<p>When I was at Wake Forest for a summer camp, I didn't particularly like the atmosphere. I have visited UNC-CH and I liked their campus a lot. </p>
<p>It all depends what you're looking for.</p>
<p>A couple of salient points. I am VERY familiar with both schools and students who go there to each.</p>
<p>Princeton Review is suspect, so take it with a grain of salt. Visit the schools and make your own determination of how YOU feel.</p>
<p>There is grade deflation at Wake Forest. But they view that as grade "reality" rather than filling your head and transcript with false flags. There is a perception among some people, but not all, that Carolina is harder to get into but easier to stay, while Wake is easier to get into but harder to stay. Just passing that along, and of course it depends on your skillset, discipline, maturity and interests.</p>
<p>Wake graduates more kids within 4 years I believe, though some will still take longer. Carolina sometimes has problems with kids getting into the classes they need for graduation within 4 years, though that depends of course on the major. </p>
<p>Carolina has more offerings in more majors, some of them very esoteric. </p>
<p>Graduate school admissions from both schools are really a flip of the coin. </p>
<p>Each school has a unique culture to it. That may or may not be important to you. </p>
<p>Some kids do well in a large public school setting and others dont do as well. So it depends on your personality type and how well you fit into larger settings.</p>
<p>Congratulations on both admissions and good luck.</p>
<p>Here's a timely cultural comparison for you - big state university vs. cohesive small private: Tarheels or no Tarheels, there are some UNC students who don't know that it's basketball season. They may be aware that they live in a sea of hoop mania, but since it's not translating Old Norse or whatever it is that rocks their world, they're just not in it. I can virtually guarantee you that the most basketball-ambivalent Wake student on campus was in gold-and-black tie-dye at Joel Coliseum Wednesday night, bouncing up and down and having a blast!</p>
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I applied for early decision (which did not tie me to the school)
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<p>What? Explain this please...</p>
<p>knights, I believe there was a new Wake application this year for instate residents which was early and non-binding. UNC has had EA for a while.</p>
<p>OP, I go to Wake so pm me if you have any specific questions; definitely visit both campuses when you get a chance to get a feel for them. I do think there's plenty of clubs to get involved in, and I stay pretty busy with the ones I'm in. It pretty much is like apples and oranges - huge state vs. small private. I don't think you get lost in the crowd at Wake...for example the biggest class I've had was my intro bio class which was around 45-50 students, whereas some of my friends that go to UNC had intro chem classes with 400 students. Coming out of a very small high school, that just seemed overwhelming to me. But I certainly liked UNC when I was looking at colleges and would probably consider going there for grad school if they had the program I'm interested in - it's a beautiful campus and there's a lot to do.</p>
<p>Iām having a hard time trying to decide between Wake Forest and UNC too. I think Iāll choose UNC because they have a better music program- which Iām very into, but I loved Wake Forest when I visited. Does anyone know what the professors at UNC are like- are they able to respond to emails and offer help with their subjects to students at certain hours?</p>
<p>Its a no brainer for me. Wake by a mile. If money is not the issue. </p>
<p>Carolina is plenty greek too. And there is some grade deflation at Carolina as well. And the grade deflation at Wake is not that bad. If you do your work and donāt party away your life, you will be fine.</p>
<p>Personally, I think UNCās pricetag makes the decision a no-brainer. Same prestige as Wake, but a heck of a lot cheaper. Plus, there is generally more to do in Chapel Hill. Both schools have beautiful campuses and smart student bodies, and both schools have excellent academic reputations. UNCās athletic tradition is stronger than Wakeās (last weekās game notwithstanding), with a huge amount of school spirit for football, basketball, and baseball games.</p>
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<p>This isnāt true at all. UNC has a problem with grade inflation, not the other way around. The student paper has been reporting about grade inflation for months now. </p>
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<p>Every professor has office hours that students are welcome to come to. In addition, every professor that Iāve emailed has typically gotten back to me that day, or if it was late, by early afternoon the next day.</p>
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<p>In my two years at UNC, Iāve yet to meet someone that this statement would apply to, and Iāve met plenty of UNC students. Athletic fervor here is ridiculous, and the whole campus tends to benefit from it.</p>
<p>Teachers at UNC can always give you help, thatās why office hours were created. At UNC classes can have hundreds of students (chem, biol, econ) or small (engl, languages, math) but something in common that both classes have isā¦ office hours.</p>
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<p>And where are your national championships in basketball?</p>
<p>lol jk. Thatās a low blow.</p>
<p>Iām a native Winston-Salemite who goes to UNCā¦(so OP you can PM me if you want)ā¦so I tend to pull for both teamsā¦although when push comes to shove, Iām a tar heel through and through. It was a tough night in the Dean Dome this past Wednesdayā¦(the game was in Chapel Hillā¦although they might have viewing parties for away games at LJVM? Maybe?)</p>
<p>Wake is going to have more personal attention just because of the size. I attended MBA school there, and coming from Duke with the expansive campus, felt it was tiny. However, now that I am a parent looking at schools, Wake is one of my top choices, and UNC is not even there (not because it is Carolina, but because I feel private schools with good Fin Aid are better values in the long run).</p>
