social life at wake

<p>hi question for anyone who goes or knows more than i do... is there much to do there? when i visited i noticed there wasn't any like town within walking distance... u pretty much have to drive? and the frats are in dorms or something? whats up with that and how does that work? i love everything about wake i just dont want to be bored! and im not just talking about parties i dont want to just have to drink to have fun... help!</p>

<p>yeah that's a good question...when I visited it didn't seem like there was a whole lot to do. Downtown Winston-Salem looks like it might have a few things to do...but i'm really not too sure. Another thing I noticed is that it doesn't have a very big variety of student activities...I really like the school and I want to go, but i don't want to be bored either. I guess if it was that bad Charlotte is only like an hour and a half away.</p>

<p>yeah, i remeber the surrounding area was all office parks and fast food places, i asked during my interview about the winstin-salem area and ai guess there are a decent ammount of concerts, but overall it doesnt seem like there is alot to do off campus. I got in to wake and Nova, i like nova more, but wake is a much better school and don't know what to do.</p>

<p>According to my son there are things to do if you look for them. Parties on and off campus, lots of sports, and winston does have places to go for dancing, etc that you don't have to be 21. Sounds like the frats have the on campus locations and off campus (nonofficial) houses. Also Chapel Hill, Elon, NC State are all close and students seem to visit back and forth alot.</p>

<p>well, chapel hill is a good 2 hrs away. i was visiting colleges last summer, and i happened to be driving from chapel hill to wake.</p>

<p>No, Chapel Hill is only about one hour. Elon is 30min. Raleigh about 1.5 hours. Yeah, you'd need a car, but there are alot of kids on campus with cars that go back and forth.</p>

<p>ok. my bad. i guess i wasnt looking at the time. or you must be driving fast. lol :)</p>

<p>it seems like there is far less to do in W-S than there actually is, because the side you come in from when coming off the highway onto univ blvd is the less happening side, with basically a bunch of car dealerships and some restaurants...the "more happening" side is outside of campus in the other direction where there is (at least one) movie theatre, excellent mall, and some other stuff...plus there is a ton to do, and as for student activities, obviously varsity athletics, and a huge portion of students participate in club and intramural sports...i was down at wake for a couple days with the tennis team (didn't get a scholarship, but am going to wake anyway and may try to walk on if I can find the time...would've done it if it meant free education, but since my parents are paying, grades and getting into med school take precedence over sports) and we were never at a loss for things to do</p>

<p>Would a non-drinking girl (also not interested in sororities) be comfortable with the social scene at Wake Forest? She visited Sewanee and was rather taken aback by the <em>very</em> heavy partying going on that weekend (at an Episcopal school, no less <g>). The Princeton Review book warns of a heavy party scene at Wake but we have found some of their descriptions of other schools were exaggerated in that regard.</g></p>

<p>Are there plenty of "dry" activities that are well-attended? Alcohol-free dorms? She loves everything else she hears about Wake Forest. Any insights would be very much appreciated.</p>

<p>My dad lived in Winston-Salem briefly and said the movie theater and mall are very nice, one good option for getting off campus for a while at least. :)</p>

<p>I know there are substance free dorms.</p>

<p>Thanks for that info, WilmingtonWave, every bit of information helps.</p>

<p>1 substance free dorm...johnson...no drinking or smoking allowed for any of the students residing in johnson</p>

<p>sure, there are parties at wake, but after all, its not BYU...the school puts together functions for students promoting sober fun like movie night and stuff like that</p>

<p>pbk i recommend you buy College *******: Wake Forest University...it is basically a 150 page book about wake and covers many of the subjects briefly outlined by princeton review books, but in MUCH greater detail...it is a really great book; i got it at the barnes and noble website</p>

<p>it censored the name, but the word is p r o w l e r, without the spaces, obviously</p>

<p>Many thanks for the info (movie night sounds like fun!) and the book tip, I will look for it immediately. Best wishes --</p>

<p>I've heard that Wake is dominated by frats/sorrorities. Is there anybody who can shed some light on this?</p>

<p>I think roughly half the girls are in sorrorities and a third of guys are in frats.</p>

<p>I understand the Wake has a reputation has a real tough school. I want my daughter to be challenged but not kill herself. She will probably end up being an economics major, I understand that tends not to be as difficult as some other majors. Does anyone have any insight into the work load? Also I hear it is very competitive and the kids tend not to help each other out. Is it that cut throat or is this just a rumor?</p>

<p>It seems that most of the "cut throat" attitude shows up in the pre med courses. At least that is what my son has found. His roommate and other friends who are not pre med have not found the same competitiveness between students in their courses. One other thing I would say is that so far I haven't talked to a student yet who, when having trouble in a class, had any problem getting the prof to spend extra time with them.</p>

<p>I'm pre-med, and I haven't witnessed any cut throat attitude even in my pre-med courses. If anything, I've seen a camaraderie that's been wonderful. Wake's a small enough school that by the end of your second or third semester, you've had classes will all of the premeds and you all know each other, at least somewhat. Sure, we all work really, really hard for good grades, but to a certain degree, we all work together, too. I've never felt like I was competing with my classmates.</p>

<p>I heard more comments from S. on competitiveness his first semester (fresh year). Perhaps some of what he saw as cut throat was in reality more freshman fear. This semester I really haven't heard any of those comments from him and this should have been a more stressful semester course-wise.</p>