<p>I am new here & the only reason I joined is because I have seen alot of valuable opinions....I would truly appreciate any opinion with my question. My son wants to be an Orthopedic Surgeon so should he go to Wake Forest or Chapel Hill???? We just received financial aid packets for both colleges & both seem very good. Carolina offered $22,340--($6835 are loans). Wake Forest offered $49,950--($6360 are for loans& $2000 is work study). He has already won a $1000 scholarship & we are waiting to hear about 8-10 more. </p>
<p>Wake Forest has WAY smaller classes while Carolina has auditoriums. You're allowed to bring your vehicle to Wake while @ Carolina you're not allowed. Both schools academically are very good...so if any one out there could give me pros & cons about BOTH schools I would appreciate it.</p>
<p>What are the NET costs to you, and what will be his total loan indebtedness over four years?</p>
<p>(“Offers” are somewhat meaningless - they set the price, and then they offer you a discount. There really is no such thing as “financial aid” - it’s just a price they choose to charge you (rather like an airline that sells its seats for different prices).</p>
<p>You don’t give the ultimate COA so I don’t know the financials involved.</p>
<p>Small classes are very appealing, but I would vote for UNC. It’s a much for diverse campus which would be important to me for my own kids.</p>
<p>An acquaintance sent her son to Wake Forest. Her comment on move-in day was, “Everyone is just like Michael. Handsome, beautiful, slim, fit, Christian.” While I’m sure this isn’t true, her creepy comment (she didn’t even know it was creepy) made me wonder about the homogeneity of the school. He did enjoy his time there.</p>
<p>I just spoke to a kid yesterday (friend of DS, ran into him at Starbucks) who said that his four years at UNC were paradise.</p>
<p>I guess this is a case in which the kid should decide. You can become an orthopedic surgeon from both places.</p>
<p>I would let my kid choose Wake Forest, but I might raise an eyebrow for a moment.</p>
<p>Just teasing but there is some truth to the lower average GPAs that come out of WFU.</p>
<p>Which to me personally I don’t care about the GPAs, but med schools do. Alot.</p>
<p>GPAs for med school need to be 3.6/3.7 and up. That might be a little difficult at WFU, or maybe not for your kiddo.</p>
<p>If your out of pocket costs for both schools are about the same I would differ to your son. Where did he feel most comfortable? Where did he see himself excelling?</p>
<p>He will be able to meet his pre-med reqs at either school, is he transferring in any APs? if so how many?</p>
<p>My vote would be for Carolina but I am biased.</p>
<p>Kat
ps middle son is in med school at Carolina! don’t know about ortho at this point…</p>
<p>S2 was accepted to both Wake and UNC, and chose to attend UNC. </p>
<p>It really should be illegal for any college freshman to be this happy. Loves everything about the the school and the town of Chapel Hill. He has found the students there to be much more diverse than the students he met at Wake (has a friend there who he has visited). </p>
<p>He has been given some amazing opportunities there this year. Assured admission to the business school, honors program, will be going to South Africa with a school sponsored group for a few weeks at the beginning of summer. UNC gave him credit for every AP class/test he took, so he will be a junior next fall. </p>
<p>He doesn’t know anyone at UNC who is unhappy there. Which is an amazing statement to make, but true. Within his group of friends and aquaintances, they are all happy to be there. </p>
<p>He is following the premed path, and has found it do-able there. His grades are excellent. He has found a number of clubs and activities to join.</p>
<p>Freshman can have cars at UNC if they are living at Granville Dorm, or they used to be able to. My D brought her car to UNC starting in her sophomore year.</p>
<p>Some of D’s lower level classes were large in size. Once she started taking upper level courses (sophomore year), those class sizes shrank significantly. </p>
<p>Her main complaint with UNC was that there were a few classes she couldn’t get due to class size restrictions. Usually she got what she wanted by the time the first week was finished because kids always drop classes early on for various reasons, but that was a little annoying for her. </p>
<p>She loved her experience at UNC. In her department, she had a couple of wonderful mentors who advised her, guided her on her way towards positioning herself for grad school, and provided support and encouragement. One also offered her a spot in his research lab, allowed her to co-write a chapter of one of his books, and wrote a great LOR (as did another faculty mentor) for her grad school applications. Quite surprising to me for such a large institution.</p>
