WFU: Reality vs. Stereotypes

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wake Forest University
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<p>We recently visited WFU and other NC schools with our son. He absolutely loves Wake, and it is now his second choice after Oberlin. Two completely different schools, and I would love some input.</p>

<p>My son leans liberal (but not a very political person) and slightly anti-Greek (but is not Greek-averse). We are southern but I am from NY and not only is he used to extended family from the Northeast, we have always lived in either college towns or big cities in the South. So not a typical southerner. He is not a hippie nor a preppy, but if that is the spectrum then he probably has more in common with the hippies. BUT - Warren Wilson did not appeal to him at all after a visit, and uber-Conservative Sewanee did not turn him off either. He is a pretty middle of the road kid, I guess. He is also not interested in sports, except as an occasional spectator. He is very studious, and loves academic climate and the size of Wake Forest. But from what I have heard and/or seen, a kid who felt completely at home after visiting Oberlin does not seem like the type of kid who would be happy at WFU.</p>

<p>We visited, spent a lot of time on campus, he asked a lot of questions. He can totally see himself at Wake. He loved the campus, the facilities, the work ethic, the champion debate team, and he loves NC. </p>

<p>He was told time and again that WF students tend to be more liberal than one would expect, just the faculty is conservative. He was assured that everyone finds their place. He researched online and various student reviews stated that while the stereotype is white, preppy, Greek and jockish, that it's not true. I don't know. I walked around campus and felt that most of the kids did fit that stereotype, at least on appearance But they were also extremely friendly and obviously intelligent and serious about their education. </p>

<p>As he doesn't really fit strongly into a student demographic on either side of the spectrum, he feels certain he can find his "people" and be happy there. Just looking for opinions from people who KNOW, such as current or past students, not people who have formed opinions based on alleged stereotypes or just what they have heard. Could WFU be a good choice for an ambitious and intelligent but artsy, liberal kid who likes girls who wear skinny jeans rather than plaid skirts?</p>

<p>Also as an FYI, we visited Elon, and he didn't feel like he fit in as well there. To me, the schools felt IDENTICAL in programs, facilities, and student type. I have a friend who teaches at Elon, and he believes the students at WFU are more liberal than at Elon, but the faculty at WFU is more conservative. I just found it odd that DS felt so differently about the two schools when I think they are so alike!</p>

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<p>Very interesting post. Frankly - the Wake vs. Oberlin does puzzle me a bit. Have not heard that one before. My son is a junior at Wake and loves it. He did not go Greek and is not a jock - although he enjoys playing various intermural sports. I do think attending home football games is pretty popular - and many students travel to the away games as well.</p>

<p>My feeling is that the white, preppy, conservative stereotype is really overblown. The kids that I have met seem pretty down to earth - as opposed to privileged and obnoxious. Son loves the academics - generally raves about his professors, loves the NC climate, has had great housing after freshman year and has taken advantage of various lectures/speakers that Wake has to offer. My impression is that the student body as a whole might be describes as white, preppy, Greek, etc. - but when you meet individual students - they don’t fit that mold.</p>

<p>All I know is that my son loves it - and as parents - we have been very impressed. No buyer’s remorse or second thoughts here!</p>

3

<p>My S is a freshman this year. I was a little nervous about him attending Wake because of some of the posts. He is not preppy, he is not a jock, and has no plans of going Greek. He loves Wake and is very happy with his decision. He has a great group of friends, loves his classes, the campus, and his professors.</p>

4

<p>Agreed…interesting post.</p>

<p>One comment–I’ve found my teachers to be mostly liberal leaning and the student body somewhat conservative leaning (although not too much). Being liberal myself hasn’t had any effect on classes or being a student here. Honestly thinking about my political science teachers, all 5 have been liberal to extremely liberal (in some cases it’s quite obvious, others I’m just guessing)</p>

