Son probably going to Wake...wonders if it is a wise decision though....

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wake Forest University
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<p>He is a 33 ACT pre-med intending kid. Had had Rhodes at the top of his list for years, due to size, he would be at the top of the class so more likely to get a better GPA, liked their link with St. Judes and the pre-med advisor, but just got back from his third visit with what I write below. I must add, he visited Wake in the fall, went to the accepted students day in April, loved it, spent two nights. BUT THE GRADE DEFLATION REPUTATION MAKES HIM WARY!!!!</p>

<p>This puts him in a quandary, on third Rhodes visit, to make sure before he put his money down, coming back from two days at Rhodes. He came back a bit troubled. More kids with weird piercings and odd colored hair than he expected. Went to a org chem class, which he followed the subject matter fine, despite, what he said was a rather hard to understand accent wise professor. noted that the interaction with St. Judes was perhaps more for research than he expected. liked the psych class he went to. noted the Search class curriculum, which he would do, was a bit more reading than he had expected, daily reading, altho he was surprised, but that was ok, he is a reader. Really like his meeting with the premed advisor/dept head. thought it felt a bit smaller than he remembered.</p>

<p>wrote his thoughts in a letter to me and himself in the Memphis airport, ending with "If St. Jude were here in the Memphis airport with a gun to my head to make a decision, he would go to Wake."</p>

<p>So. The plot thickens. Woke up today without a Wake tshirt on, as I expected to see him. Eyes bleary from lack of sleep, and said he wished he would have applied to more colleges. He said going during classes made a huge difference, (I wonder on this, as the first time we went was during Spring Break junior year. so yes, no kids. But he went in the fall of senior year, October and spent night on campus and went to classes...) Any way, he said he wished he would have applied to more schools. But always thought Rhodes was the one. I asked him where, he said Boston College, Vanderbilt. Furman, which we visited but he declined applying to. We talked about the pros and cons of those schools, And what his decision was at that time, and that they were wise decisions.</p>

<p>At the end of the day, His options are the schools he applied to and was accepted. Baylor (he hates), Trinity in SA (which he got good money from but wants to go out of state), A and M (which he visited, and had not much interest in pursuing, too big, TA taught classes, wants to know his professors). He visited but declined applying to Furman, Davidson, W and Mary, wait listed at URichmond...idk...this is stressing me out beyond my limits!! :)</p>

<p>Says the only school he wants to go to that he applied to is Wake. And it is mega expensive and has a reputation for grade deflation so it is going to be extra hard to get the gpa he needs to get to go to Med School.</p>

<p>That, my friends, is where we are. I would appreciate any input. 7 days til decision day.</p>

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<p>nettiK4137 - I addressed this issue in your earlier post, but I will reiterate it. I truly think your son will thrive at Wake. Don’t let him underestimate himself!!! He sounds like a smart kid that enjoys a challenge - he will probably love being surrounded by like-minded peers. My son has NEVER uttered one word about grade deflation or about an overwhelming amount of work. He loves to be busy but has plenty of time for his active social life and several other extra curricular activities. What did your son love about admitted student day? </p>

<p>Do you know kids at BC, Davidson, Duke or Vandy? Trust me, they are not sleeping through class and getting good grades! My older son worked his tail-off at Vandy - it was quite stressful most of the time.</p>

<p>Again, best of luck! Trust that he will thrive where he is planted :slight_smile: </p>

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<p>dwhite, I appreciate your encouragement. and kindly addressing me, here, and there!! Well put, don’t underestimate himself! And yes, someone i just was talking to, grad of wake, said, on a tour with younger sibling at duke, that they walked out the library on the tour, and the student turned to the group, and said. WORST SCHOOL EVER! under a mountain of books…so, yes, cute rhyme, and true for all these top schools. i think he is in. thank you thank you…words i can hold onto…“don’t underestimate yourself”!! thanks, dwhite!</p>

<p>what did he love about accepted students day??? EVERYTHING!!</p>

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<p>There is often cold feet, buyer’s remorse, but most kids will move on. I think your son will be fine at Wake. Great school. School’s on my kid’s list for next year’s appls.</p>

