I was waitlisted at Wake Forest and am really confused as I thought it would be more of a safety school. Here are my stats:
SAT: 1480
GPA: 4.5 W
13 AP courses & AP Scholar w/ Distinction
Top 2% of class
Tons of ECs & wrote essay about public speaking accomplishments
Anybody know why? I did not do an interview.
Except for maybe some of the state schools (for instate only), none of the USNWR top 50ish are safety schools for anyone. If you treated them like a safety, they did the same back to you.
Well I tried on my application, I just applied to many Ivies and out of all of them would have thought I would have been accepted to Wake Forest and not the others (I was accepted to Villanova so far).
Wake cares a ton about demonstrated interest (visits and interviews).
What is your unweighted GPA? What are your AP scores? What are your EC’s exactly? Where else have you applied?
3.9 UW, 4 4s and 3 3s AP Scores
4-H, NHS Treasurer, SHS, Student Ambassador ALSF, lots of volunteering, sports, 2 leadership conferences, plus more
Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke
I did visit and even inquired about Global Awakenings
My DD, admitted last year, had higher SAT and slightly higher GPA, 2 subject tests, 3 AP’s (all 5’s) and considered Wake a high match school, most definitely not a safety school. She toured and interviewed and also met the rep when he visited her HS. She was rejected by an ivy and Duke and other reaches. She had limited EC’s but they were all service related. Are you just waiting on Duke, Cornell and Dartmouth? Those are high reaches for everyone.
@UGG2023 I don’t live in NC if that means anything, yes I am only waiting on those 3. I was accepted to Villanova. I considered it a safety because of the prep scholar which said that I had an 82% chance of admittance. I thought all of my ECs would help, especially with their uniqueness. I have even taken AP Calc AB/BC, AP Chem, & AP Physics 1 to show that I could handle a science major.
My son was also WL at Wake & he has stats & ECs similar to yours. I think that Wake is a lot more holistic than some schools, based on the fact they are test optional. There is also a lot of randomness in this process that is unpredictable. So far, my son has been rejected by Duke (he’s a double legacy, applied ED & was not evendeferred); and WL at Villanova & Wake. However, he has been accepted at Richmond, Washington & Lee, & Davidson – those latter 2 are much more competitive than Wake. I would have bet a lot of money he’d get into WF over W&L…but that goes to show you how unpredictable this process can be. In the end, however, you are already in at one great school, and possibly more to come this week. Good luck!
Wake has one of the more challenging applications with all the short answer responses. I think they put a premium on creativity, cleverness, and writing ability. That’s hard to demonstrate with the space allowed but hones in on what they are looking for in addition to grades, ECs, LORs, etc. The holistic approach is quite subjective. Don’t be fooled by the test optional label. I’m sure some go that route, however S is a junior and virtually everyone he knows was a high stat kid (GPA and scores). Most in the 33+ / 1500 range. Certainly anecdotal but that’s pretty common.
They also put a high value on leadership and community service.
Wake Forest is a great school and it definitely should not be considered a safety. Demonstrated interest is a big must for them. Most people think about wake just one notch below Duke which is equivalent to an Ivy. Good luck with Ivy Thursday!
My dd was waitlisted as well.
was anyone rejected rd? just trying to gauge the competition for the waitlist if the college chooses to use it. Wake is my top choice so I am really hoping that I get off the waitlist.
does anyone have any tips or stories of people who have gotten off the waitlist?
@ihatecollege751, I’m not sure if getting off the waitlist is random or not since they say they don’t rank. My friends were waitlisted as well, but had similar stats. I would suggest writing a letter to show your interest if that’s where you want to go, it can only help your case and show how you should be accepted over other waitlisted applicants. I have a feeling that the waitlist is full off applicants who treated it like a safety school who are strong like me, since I put all of my emphasis into the even more elite schools. Therefore, it may be difficult but like I said, totally write a letter to show them that they are your top choice. Good luck!
No matter what you might hear, people DO get off the waitlist. My DD is a freshman and she knows many people who got off the waitlist even up to 2 weeks before fall classes starting. Show continued interest and don’t give up.
Son was WL with a 1580 SAT, 4.0uw/4.7w
Rank 1/100 ?
He even did the summer immersion program this past summer to show his interest.
Not sure what else he could’ve done to make himself a good candidate for admission. Oh well.
Does anyone know if WF is need blind off the wait list? I know for some schools, they pull mostly full pays only off the WL.