5

<p>I have twins who are both freshmen at Wake this year, and both are on the shy side. Like your son, they are not preppy at all, not jocks, but are very academically serious. We are from a large non-southern metro area, and I was concerned about the cultural fit as well. They are both pretty indifferent politically still. So far they have had a much easier transitionthan I expected, and both seem to have developed groups of close friends.</p>

<p>I can’t really compare to any other colleges, except my experience at Big State U 30 years ago. In that context, let me say that I have been overwhelmed with the resources and effort on the part of the University to help the kids find their niche quickly. They are in different dorm buildings, but each has a great RA that forces their hall to EC fairs, major/minor fairs, and other activities. They each have different academic advisors who are full time faculty members, and both kids rave about the advisors. They have each been invited to lunch or dinner with their advisor. Without getting too specific and embarrassing them here, I’ll say that they are each involved in EC groups that I would not have expected to find at a small, southern, supposedly preppy school.</p>

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<p>Thanks, these posts provide a lot of great insight. I am certain he would find his niche as long as he’s not completely a fish out of water!</p>

<p>Yes the Oberlin/Wake thing is puzzling to me also. So diametrically opposed, but the one thing they do have in common is small size, great resources and exceptional academics. The politics of the student body is not as important to him.</p>

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<p>D graduated in 2010. She absolutely loved her time at Wake, and as parents, we were pleased with her experience there. Based on comments from D, I would agree with Wneckid99 – the professors are more apt to be liberal, NOT conservative. </p>

<p>I also agree with rockvillemom’s statement:

</p>

8

<p>I am liberal, from NJ, very Northern (although I do like Greek life). I have had no problems fitting in at Wake. I also find Elon and Wake to be pretty different. Wake is also compared often to Bucknell – my brother visited both. Hated Bucknell, liked Wake. I think the feel you get from the school is probably the most important part, and if he has a good feeling about Wake then that’s great!</p>

<p>If you or your son have any specific questions please feel free to PM me!</p>

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<p>Also, I would like to add to (“Yes the Oberlin/Wake thing is puzzling to me also”) by saying that I was choosing between Wake Forest and NYU :wink: Sometimes schools being very different makes it harder to choose than if they were more similar, because they’re harder to compare when they’re that different!</p>

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<p>Thanks Pink, I will let him know!</p>

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<p>I am a “liberal kid who likes girls who wear skinny jeans rather than plaid skirts” who attends wake. And although it’s definitely possible to find a niche here and the people are all very nice, it is an extremely homogenous school. The social scene is dominated by Greek life and the majority of the people here are upper class and either from the northeast or south. The minority’s, for the most part, just hang out with each other and the school as a whole is quite clicky. I often tell people that everyone here has the same personality and although its an exaggeration there is definitely some truth in it. I find that the people dismissing the “white preppy extremely greek” stereotype are usually people who fit it and that the stereotype is most definitely true to a certain extent. I find the social scene and the overall homogeneity of the school very frustrating. I ignored the question of diversity when choosing wake because I was blinded by the amazing campus, academics and sports. Its something I wish I looked into more and will probably transfer because of it.</p>

<p>That being said if you are solely worried about the school being too conservative, there are liberal organizations and people don’t really care what your political preference is.</p>

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<p>One more thing. I saw you said something about your son being a “fish out of water”. I used that phrase when telling my parents my feelings about the school many times. I went from being viewed as a normal middle of the political spectrum kid in high school to a weird liberal hipster at wake. It was definitely a culture shock.</p>

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<p>Wow thanks - while I hate to hear this, honestly it is what I was afraid I would hear, and I was surprised I didn’t until now. I have a question - did you do an overnight visit before you enrolled? If so, do you think you got an accurate reflection of the campus vibe but you just chose to ignore your gut, or do you think after the visit you got an impression of Wake that later turned out to be different?</p>

<p>I think my son can be a bit of a chameleon and might be fine, but before he ever chose to attend (assuming of course that he even gets in), he would have to spend A LOT of time on campus.</p>