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<p>GEEZ!!! parenting is hard. the need to protect, the need to support, the need to encourage…agh!! poor first borns…they are the ones we learn all this on!!! thanks, i think he is in. going to a wake reception of sorts tonight…forgot the occasion. but, onward thru the fog.</p>

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<p>nettiK - Great!! Happy to answer any other questions you may have in the next few months if he does commit.</p>

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<p>Wake student here. Current junior, pre-med sociology major with bio and chem double minor. 35 ACT and 1480 SAT, but Wake was definitely the best school I got into. Current GPA ~3.5. Came from public high school with 4 APs, probably similar student to your son from what you’ve said.</p>

<p>I’m going to be bluntly honest here, but I wanted to preface all that with saying that I absolutely love Wake even though it is a challenging school. If I had to go back and choose again, I’d pick Wake again hands down. </p>

<p>Let’s get the bad news out of the way first… Wake does live up to its work forest nickname and there is grade deflation in a lot of departments. That being said, the snowball effect applies to the rumors you hear about these things. They tend to become exaggerated as they pass from person to person. To be realistic, the workload at any rigorous school is never going to be a walk in the park. You get out what you put in, and the caliber of student that Wake attracts tends to put in a lot of hours in the library. We are hard workers and earn our successes in the classroom. So the work forest nickname is partially just a result of the high work ethic of the students. If your son is worried about having too much work to do, he might want to reconsider his choice of career. With that in mind, attending Wake is probably one of the best possible ways to prepare him for medical school. Apart from the superb education he’ll receive, the workload here will just help him to get ready for what he’ll have to cope with in med school. He’ll go into it better prepared for the insane workload than most of the other students in his med school class. My point is that if he is as talented a student as you made him out to be, he’ll be fine and Wake’s workload will actually be an advantage to him, not a detriment.</p>

<p>As far as grade deflation goes, yes it happens. This isn’t a state school where you can get an A without putting in hours of work. However, the thing about grade deflation is that its all relative and admissions boards get that. Just as college admissions people are familiar with and weight different high schools differently, so do medical schools. I have heard from countless Deans of Admissions (2-3 come speak on campus each semester) that their medical school is aware of the rigor of Wake’s programs and weights a 3.4 at Wake much higher than a 3.4 at a less prestigious school. Although not as known outside of the south in the public’s eye, Wake is well known in the academic community and admissions boards are very familiar with the rumors and truths that surround GPAs here. Being a top 25 school does not go unnoticed. Additionally, the grade deflation does not happen across the board. As are very achievable, as are 4.0s. Your son just needs to be comfortable with earning a few Bs and knowing that even though his GPA is not as high as his friend’s who goes to state school he still knows the material inside and out and will be very well prepared for his MCAT and future medical school education. Because in the end that’s what your $60,000 is paying for, the actual education he will receive. </p>

<p>In summary, you and your son should believe what you hear but take it all with a grain of salt. If he got into Wake and has a good work ethic, he can certainly succeed here and in his future education and career. There are tons of resources and mentors here to help with the transition into a college workload and he will not be alone in the initial struggle. If you have any further questions or if you or your son would like to speak with me at all about Wake feel free to message me. Happy to help</p>

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<p>My recent WF grad has several friends from WF in med school now. There is a personal touch there with small classes and accessible professors. I agree that if he has a good work ethic and a focus on his goals, he likely will be able to get the education, grades, and recommendations he needs.</p>

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<p>Wakes a fine school. A bit insulated, and certainly over-priced…but if he’s got a scholly, and/or he’s going to med school price won’t matter anyway. Without a scholly, or wealthy parents, or money career in sight…it’s a bit more questionable.</p>

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<p>Nettik a few thoughts;
*All top universities have a difficult work load
*All top U’s will provide a quality pre-med education
*In general it is better for pre-meds to select a top 30 university with “grade inflation”. An average student from Brown with a 3.65 has better odds of med school admission than an average student from JHU with a 3.3. There are data that show students from grade inflation universities have an advantage with grad school admissions.
*In TX there will be a billion applications to meds schools with 3.7-4.0 GPA from less rigorous universities, but it’s difficult for these students to standout.<br>
*A student from a top 30 U with a similar GPA will stand out more easily.
*It will take a lot of work to get in but with a 33 ACT he has the ability to stand out at WF.
*The important thing is to survive the weed out classes. If you do you should be fine. All his effort should be to get through the first chem, bio, calc, and physicis.
*Do not start fall freshman semester with bio, chem and calc. This turns many a pre-med into a business major before Thanksgiving.
*Happy students make good students…so go where he will be happy (if you can afford it)</p>

