<p>What is the typical wake forest student like?</p>
<p>Hi, ejh074. I am not a student, but I have a general answer to your question. I believe that no one answered it because there is no “typical” Wake Forest student. Years ago, perhaps the student body was white, Baptist and conservative. Now, Catholics make up the majority of religious groups, although even that is making way for “no religion.” The campus is probably 50/50 as far as political leanings, although people like to perpetuate that conservative southern stereotype by focusing on the conservatives. My son has friends that are of every religion and color, of every personality type, in fraternities or not, and from every economic background, although I would say people that are very disadvantaged economically are probably hard to find. I will say one thing that I have noticed, most of the students are friendly. We notice this every time we visit, I take a class at a local college here in NJ, and people do not look up at you at all. We had many offers to help find this place or that, and the students stop what they are doing and eagerly directed their complete attention to helping us. I know there has been some negative comments on this board from some unhappy parents, but if you can, try and visit when school is in session, I think that way you will get the best feel. I know financially that is sometimes difficult, and that is why students have to go by hearsay, so please contact people in charge of clubs you might be interested in, professors, ect. if you cannot visit. It is so much better to find out for yourself, as the anonymous nature of these boards can be misleading. Good luck in your college life!</p>
<p>I want to second njmom - the students at Wake Forest are varied and it would be impossible to describe the entire student body in one sentence. </p>
<p>When my son was looking at schools, Wake barely made the first cut because I was too focused on stereotypes and believed that the school was too white, preppy, Christian, conservative and wealthy. But my husband convinced me to keep an open mind, and I was pleasantly surprised when we visited. Everyone was very friendly and made us feel right at home. We also made an effort to meet students one on one - not through the tour guides - but through clubs and activities that interested our son. Those one on one conversations were very honest - and gave us a better feel for the school - both pros and cons. Fast forward - son is a freshman and loves it.</p>
<p>Aside from Wake Forest specifically, I learned that relying on a 2-3 sentence description in a college guide to summarize an entire student body is foolhardy. Visiting and meeting current students and speaking with them is really the only was to get a good feel for the students at a particular college.</p>