Wake Forest University Top Questions

Professors definitely know your name. Some professors even invite their classes over for dinner. The classes are small which is great for discussion. The Business School has a lot of group projects, which are great to talk about during interviews. It seems that students in the Business School and pre-med have the most homework, but overall, there is a lot of studying going on. We work hard, play hard. Students are competitive, but more with themselves than each other. I have never had another student refuse to help me with something just so that they do better. Wake has a lot of academic requirements, but you do have options and it does broaden your horizons. No matter what you major if, you are going to learn a lot of valuable information for your future.

It's called Work Forest for a reason, but you'll learn a lot and learn to manage your time really well.

All of my professors know my name, as well as how I'm doing in their class. If they feel as though I need a little extra help before a test, they will come to me to ask if I'd like to meet. I feel as though my teachers truly care about my success in their class. My favorite class is my english class. We have been able to choose between different books to read so that the class is always enjoying what we are reading. The class is also only about 11 students, so it is a very discussion based environment. The amount that students study varies from person to person. Some people are the type that seem to be naturally smart. They can read their notes over once and memorize it. Other students, such as myself, need to study at least 4 or 5 hours a day to keep up with my work. Students are very competetive here. In fraternities and sororities, everyone wants to keep the sorority's overall gpa up, so they tend to help each other out. Other than that, though, it's all about getting a better grade than the kid next to you so that you can be helped by the curve. The most unique class I have taken at Wake was my anthropology class. Most of my other divisional classes were ones that I had already taken in high school (math, science, english, foreign language). My anthropology class was so interesting because it pertained to cultures that I had never learned about before. Aside from office hours, students tend to stay separate from their professors. I think Wake's academic requirements are way too much. I will be taking divisional classes until I graduate because I don't have enough time to focus on both my major and my divisionals. There is also a great deal of grade deflation making it nearly impossible to get A's. Education at Wake is geared toward getting a job, by means of "weeding out" the students who can not achieve the highest grades.

grade deflation. seriously

Wake's academics are definitely demanding. You can't float through and expect to do well. Wake kids are really dedicated to their work and the library is always packed. On the same token though, Wake kids still find time to go out! Intellectual conversations may happen out of class, but I think because we are so overloaded during the week, when we get the chance to hang out it is the last thing we'd want to talk about. Students are competitive but usually you have friends in other departments because of the liberal arts curriculum, so I think that eases competition a bit. I am an English major and I really love the department. The teachers are friendly and brilliant. They always know your name. The department also hosts some great events. I am a Journalism minor, which falls in the English department, and there is a lot to be desired in the department. We have some great professors but not many classes are offered each semester. Professors are extremely available. Office hours are constant and they usually have no problem making an appointment outside of office hours. Many in the English department are willing to go over papers with you and work through your rewrites in order to help you become a better writer. Relationships last past one semester--I am still in contact with professors I had over a year ago. I think the business program at Wake is overly geared toward getting a job that it really detracts students from enjoying their education. The liberal arts are much more geared toward the process of learning as a whole. Wake really needs to improve on its career services department, since it mostly helps out only business students.

the professors know my name and are always very eager to help students (at least in my experience). wake students have intellectual conversations outside of class but i would like to see more. i feel like once we get out of class a lot of our energies are focused into studying so once we finally have downtime to actually have a conversation we don't want it to be intellectually focused.

Wake's classes are small and therefore more personal. It sucks though because with smaller classes it is harder to skip. There is absolutely no grade inflation at this school people work extremely hard to get good grades. Everyone works hard and wants to do well. The professors are good and personal your professor will know and say hello to you outside of class. The academic requirements are great at Wake. They have recently changed them to make it alot easier and the requirements are very doable now.

Academics here are excellent. My professors all know my name, even in my giant chemistry lectures (giant being about 50 people). In general I like my classes. Any class I've taken from a head of department has been excellent. A warning though: don't come here if you don't want to be challenged. We call this place Work Forest for a reason. For the science majors and premeds, though, there are abundant opportunities to do real research (not just washing glassware) for your professors and even up at the medical school. The summer research grants aren't that hard to get and most professors are receptive to having undergraduates work for them. Premeds do tend to be pretty cut throat, but not quite to the extent of pencil-kicking: the aggression stays passive. The main problem with a Wake Forest education is that, for such an large investment, I don't know if the return (i.e. your job after school) will be so lucrative. Most kids plan to go to graduate or professional school before the go to work. It's pretty funny when I tell them to travel abroad, though. A semester here costs more than all of college in Latin America, for example, and they ask, so what will you do when you get out? Will you make lots of money? And I say, ummmm....no, I kinda have to pay some more and go to school some more.

Every professor I've had at Wake knew my name. I've loved every single class in my department but some of the pre-recs have been a little iffy. My favorite class was most likely a class called "Gandhi" in which our final prohect was to enact Gandhian method somewhere to ignite some change anywhere in the world. My least favorite class was theater. Classes like theater definitely have been wastes of my time but other pre-recs like Astronomy can be pleasant surprises. This situation will improve though, as the school has drastically decreased pre-rec requirements. Classes are very much a give and take between students and professors and students are expected to provide insights regularly. Wake students are very intellectually involved and are constantly talking about thought provoking lectures, articles, or speakers. Wake doesn't feel competitive at all. In the political science department I am constantly shooting the breeze with professors outside of class and encountering them at community political events. The professors at Wake, despite their mind blowing resumes, are some of the most humble, kind people you will meet in your life. Sometimes other students are more worried about careers after school and less about intellectual exploration at Wake.

Yes, professors know my name, for the most part, because classes ( even the introductory, prerequisite courses are small). Least favorite class was Chemistry. Students often study late, and if possible, with a group of students in the same class. Yes, Wake students have intellectual conversations outside of class. Education and the curriculum is geared toward getting a job.