Hi! I’m a rising senior male from NY. I really like Wake Forest and I plan on applying ED there, but I have some concerns about the social scene. I like to go to parties and hang out with friends, but I do not plan on joining a frat. Will it be hard to make friends or go to parties if I’m not a part of a fraternity? Does all social activity revolve around greek life? As a guy not in a frat, will I be able to go to parties? Thanks!
Anyone who knows please respond, but if you are a wake student/alum I would really appreciate to know your experience/your friends’ experiences.
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Hi pineapplemango, I am a current freshman here at wake forest and I have found the social scene to be a lot to handle. It can be difficult to get to parties, since they are off campus. Also, frat parties are about all there is to do, because the upperclassmen do not like when younger students show up to the bars. Lastly, I have heard that it can be difficult socially for people not in greek life, but I am sure if you find the niche you belong in then you will succeed!
Hey pineapplemango,
Also a freshman at Wake here. Sorry you’re having trouble getting your question answered. I’m not sure what the above poster was talking about; frat parties are not exclusively off campus. You can go to lounge parties just by… walking into the lounge. Amazing, yea? There are lounge parties on campus every weekend. I’m obviously not in a frat, being that it’s first semester, but I have gone to frat parties every weekend since I got here. They’re a lot of fun if you like drinking and dancing (I do).
Like any other school, you can always make friends by joining clubs and getting to know the other students in your classes. That said, Greek life is big here and if you’re not comfortable with that you might want to reconsider Wake Forest.
Let me know if you have any questions.
@pineapplemango As a proud WFU alumna, I’m always happy to hear of your interest in my alma mater. What @Sam998 and @packardsy say both ring somewhat true to my memories, though it’s important to note I graduate more than 5 years ago now. When I was there, and I stayed involved with the campus for a number of years after graduating, I would say we men who were not in Greek life were in the minority and if you really loved going to large parties you probably will join a fraternity because that is who dominated that particular scene. That said, especially after your freshmen year you will find that “non-affiliated” students also host social events at apartments and with clubs and if you want to seek those parties out you will find your scene. The greek life is the loudest and arguably the most openly accessible as they have high membership and are talked about a lot. But, get involved in clubs and activities and you can find your own scene. When I was there, social events were held both on and off campus, like every college and every social environment I’ve ever been in (and I’ve lived now in 8 countries and many cities), some people are inviting, some people aren’t. Fraternities were true to that statement in my experience. I never felt like I couldn’t go, I just often preferred not to and I had friends in and out of fraternities. I’ve seen this concern over the years and my honest response is: be confident in who you are. people respect genuine people. Don’t make a fool of yourself and be mean to others and people will respect you whether you go Greek or not.
Freshman year I found people were way more into the “labels” of social groups and I did not love the Greek system but as years went on, that dissipated. Bottom line was WFU offered the best academic experience I can imagine-and I’ve since been academically exposed to several of the nation’s top 20 schools-and my professors cared deeply for me and I was given opportunities I would not have had elsewhere. I hope you choose to have the same experience wherever you go!