<p>Hi everyone! I am an international student from Europe, who considering attending Wake this fall. Anyone who is familiar with this school, could you comment please, how comfortable do the international students feel at Wake Forest? Will I be able to became friends with the American classmates? Are they too conservative at Wake? Or is it better to attend another school (I got into three others)? I am also concerned about Greek Life: do you think the international students can enjoy it? I would really appreciate your advice, as not many people I know are much aware of Wake. Thank you!</p>
<p>What are the three others? And, if cost is a concern, how much will each cost once you’ve taken out scholarships (NOT loans).</p>
<p>I also got into Syracuse and American University - price is almost the same everywhere.</p>
<p>why don’t you address your question to the Wake Forest forum, OP. They can help you better, perhaps.</p>
<p>Yeah. You are actually right I’ll do it.</p>
<p>Wake Forest is a great university and I think the school is up-and-coming. It draws nationally and gets more diverse every year. It is also in the ACC which is a pretty exciting sports conference. </p>
<p>I definitely would consider Wake Forest stronger academically than Syracuse and American.</p>
<p>i would, too, except maybe for communications at syracuse. it is more conservative politically than many other schools.</p>
<p>I think you need to make sure international students can pledge and are integrated into Greek life. Ask how many internationals there are in each Greek organization at each university (if numbers can’t be provided, it’s a bad sign).</p>
<p>On a conservative to liberal spectrum, Wake is the most conservative and American the most liberal.</p>
<p>American is in Dc, which is amazing for internships etc. If you want to major in the social sciences (political science, etc) it’s definitely the best school. However American really isn’t that good for science. Wake and Syracuse are better for science.
Wake has a “dressed up” vibe whereas Syracuse has more of a raucuous image. Both are big for sports, which American totally isn’t.
Syracuse is a city, but it’s very different from DC (not as cultural or as vibrant as DC). Winston-Salem has about 240,000 people and is growing; Syracuse has 600,000 in its immediate region; and of course DC is the federal capital.
Weather is very different: Wake and American are warm with temperatures very rarely hitting zero and typically in the 5-10°C zone in Winter and 27-31 in the Summer; Syracuse is snowy, with temperatures in the -5 to -10]C in the Winter and 24-27]C in the Summer.</p>
<p>Even though Wake is more conservative than its peers, its still roughly 50/50. Wake gets a ton of kids from NYC area. I really wouldn’t worry about the politics. </p>
<p>The bigger issues are could you live in Winston-Salem (a pretty small/low-key area). Greek life could be an issue, but its an ACC-conference college. You can go to basketball, football games, etc — I really don’t think it would be a problem. </p>
<p>I think Wake is an underrated gem (for me it would be an easy choice over the others).</p>
<p>Actually, Wake Forest has become MORE politically conservative since the percentage of students from up north has increased over the past thirty years or so. You shouldn’t be concerned about that, though, because I think you’d find a good mix of students’ political views.</p>
<p>I think I hear the OP concerned about xenophobia at wake. in america you can find xenophobia in all states and among members of all political persuasions, but the stereotype is that there’s more xenophobia among conservatives and southerners.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone so much!</p>
<p>What did you decide?</p>
<p>I haven’t decided yet, but these comments are quite useful. I still have time until May to think.</p>