Wake Forest University Top Questions

Like the students it attracts and accepts, Wake is well-rounded. It's small enough to form relationships with professors, to never walk around without seeing someone you know, to guarantee on-campus housing, to network, and to reach any part of campus in under ten minutes . It's big enough to always meet new people, to attract professors highly-involved in the professional world, to compete competitively in sports, to host top graduate programs, and to call Maya Angelou our own. When you say you go to Wake Forest, people are impressed. Oftentimes though, they can't quite remember where it is. That would be Winston-Salem, NC, known for Hanes Brand and tobacco but not known so much as a college town--which is probably one of the main complaints consistently heard from Wake students in addition to the Campus Police's incompetence to deal reasonably and consistently with on-campus drinking. In a most recent discussion with Administration, students complained that if the school wants to move parties safely back to campus, there needs to be a safe, fun place to drink on campus. Impressively, the Administration immediately answered with new social venue, "The Barn"--success to be determined, perhaps. In the meantime, many students enjoy mild socializing in on-campus locations such as Starbucks, dorm lounges and courtyards, as well as my personal favorite hangout: student-run coffee shop, Campus Grounds. There's someplace for everyone--even if it is one of the seven floors of the ZSR library (which is often the case.)

Wake is a highly ranked, fairly demanding, and overall good school. It is a relatively small school, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on your perspective. On the one hand, this allows for small classes familiar surroundings. But on the other hand, the school's small size, combined with its location in the suburbs, makes the school feel pretty isolated. Living on campus can feel like living in a bubble at times, so it's recommended that you get off campus pretty often to keep things fresh. It's almost imperative to either own or know someone with a car, as you need one to get around the city. The city, Winston-Salem, is a midsize city with a metropolitan population of about 500,000. There are tons of places to eat, a large mall/many shopping areas, and a nice little downtown. There's not much in the way of nightlife (from what I hear; I'm not into the party scene), but there are tons of parties on campus anyway, so that takes care of itself. Also, the city's within an hour of Charlotte and Greensboro, which are NC's 1st and 3rd largest cities, respectively.

Wake is expensive, but it's worth it. Literally. You come out with a degree that people recognize as extremely hard to get relative to other schools around the world, which translates to greater post-grad opportunities. Winston-Salem is founded on tobacco money. RJ Reynolds is down the street, and the sweet smell of tobacco (not cigarette smoke, but actual tobacco) floats around campus on clear days to remind you where you are. Swimming in the RJ Reynolds fountain, though illegal, is a favorite pastime of graduating seniors. School pride comes and goes. I came the year Chris Paul (2005 NBA Rookie of the Year) had just left the basketball team and many students were disappointed with the lackluster performance of the basketball team. A noticeable disinterest in attending games was known, and pride in the school seemed to have slightly diminished. However, the football team ended up going to the Orange Bowl after having its best season in history, leading to a resurgence in school pride (that would ultimately collapse until the 2008 basketball season when WFU reached #1 in the country for a few days).

Wake is a great size, not too big, not too small. Very good reputation with employers. Winston-Salem sucks, but Wake is it's own little bubble. Beautiful campus. Fun social life if you go Greek. Division I sports. Main complaint of students is the grade deflation and massive amounts of work.

I think Wake is perfect...for a particular person. Many students here enjoy Wake Forest VERY much and I am definitely one of those persons. I really enjoy the workload/social balance that can definitely be a part of your Wake Forest experience. There is also a lot of school pride on campus. Many are very willing to talk about their different experiences on campus and are satisfied with the things they have learned when they leave the campus. I really encourage you though to take a good look at the student body make up as well as the different activities (which are so many) of which you can be a part. Wake is again a GREAT place for many people, but it also isn't for everyone.

Wake is a very good school that many people outside of North Carolina have never heard of. Appearance and reputation are very important to the administration. It is small but it still has the components of a larger school, such as Division 1 athletics and good job placement.

The best thing about Wake is the size. It's big enough so that you can always meet new people but small enough so you don't get lost in a sea of faces. Greek life helps people have a smaller family-type relationship with a sub-group of campus. I am from Connecticut so when I tell people I go to Wake they often want to know where it is and then are surprised that I went so far to go to school. I spend most of my time on campus in class or in Benson. A big controversy on campus is juicycampus.com which is a superficial and cruel website used to spread ridiculous gossip about people. One experience I will always remember will be living on my sorority halls sophomore year because it was where I developed my strongest friendships and it provided the best support system I've ever had. The most frequent student complaints are probably about how expensive things are, how bad the computers are, and how gross the food in the Pit is.

One thing I'd change would be the relationship with the administration. Wake students are very intelligent and have ideas that can actually benefit Wake as a whole. However these ideas cannot be implemented if Wake students don't listen to the administration and work with them to help ensure the students ideas are fulfilled.

I love the school size as it is, but think its terrible Wake is increasing enrollment. It undermines the motto of the school which is "Small in size, big in resources." The current administration doesn't seem to take student opinion into account, but rather is purely doing what will bring in more money.

I had a really hard time deciding where I wanted to go to college. I had no clue about size or location or what I wanted to study, but Wake was definately the perfect choice for me. Greek life is present but not overwhelming. It is very easy to become close to your teachers as opposed to being a face in the crowd. We do not always win in athletics but our school spirit is very fun and exciting. I have also realized that Wake is looked highly upon by the public. I knew that it was a well-known school for academic standards and such, but I have received more compliments on my school choice then I had anticipated. It is the perfect size for me. I am always meeting new people, but I can find friendly faces in the crowd when I walk from class to class. The campus and seasons are beautiful!