Good morning. Did the Naviance search for DD 21 and Wake forest came up as a surprise match. Ran the NPC and it falls in budget. I dont want to enumerate her stats here but she is a strong student/athlete/musician.
We are in NY and I am curious about it. But it being 600 miles away makes me think twice.
DD is interested in premed or something science related.
Thoughts? Educate me.
While you await replies on WF specifically, Iâll suggest â based on its comparable geographical direction, academic programs and selectivity â that your daughter also consider the University of Richmond.
@merc81 thank you. I looked online at other schools on the 95 corridor that we could also visit and Richmond seemed a fit academically and financially-so thank you for reinforcing that!
Iâm a Wake fan, in large part b/c they have been building their actual academics, not just their brand name (looks pointedly at a couple of other usnwr climbers).
I have a couple of prof-friends who have migrated there in recent years and their reports back to the mother ship have been really good- smart, engaged kids, pretty supportive admin. Strong sciences, but pretty good all around. It gets slagged as âWork Forestâ and there is a tiny bit of truth to that- but from the 1 current and 1 recent WF student I know, it seems to be largely self motivated- in the way that, say, JHU is.
Agree that URichmond is another good choice on the way south- both WF & URichmond are still somewhat under recognized imo (whereas some of their bigger name neighbors are a tad bit over recognized imo). Since you will be in the area, Davidson is another option on that loop that seems to do well with the science-y / pre-med kids I know.
As this is my second child to do the college thing Iâm trying to be more deliberate in the schools we visit and apply to. I am hesitant to visit any of the state schools on the coast (UNC, UM, UVA ((off off)) thinking the money wouldnât be there for OOS. The schools in DC are most likely unreasonable financially. I will look into Davidson-thank you.
UNC is a tough admit OOS (18% cap), but both they and UVa both meet full need- and UVa caps loans for OOS @$7k/pa).
Just so your daughter doesnât rule them out based on finances alone, I think UNC and UVa meet financial need for their out-of-state students. However, admission appears to be much more difficult for OOS applicants at these schools.
(Cross-posted with @collegemom3717.)
@BronxBaby Since you mentioned Naviance, be aware that the historical numbers can be a little deceiving. The WFU acceptance rate was 30% for 2017, but only 27% for 2018. This trend will be similar for most T40 schools.
Thank you all for your help!
and that rate is highly skewed because ED admits approx 50% so RD is more like 25% (or less).
FYI - WFU is both need blind and 100% need meet, however merit money is virtually non existent (like BC, Georgetown, etc.) The website says less than 3% of admitted students receive merit aid. Essentially they are trying to pick off kids that would otherwise attend HYPSM. Donât plan on any merit aid.
Great school, excellent academics, school spirit / community, alumni, etc.
Visited Wake a few times. Loved it, but be ready for Greek life. Heard sorority life is pretty intense. Academics, campus etc are awesome. I think merit money is limited to a few full ride type scholarships.
Loved Richmond too. Know lots of students there that are extremely happy. Davidson is a much smaller feel but also very nice. Elon could be a good choice to get merit money. They love smart kids and it seems your child should be on their upper end academically.
Bronxbaby - My S just committed to wake and weâre nearby (CT). A lot of quick direct flights to Greensboro out of NYC(1:10 in the air). I wouldnât be intimidated by the Greek thing - students seems extremely friendly and donât care if you go greek or not. We looked at all of the aforementioned schools, UVA, UNC, Richmond, W&M and like Waked the best. It was always his top choice. rickle1 is right, much easier to get into Wake ED than RD. I think Richmond is a notch below Wake (especially in business), and UVA and UNC are really really hard to get into out of state.
@Jm6844 flying is out of the question for this Bronx girl! Which is part of part of my hesitance 
Ahh - thatâs a long drive then. I did it when we first visited, but wouldnât want to do it every time.
Check out Washington & Lee - itâs on the way to Wake. Generous with financial aid and full ride with the Johnson scholarship. Both Wake and W&L are great for pre med. Less traffic on the 81 corridor than 95 route.
Mom000 is right about W&L. Another tough school to get into though
Good to visit W&L if it is of interest though- it is more of a âfitâ school than some. It seems to really suit the student- or really not!
Hi,
Check out William & Mary too. UVa & UNC are very difficult from OOS.
Other thoughts for stops along the way: JMU, and Clemson.
Ken
My son is at Wake, Class of '22 so beginning his second year. We looked at Davidson, U or Richmond, and UVA. Looked at Washington & Lee also but it is 75% Greek (highest percentage of any school in the country, I believe) and we just couldnât find the fit if everyone marches in one line. Wake just seemed overflowing with opportunities for kids to get involved in whatever their âthingâ is - whether that is being Greek or Frisbee golf. Yes, lots of Greeks - but my son isnât Greek and he has tons of friends and is involved in great things on campus. The faculty support is tremendous. Financial aid is generous (meets 100% of financial need - itâs almost like âpaying on a sliding scaleâ so to speak.) My son did apply ED which gave him an admissions boost, Iâm sure. But we had already run the numbers so we knew we didnât have to wait for a financial aid package in order to decide. Their Net Price Calculator was very accurate with what they predicted and what we actually pay. PS - Not sure what kind of musician she is, but Wake offers 20 Presidential Scholarships in the Arts. $16,000 / year for 4 years. They give 4 per year in each of the areas of Music, Voice, Dance, Theatre, and Debate. It is by audition, My son received a Presidential in Theatre. Not sure what your daughterâs area of musical talent is, but just thought I would mention. Go Deacs!
Note that in recent years Richmond has enrolled students (74th nationally in the below analysis) of at least the academic level of those at Wake Forest (83rd).
https://amp.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9