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<p>My kids have seriously considered schools at which they would have felt like they were in the cultural minority, and decided against those schools. Those schools included Vanderbilt and Oberlin (for the same kid!). At Vanderbilt, the Greek scene and all the blinding blondness felt prominent, and at Oberlin the depth of commitment to progressive politics felt prominent. The other kid decided against CMU, perceiving that he was not nearly as much of a geek/nerd as most of the kids he met there. Both kids were aware that they would not have been unique if they had decided to go to those schools, but they didn’t want to be fighting to find ‘their people’ and a comfortable on-campus role for four years. I think that my kids made the right decision, given the choices they had. However, many schools that have a reputation for attracting a certain kind of student are interested in changing the strength of that identification, and can be a good choice for some kids. For example, my daughter was offered significant merit scholarships at both Vanderbilt and Oberlin, and would have chosen one of them if her first choice school had turned out to be significantly more expensive. I believe they would have made it work and would have ended up with a great education at those strongly-identified places, but perhaps would have had a less interesting social life than they have at the schools they ended up at.</p>

<p>Bottom line: maybe there’s some other school out there that is even a better fit for your son than Oberlin or Wake.</p>

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<p>I did not do an overnight visit before I enrolled. I think that would have helped. I only spent half a day there with kids actually on campus and it was not enough time to get the real vibe of the school. I worried that the school would fit the stereotypes but I ignored those fears. I’d definitely suggest your son does an overnight and really gets a feel for the school before committing.</p>

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<p>Here’s the deal: everything you heard about Wake is true - predominantly white, Greeklife dominated, jocks, preppy, rich, etc…I mean, there’s even an article written about how campus really is back during my freshman year that talks about shipping the nonconformist to Polo. That said: I was none of these things, and campus life was still fine because I found people who are like me…if you’re son is none of that, then he’s part of a group of students that’s very limited in number, so he’ll find his people in no time, and won’t feel out of place after awhile. It was culture shock seeing everyone in their sundresses and suits on Sundays, and girls wearing pearls and having their makeup fully done at 7:30 in the morning, but you get used to it. So, if he feels he really likes Wake, then go for it.</p>

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<p>I am now a sophomore at Wake Forest, and was in a very similar situation to this when choosing schools just a couple of years ago. I ended up choosing Wake Forest for the simple fact that I knew that it was known for having great teachers and small discussion-based classes. I honestly expected that I would come to campus and feel like the black sheep on campus. I was raised in the South, but have never really been the “southern girl”, as I plan on moving to LA or New York after college to work in music production. While it is true that southern-prep is a definite presence at Wake Forest, there is a very large population of students for whom this is not true. I do not feel like a black sheep on this campus and feel very much a part of the family that we Deacs are at all times. I have never felt pressure to fit into the stereotypes known of Wake Forest. There is definitely a niche for everyone here, while we all (strangely) still seem to relate to each other as family. For instance, I am a part of Wake Radio; a group of people I enjoy that are close to opposite of the conservative, southern, prep stereotype. (You mentioned the North also; let me note that everyone I have met at Wake Forest has been from one of several places: the North-East I would say is the highest population, then there are students from North Carolina, California, Texas, Florida, and I have met only a very few from the center of the country and from the deep South.) I actually applied to and was accepted by Oberlin as well, but chose Wake Forest and have not regretted it.</p>

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<p>My wife went to med-school at Wake, and coming from the Midwest, I found her Wake friends’s names absolutely alien. They are so Southern…I can’t even make them up…things like Hanley Hill…and stuff like that. Great people…very religious…but very very Southern. I liked the feel of Wake…I’m a Midwest guy…conservative…and possiblly preppy…Sigma Chi…Big 10 schools…Wake is a neat change.</p>

<p>I could definetly see my daughter there. Meet a rich Southern gentleman…but man I’m not too excited about the tuition bill.</p>