Thought i'd never do this, but... chances please

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wake Forest University
1

<p>Please help me out.... I?m not going to make it until April.</p>

<p>White/Male/Mass.
COMPETITIVE High School</p>

<p>3.7 GPA weighted (hurt by AP Bio junior year, challenging courses tho)
Class rank not given, assume top 15/20%
Classes thus far:
AP Calc, AP Physics, AP Psych, AP US History, AP Bio, Spanish 5 and all else honors</p>

<p>SATs: 1310/1970
680 M, 630 V, 660 W
SAT 2s
580 Hist, 630 Math L1, 550 Bio</p>

<p>Excellent/Good Essays
Excellent Supp.
2 Excellent recs, 1 Good</p>

<p>ECs
Soccer 4 years (Varsity 10, 11, 12)
Swimming 4 years (Varsity 10, 11, 12)
Have held a job since 10th grade
Appalachia Service Project 10, 11, 12
National Honor Society
Voluntary Youth Soccer Coach 10, 11, 12
Play the Saxophone in HS band</p>

<p>Have lived in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Illinois.
Moved to Ma in 9th grade.</p>

2

<p>Your SAT verbal scores are low (near the bottom 25%) while your math scores are above average. The writing section (really just the SAT II writing I had to take long ago) may 'make up' for the lower verbal score.</p>

<p>So...do I think you will get in? You will get in if your essays and short answers suggested that you could be passionate about helping other people, if you made it fairly clear that you are of 'good character', etc. That you are socially, academically, and athletically driven helps (the first two help the most).</p>

<p>Wake is an interesting school where you do not need 'excuse notes' if you miss a test. Your WORD is what matters. 'Below average' students have a much better chance of getting in than the 'great' ones if they appear to be an amazing person, driven to study, etc</p>

<p>If you are a minority then you are most certainly in. We are sometimes criticized for a seeming lack of diversity etc.</p>

<p>If you are accepted I would hope that you attend. It really is a great school where all aspects of life are balanced, the faculty is great, and the administration is barely noticed.</p>

3

<p>thanks alot</p>

4

<p>BUMP
anyone else?</p>

5

<p>i am planning on going down for an interview sometime soon. how much will this help me if it goes well? it will at least prove my interest since im coming from ma, right?</p>

6

<p>If you haven't already contact the admissions office to let them know you are coming so they can put that on your app. You might want to let it slip that you're taking time off from hs to go directly from ma to nc and back, ie, you are only visiting wake. Use the standard "If accepted I will attend Wake in the fall" during the interview, ie, Wake is your first choice.</p>

<p>Engage the admissions officer. You have a limited amount of face time with them before you are 'handed off' to one of the students for a tour. You might want to read up on Wake's 'philosophy' (read the university bulletin, ie, the course catalog) to get an idea of what to say for part of your interview...that you wish to develop blank at Wake and Wake is a great place to develop blank. </p>

<p>Mention that you balance your life but will pursue academics first etc. They do want balanced people.</p>

<p>Are you very religious? I would remind you that all Wake students are required to take 1 of 4 religion course offerings in order to graduate. I say this because you might want to be familiar with the 'divisionals' which are the required courses or core courses I guess.</p>

<p>Ask about Wake's history. It is the 50th anniversary of Wake's move to Winston-Salem (from Wake Forest). It started out as a work and study university which didn't work out so well and then went straight to a study only university (well college then). The 'early' days are interesting as well as the move. They've also managed to retain elements of their baptist heritage.</p>

7

<p>Oh. There are a number of stories from the admissions office about 'botched interviews'. This tends to occur when a student who professes to know a good deal about something or be affiliated with a certain group lacks basic knowledge on the subject.</p>

<p>One example concerns a young woman who attended a Catholic high school (she was also Catholic). During her interview she mentioned that she was going to Italy and would be at the Vatican. The group was going to get to see some important Vatican person as they had been granted a special audience. The admissions officer asked who this important person was and she managed to come up with 'John Paul'. The admissions officer kept a straight face and asked her if she knew who he was...no, she did not. </p>

<p>The interviewer didn't tell her that John Paul was the Pope.</p>

<p>This is why if you start a discussion about something you need to know what you are talking about.</p>

<p>It is possible to kill your application by coming off poorly during an interview.</p>

<p>I think it will help a good deal actually so I am all for you coming.</p>

<p>You might want to consider staying at Wake if you aren't already planning on it. That's just a travel thing though - where are you going to fly to? (or are you driving?)</p>

<p>All Wake students receive a printer and laptop free, ie, endowment pays and it doesn't come out of tuition. Laptops are exchanged your junior year. Nice deal - my sister had to pay for hers at RPI and it was hugely inflated. Anyway they like to boast about their technology program.</p>

<p>THE ORANGE BOWL. Wake made it this year. Lookup how many years it had been since we had last been (not telling). Mention it. Come up with something witty, say you can't wait to go to all of next years games rain or shine. (means you are involved outside of class)</p>

<p>Ask about clubs, intramurals, religious stuff (the campus ministry recognizes certain groups and pays for them to have staff, activities, etc).</p>

<p>Ask about OFF CAMPUS VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES. They like to make an outreach effort for whatever reason. There is a homeless shelter you can volunteer at - you stay overnight during the week so it's a sacrifice - and a lot more. We put on a halloween program a week before for the community...lots of kids. Ask about volunteering...</p>

8

<p>thanks svwells, with this info and after talking to my counselour today, i think i will be goin down for an interview</p>

<p>any other opinions?</p>

9

<p>UPDATE: Midyear report was VERY strong. One of my best semesters throughout all of high school. Definatly my best from Junior and Senior year thus far. Visited(from MA) and made it clear that the only school I was visiting on the trip was Wake(to prove my interest) and could not have asked for the interview to have gone any better. I also believe that my Supp. was very strong. </p>

<p>How much could this possibly change my chances??? ....where do I stand now? It is very clear all over my app that Wake is the school I want to attend. I just wish I had known of it early enough to apply ED. ( I was a late bloomer)</p>

10

<p>I'm actually in the same boat as you (wishing that I applied ED). Also, I'm from MA and made the trip down there in September, I was sure to mention that I missed school specifically for the visit. I really think I had a great interview (the best of the four that I did), and in addition I continually email an admissions counselour (the interviewer) essentially saying that Wake is my top choice. So I hope that the interview, visit, and my interest will help alot, but hopefully a current student with similiar experiences will confirm our hopes...</p>

<p>In one of my emails the counselor said that I could "rest assured" because she enjoyed reading my application in reponse to me saying that I can't wait to hear back. Is this a "likely" or am I reading way too far into a comment that could just mean stop emailing me.</p>

11

<p>That's a likely. Congratulations!</p>

12

<p>soo, back to me...... anyone?</p>

13

<p>BUMMP, please, anyone, ANYTHING! (im going crazy!, this is gonna be the longest month of my life)</p>

14

<p>It could go either way, applicants are up, and nothing on your application really stands out, however you are definetely within range, so you have a great chance, but nothing is for sure. Good luck!</p>

15

<p>Thanks alot!</p>