<p>If I were you,I would go with Wake Forest,small tiny university offers better education,wake forest is better under my impression.</p>
<p>I visited both schools and currently attend Wake Forest University.</p>
<p>Both schools have beautiful campuses. At Wake Forest University, campus life relies very heavily on campus, while Carolina is much more integrated into the community. While I do like Chapel Hill/Carrboro more than Winston-Salem, Winston-Salem is a nice little city and I like the community on the Wake Forest campus more. Furthermore, Wake Forest offers a much more intimate experience, that is why I never considered UNC after visitingāit simply was too big. That is something important to consider. Another important consideration as gadad has pointed out, is that UNC is mainly NC kids. I have heard negative things about this from friends who go there (particularly from those who are OOS) </p>
<p>Both schools have great school spirit/athletics/academicsāIām not going to split hairs there. </p>
<p>Wake Forest has more greek life. This is a bigger deal if you are a girl than a guy I think. However, I am not greek and this has never put me at a disadvantage or tainted my view of Wake Forest. </p>
<p>Politically, Wake Forest is very moderate as far as college campuses go. Sure, compared to UNC it is conservative, but even as a registered Democrat and a fairly liberal person, I prefer a moderate experience. This is particularly important in regards to professors who I have NEVER encountered at Wake Forest who bombarded us with their views. At the same time, I have heard complaints from students about their professors liberal tendencies. </p>
<p>Overall, you have two great options. Wake Forest would offers a superior college experience, as it is making strides in terms of sustainability, diversity, academics, campus resources, etc. But most importantly it is a more intimate university. I can answer further questions about our great study abroad program, specific majors, etc. as well.
Best of luck.</p>
<p>I visited both schools, but ended up applying only to UNC after seeing the stark differences between the two schools. </p>
<p>It really came down to what I wanted. Wake Forest had an amazing campus, to the extent it was almost too nice. I want a traditional college experience, not to go to a country club campus lacking diversity and being enclosed in a bubble. </p>
<p>It depends what you are looking for. I like big public institutions because they facilitate undergraduate research and offer a more diverse atmosphere. The homogeneity of Wake Forest is pretty apparent. </p>
<p>Sure class sizes will be smaller at Wake, but if you come in with a decent amount of AP credit than you will likely skip a lot of intro classes at UNC. Moreover, I am not a fan of the grade deflation at āWork Forestā. </p>
<p>Combine that with a cheaper tuition (in state or OOS), a better town (Chapel Hill > Winston-Salem), and a little more national prestige (a lot of people in Florida havenāt heard of Wake), and the choice was easy for me.</p>
<p>OP ā I was once a poor college student, but have never been an ethnic minority. Both realities are important to factor in with any school you attend. I could not afford many of the things people did for funā¦ just didnāt have the money. No Fraternity, not much night life, etc. plus I worked 16 hours a week.</p>
<p>Regarding FA at WF, youāve really got to dig in to understand what is scholarship and what is long term debt.</p>
<p>My gut tells me that WF might be a tad constricting socially if you donāt have much walking around moneyā¦ Iām not picking on WF, but all private schools that have large % of well off kids from the suburbs tend to present challenges to the financially constrained.</p>
<p>I come from a very middle class background, and I do a lot to help out my parents with costs as well as make moneyāI RA which pays for room and gives me a 3300 stipend, tutor, and have a work study, sempre tem jeito.</p>
<p>I disagree about people in Florida not hearing of Wake Forest- we have family there, and when they tell people their relation (my son) attends Wake Forest, many people have heard of it. My father in-law was quite surprised when his well-known cardiologist told him he attended Wake for both undergrad and medical, and his son is a current student. I think it depends on who you are talking to, and their level of education. (Everyone knows of of āState Uā) Besides, just because something is better known does not make it ābetter;ā for example, Swarthmore is a college most people I know have not heard of it, but it is arguably the best liberal arts college in the US. In academic circles, everyone has heard of it, and knows its worth. Wake is great for some, and UNC for others, may each student find the right place!</p>
<p>LOL!</p>
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<p>After NC, more Wake students come from Florida than any other state! What, are they just making wrong turns on I-95?</p>
<p>Wakeās athletic teams will play teams from Florida at least 29 times this year, and probably many more counting tournaments and meets. The Florida newspapers always seem to notice.</p>
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gadad brings up another good point.</p>
<p>Trivia question:
Which College Football team not in Florida recruits the most out of Florida?</p>
<p>I donāt think I need to answer this.</p>
<p>Wake draws from Texas, California, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Georgia, North and South Carolina and many other states. Its well known nationally, both academically and athletically. </p>
<p>UNC is required to admit 85 percent of its kids from NC. A lot of kids complain its just another version of high school because you see the same people there. It is a good value, but its big and at the end of the day, when you graduate you are competing with THOUSANDS of Carolina graduates for the same job. </p>
<p>Wake is not all stuck up rich kids. A high percentage are on financial aid. </p>
<p>A lot of people go to NCState who donāt want the Carolina āthing.ā</p>