<p>Right now, Wake is one of my top colleges. I went and toured and was blown away. I can't find any colleges that are much like Wake. I really liked the size: it felt like a LAC but it wasn't so small. Are there any schools like Wake size-wise with the same academic level? Preferably on the east coast, north or south.</p>
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<p>Hey, some of the schools I’m considering that are similar to Wake are Richmond, Furman, Elon and Gettysburg College. Davidson too, but the majority of these are a bit smaller than Wake I think.</p>
<p>I like Furman and Davidson. I looked at Elon but I was pretty disappointed. I don’t know anything about Gettysburg though.</p>
<p>I think Richmond, Furman, Elon are close to Wake in a good number of ways. Though no school will be exactly like another</p>
<p>May also want to consider Colgate, William and Mary, Boston College, Vanderbilt, Duke, Emory, Bucknell, maybe Lehigh or Lafayette?. Maybe throw Tulane in there?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t put Gettysburg in the same academic tier as WFU and it’s not nearly the same size.</p>
<p>Hi - depends what exactly you would want! </p>
<p>Agree with Wneck on BC, Elon, + Vandy. Most strongly agree on Bucknell. I would also check out maybe Clemson & Duke. </p>
<p>I visited BC, Duke, Lehigh, & Lafayette. I would say the first three are at least somewhat similar, but Lafayette is way different. </p>
<p>What specific aspects of Wake do you like? If it is the size & spirit, that’s one thing - if it is the location and academics, that’s another. This information may help us help you 
But come to Wake!</p>
<p>The things I liked most about Wake were the mix between a LAC and a university, the focus on undergrad academics, and I really liked the general feel. It just felt friendly and welcoming. I felt like I could have moved in on my tour and been just fine. Academics is also really important to me. I would like a school with at least Wake’s academic reputation. I did really like Duke. I haven’t visited Rice yet but if any of you have is it anything similar? I know Rice is in a much bigger city.</p>
<p>I’d nix Furman, but that’s just me. Social scene is completely different than at a school like Wake, and the students body is extremely like-minded and not very diverse. I’m transferring to Wake for the fall after having spent my freshman year at Furman. Davidson is great, though, Elon is definitely academically subpar to all of the other schools mentioned.</p>
<p>I hadn’t heard that about Furman. I actually had thought it was more diverse than Wake. Thanks for the info. Other than the diversity, is Furman like Wake?</p>
<p>Sewanee, Davidson, and W&L excellent LACs, but they are smaller. I think you really hit the nail on the head regarding WFU–it is a really unique school. A “large” LAC with some of the resources of a research university and D1 sports in a Big-8 conference.</p>
<p>I really felt that they were completely different – hence the transfer. Furman is a smaller LAC, while Wake is a bigger university/LAC hybrid. I personally think that certain campuses have certain mentalities – and Furman and Wake definitely have different ones. Furman (though having thrown official ties with the Baptist church in the 90s) still has a high contingent of extremely religious students, and many of the student groups on campus with the most power are highly conservative, and bring controversial speakers to campus – this year these groups brought the president of the NRA to speak at campus along with a speaker in defense of sweatshops. As I haven’t actually attended Wake yet, I can’t personally attest that Wake is different, but have friends that attend who vouch for its more open campus mentality. Academically, I felt that I was getting a great education at Furman, but the schools are miles apart in terms of prestige. Furman accepted over 80% of students in my class, Wake accepted around ~30-35. Wake is a national university, Furman is a regional college with the vast majority of its students coming from SC, GA, TN, and NC.</p>
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<p>Thanks for telling me about Furman. It will probably be my safety school but Wake is in my top. Would you say Furman is stronger academically than the other South Carolina schools?</p>
<p>I haven’t ever visited Rice, but my impression has always been that it has the same “small university, big opportunities” vibe that Wake has. As you mentioned, it’s in a big city, so I imagine that the campus must feel different.</p>
<p>As for Furman, I did visit (and apply), but I also didn’t like it as much. I liked the academics, but it felt a lot smaller and more confined to me.</p>