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<p>Nettik, I take it your son didn’t get a “scholarship”. Did you get any aid to help offset the cost?</p>

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<p>Great info all!!. Living61, no scholarship. but may do RA in future years. but we are IN! and he is happy!! </p>

<p>Bud123. Great info here. esp surviving the weed out classes. I am assuming you are saying Wake is a top 30 U. Yes, and the 33 ACT was on the one and only effort, and he had a late night the night before…friend spent nite from out of town, bad timing on my part! Missed a higher mark with the early/lower level math he hadn’t done in years. How would you start freshman year? i hear org chem is usually spring fresh/fall soph year, with the latter being the tougher of the two. so you are saying in Texas, he has the opportunity to stand out, in the pack of 3.7 to 4.0 gap’s? being from Wake? I do know that Texas is a decent state to be from for this application to med school.
He is happy, and i think attending a lesser school would surround him more with the HS type that he is sick of…looking for the sexiest girl and the craziest party!!</p>

<p>Mitch…hmmm, we are on the fence on that, but he IS attending, so a mute point now! He is happy, and proud to be a deac, and we hope that goes a long way towards his success.</p>

<p>ib5, that is his goal. and i do think he will make it happen. barring a personality change that i don’t expect. even now, may of senior year, he is working hard at his studies and ap tests, even though they really “don’t matter”.</p>

<p>THUNT, well, you are the expert. and i appreciate your detailed response. I hope what you are seeing is true, that ad com know wake and its workload. and that is understood. i question that state U’s hand a’s to a ton of kids, but whatever, mute point. I may indeed hook you up with him, he would appreciate that (as would I!). I think everything you say is what he is prepared for, and the advantage he sees in going to wake. he plans to spend many hours in the library, and i must say, from my perspective, he enjoys that. he enjoys close collaboration with teachers and advisors, and other similarly focused kids. his closest friends this year are headed to purdue and princeton, and they aren’t going to have a walk in the park, either, nor are they looking for that. I think wake is the right school for him, and sounds like you have found that too. THAT is what it boils down to, so thank you sincerely for your honest and thoughtful response. please pm me, if you are comfortable with that, as he would love to know a few kids a bit farther down the path than he! thanks, and all the best to you.</p>

<p>dwhite, I keep referring back in my mind to what you said…there is no walk in the park at duke, unc, Vandy, all these other top schools…</p>

<p>Regardless, we are THERE, so on to the next chapter…making it happen!!!</p>

<p>Looking forward to my new “home” on this site, the Wake forum!!! </p>

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<p>nettiK - Congratulations - great choice!! </p>

<p>You may want to check-out the Parents Page on the Wake website. They have loads of information for Parents including an entire section for incoming Parents that will go live in mid-May. </p>

<p>Have a great summer :slight_smile: </p>

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<p>I’m no expert but it seems risky to take 3 of the most difficult classes fall semester freshman year. Students are adjusting to living away from home, homesickness, missing old friends, making new friends, new academic rigor, and adjusting to their new found freedom. Since psychology and sociology are now on the new MCAT why not start off with these and add an easy class or two to get off on the right foot with a solid GPA. You don’t want your med school dream crushed before you get adjusted to college. Once he has adjusted to college start the chem and bio second semester and learn from his peers that crashed and burned first semester. If Wake will let you take credit for AP calc do it…that’s one less high risk class for pre-meds. Consider taking organic or physics over the summer to knock these out when he has a lighter load. The addition of psy, sociology and biochem to the MCAT will force many pre-meds into summer school.
The MCAT should be no problem for him. With a 33 ACT he has aced every standardized test he’s looked at since first grade and with a little prep the MCAT will be no different.
Non- STEM classes should be no problem so it boils down to surviving the 4-5 weed out classes. The first chem, bio, cal, physics and organic chem.</p>