My son is torn between applying ED to Wake or Richmond. He has a 1370 SAT score and 3.7 gpa with lots of AP classes. Intellectual and friendly, he is looking for a place to grow and be surrounded by smart people. He wants to attend law school so looking for strong pre-law program. Both are beautiful campuses, but def different vibe at each. Which is better? And which school does he have a better chance at getting accepted by applying ED?
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Thanks for asking these questions; following… what were the different vibes you got at each campus?
Both schools offer ED1 and ED2, so you could apply to both. Since he is interested in law, dig a little deeper into each schools pre-professional advising programs. Ask about law school placement rates, etc
The quality of education and outcome of these two are not meaningfully different. If he has a slight preference, apply ED1 to one and ED2 to the other but definitely have other schools on your list.
Both have holistic admissions but his stats are on the low side for both. Submit his AP scores if they are 4/5s. He needs to have strong ECs and really work hard on his essays to have a chance of acceptance at either school.
My DD23 is applying ED to Wake Forest and won’t even look at Richmond (for now). She says it’s too small and not enough school spirit (and she hates spiders lol). I will ask her to look closer if she does not get into Wake Forest because I agree there are similarities that she is not seeing on the surface.
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Both will be reaches but def go for it.
I personally would pick Richmond. I think it’s likely slightly easier to get in, and I’d rather be near the city of Richmond than in Winston Salem.
School spirit in terms of sports is prob stronger at Wake but it’s not like it’s Ohio State or Clemson.
I do think the Wake brand is more recognized nationally than Richmond but I doubt that affects law school admissions. Academically they are prob pretty similar.
For similar schools to add to the list, maybe a little easier to get in- Elon? Lafayette? Or if he doesn’t care about the d1 sports- Franklin and Marshall?
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Neither school will be better for a student who wants to attend law school. Pre-law is just advising, and there’s honestly not much to advising about getting into law school - get high grades, major in anything you like, get a good LSAT score, and plan to take off at least 1-2 years in between college and law school. That’s it.
Assuming he’s visited both Wake Forest and Richmond? Did he like Winston Salem or the City of Richmond better? Are strong school spirit and sports super important? If so Wake might be a bit better. Which campus did he prefer? Would he prefer a somewhat smaller undergraduate student body (Richmond, around 4000) or somewhat larger (Wake, around 5400)?
As another PP said, both are reaches based on his stats. He may want to consider applying test optional, especially to Wake, where the SAT’s 25% to 75% range last year was 1380 - 1480 so he’s slightly below the 25%). Richmond’s was 1320-1460, so he’s just a bit below the median there.
If Wake is the top choice, it does rolling decisions, typically 6-8 weeks after the application is completed, so he’d get an answer one way or the other fairly early, which would allow him to either be done early in the fall, or move on to ED2 at Richmond, and work on other applications, much earlier than normal.
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These schools are similar, and likely peers in terms of law school prep/placement. I agree with others both are reaches, and encourage your S to apply to the one he likes the best.
Wake Forest has rolling ED1 so if he applies soon, and he’s not accepted, he could have another bite at ED1 for Richmond, no need to wait for ED2.
He should probably apply test optional to both. Richmond’s Class of 2025 mid 50% ADMITTED student SAT was 1420-1520 , Wake’s ENROLLED student mid-50% was 1380-1480
I don’t see 2026 admitted or enrolled test scores for either school yet.
Make sure any ED school is likely to be affordable by running the net price calculators.
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As an academic aspect to consider, the University of Richmond’s Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law major may align especially well with your son’s interests.
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Our son was accepted into Richmond ED with slightly higher stats, 3.8 1390. However, he ended up transferring, finding Richmond too small, and felt he needed to be with more academically serious students. I can’t comment on Wake.
Assuming both colleges are equally affordable he should apply ED to the school he prefers. Nobody here can answer that for you.
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I would remove any consideration of law school from the decision process. Base it only one the undergraduate experience. The post graduate opportunities will be similar.
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Interesting experience with your son. If you don’t mind me asking, where did he end up transferring to and is he happier there?
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For what it’s worth, I think of Wake and Richmond as academic peers if we are going to cross the LAC/U boundary. Both are good schools.
I would visit both and attend based on the vibe from that visit, cost, and any other fit factors you deem important (like courses/majors, location, etc.).
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In terms of choosing a university or a LAC I’d again saythat it really comes down to personal preference.
My S felt that LACs were too small/confining (he loved his midsize university) – in contrast my D felt she wanted a LAC from the start (she likes smaller, more intimate environments) and had a fantastic four years at one.
Hopefully your son can visit the two schools before choosing an ED option.
I would consider the schools to be academic peers. You son’s post-college outcome (for law school or anything else) will depend much more on what he achieves at college rather than which one he attends.
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Richmond this year offers EA!
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How do the workloads compare?