<p>I’d say it’s the best academically by far (most professors in top 300 by Princeton Review in SC, similar stats), though some would say that Clemson is better because it has a lower acceptance rate, which isn’t a very good basis, or that Wofford is just as good, but Furman is generally considered to be the best academically. South Carolina Honors College is actually also very good, it’s a small school within the very big USC.</p>
<p>Thanks. I’m in South Carolina so I had always sort of figured on either Clemson or USC as my in-state school. However, lately I’ve been hearing more and more about Furman and it is really impressing me for in-state.</p>
<p>My younger daughter applied to Wake Forest, Emory, and Furman. She was looking for a small to midsize liberal arts college, and all three of these appealed to her. They are similar in some ways that she wanted - good for pre-med, delayed rush for sororities, nice campuses, great academics. She was accepted to all 3, but in the end it came down to money. She received a large scholarship to Furman, and went there. Honestly, it was her 3rd choice, but when we picked her up in May, she cried, and said her freshman year was perfect, she would not change a thing. My older daughter went there also. I think there is more diversity than may appear. Less that a 3rd of the students are from South Carolina. Yes there are some conservative speakers brought by a conservative student group, but if you look at the Cultural Life Program, you’ll see speakers across the spectrum, which is as it should be. In the 2008 election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Mike Huckabee all spoke at Furman. My own daughters are far from conservative. They are both very liberal - my older daughter is now at one of the most liberal law schools in the country - went to public schools, and we are not wealthy. So don’t rule out Furman. But, my daughter was very impressed with Wake, and I’m sure she would have loved it there. It is highly ranked, is larger, and better known.</p>
<p>Just a note on dheldreth’s post – Obama and company spoke because it was an election year, not because Furman groups paid to bring them there. Also, while the CLP program is not just controversial speakers, there is a reason discussion is currently taking place in the administration over revamping it. Greek life at Furman is also somewhat of a perversion of what it should be – many sororities and fraternities are not focused on brotherhood, but on social status on campus. Thankfully, I realized this before rush ended, and chose not to pursue a bid. Don’t take me wrong, Furman can definitely work, as it has for dheldreth’s children, but for some who desire a more national school with a broader campus mentality and Greek life truer to the meaning of fraternity, it may not be a very good fit.</p>
<p>Moylan, I would respectfully disagree with you about the sororities. Both daughters were in a sorority (different ones). Neither is about status - as I said, public school, drove cheap cars, and older daughter preferred to buy most of her clothes at the thrift store till she had to buy professional clothes for law school. I’m sorry you had a negative experience - hopefully you’ll have a much more positive one at Wake.</p>
<p>My D loved her visit to WF and after the tour looked for “similar” schools in the giant college book that we took along on our road trip. She was looking for very selective schools with about 5-7K undergrads with one or two grad school programs but emphasis still on undergrad education. She didn’t limit geography. She came up with:
Dartmouth, Rice, William and Mary and Villanova. Any other ideas? Emory was close but along with Duke and, to a certain extent, Vandy these are research universities first and undergraduate institutions second. I went to Duke and I think the vibe is very different because of that.</p>
<p>These are all very selective with Villanova similar to WF. D liked Elon and Davidson but found Elon was a little too “white bread”…not really talking race here but more a sense of blandness and narrowness in curriculum and student life. The last thing she wants is a repeat of high school (and she attends a very racially diverse hs school–she just wants something more challenging and more lively than HS). Davidson just felt like a big empty campus for a tiny group of students.</p>
<p>Again I’d add in Bucknell. Very much like Wake Forest but a bit more northeastern in a rural area, etc. </p>
<p>I still think Furman is a similar school (when you are looking at broad trends). I mean there really aren’t many schools in the 4k-7k student range…period! I can think of maybe 20 total that would even be considered in the top 300 schools.</p>