<p>I can’t speak to WF; it seemed way too small for her when she visited, (she attended a rather small private school in HS), and she was really looking for a larger environment with diversity-racial and socioeconomic. I’m sure that for the right student WF would be a great fit.</p>
<p>I know a lot of folks who go to both. The campuses have a very different feel. UNC is more diverse and liberal though you will find your share of typical frat kids. Wake is more Christian and conservative though you will find enough alternative views to keep it interesting. Gay friend of kid’s transferred from Wake to UNC as he felt Wake wasn’t very gay-friendly but very happy with his educational opportunities. At UNC, all the large lecture classes have recitations of smaller groupings of about 20 to review the material and ask questions. I suspect Wake will have large lecture classes such classes as Bio and Psych. S is a junior at Chapel Hill and has no class larger than 20. However, he needs to finish some core classes which will be large lecture. For me, walking on each campus gave me an instant feel of what the colleges are like. </p>
<p>Wake is in a suburban area with no town surrounding it and kind of walled off. UNC is Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill is UNC.</p>
<p>I am a Wake grad but in retrospect, I should have gone to Carolina. The two campuses have completely different vibes; Wake is much more insular and much more conservative. At that time, it was very white and very preppy - I gather that they have been working to change that image, but I’m not sure how successful that has been.</p>
<p>On the plus side, I had wonderful professors there who became colleagues and friends. I never had a class larger than 40 students, and most of my upper-level classes were 15 students or less. On the down side, it was a bad social fit for me, and by senior year the campus felt claustrophobic. Despite the beneifts of the smaller classes, I was happy to leave.</p>
<p>YMMV, of course. Just be careful of fit, and make sure your son feels comfortable there.</p>
<p>Check the UNC thread for more info, but I think people have covered everything… I would pick UNC (I’m a UNC grad). There is NO diversity at Wake - I know a few people who transferred from Wake because it is very white and very conservative and they got tired of that. UNC has way more diversity and is both conservative and liberal friendly. Something for everyone!</p>
<p>The Val of S1’s h.s. class went to WFU (her Mom is an alum) and disliked it from the beginning. She was more smart theater kid than sporty sorority girl. She didn’t go back after Christmas. She enrolled at our local state u. for spring sem. while re-applying to UNC. She was accepted for Fall and off she went. Loved UNC…so much she didn’t want to leave. She’s now a third year med. student at UNC.</p>
<p>I posted on the other thread, but I don’t think that thread is active anymore.</p>
<p>This is a very difficult one. Are you a NC resident? If you live close enough, perhaps you and your son can visit both schools and decide. Even if you don’t, consider that option.</p>
<p>Also, what nationality are you? Although they are both predominantly white, UNC is more diverse racially; Wake Forest is diverse in the sense that it brings more kids from across the country. Wake Forest is also known to be more conservative. However, I think the most important thing to note is the difference between public and private schools.</p>
<p>In public schools, the “quality” of the student body is not at par with private schools; Because public schools are so big and they must accept a certain percentage of their students from their states, there are students at opposite spectrums of intelligence or maturity. Many of the classes are big, and some of the classes are even run by other students unfortunately. Also, the “quality” of education is hugely dependent on the state funding. On the other hand, many private schools are able to provide a more personal care for their students. Smaller classes, and many of the classes(or at least more of them) are run by actual professors.</p>
<p>For these reasons, I think if the cost of attending either place is similar, your son is better off at Wake Forest(if academics is the only factor that you consider). However, I did hear that Wake Forest can sometimes be discriminating. Someone whom I know transferred from Wake Forest because of this discrimination.</p>
<p>In the end, as cliche as it might sound, it’s all about “fit”. I strongly suggest that you and your son visit the campuses and decide carefully. UNC has a beautiful campus(better campus than Wake Forest, in my opinion), so that might change your(or rather, as it should be, your son’s) decision.</p>