consider.</p>
<p>Boston College- 9k undergrads, great campus, next to Boston, slightly tougher to get into, USNews says has BC ranked one spot ahead of Wake</p>
<p>As a Wake alum, I’d say that Vandy, Boston College, Furman, and Bucknell (the latter two with lower-level athletics) are Wake’s closest cousins.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that Wake and Villanova are very similar in terms of the student body.</p>
<p>Davidson, perhaps?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say Wesleyan is at all like Wake. </p>
<p>U Richmond is fairly similar, although athletics aren’t as big.</p>
<p>How small is too small? Davidson is only 1700 students, but if that is within her range it meets all of the other criteria.</p>
<p>I would also recommend Rice, it is about the same size (~3000) and is pretty big on athletics.</p>
<p>I would say Vanderbilt is most similar. My S (high school senior)visited and applied to Wake, Vandy, BC, UVA and Chapel Hill. I think Wake was his 2nd choice if he had not gotten into Vandy. The only major issue my S had with Wake was it was near a city, Winston-Salem is nothing like Nashville.</p>
<p>Rice is not big on athletics. It is D1, but only baseball gets any notice. Football did make a bowl game this year, but it is more D3ish sports.</p>
<p>Drury University in Missouri</p>
<p>I always thought Wake Forest was the southern version of Villanova University. Its got a similar student compostition, academic profile, etc.</p>
<p>I concur with several others who have mentioned Vanderbilt. It’s probably the closest in size, nature of student body, role of athletics, etc. although I think that Nashville and Winston-Salem are miles apart in what they offer students and the role that each can play in a student’s undergraduate experience.</p>
<p>Others that are somewhat similar are:
Larger: U Virginia, Boston College, Duke, Villanova
Smaller: Davidson, Bucknell, U Richmond</p>
<p>I would strongly disagree with the suggestion that Wesleyan is at all like Wake Forest. IMO, they are more like polar opposites. Same with Vassar.</p>