Wake Forest University Top Questions

best thing about wake: the students, the friendships worst things: amount of work, frustration between faculty staff

Wake's size is just right. You'll always see someone who know walking across campus but you'll always see someone new too. Wake hasn't really gotten its name fully recognized in a lot of places in the North, and I know what that's like. But it's name is really growing across the country and employers are definitely impressed by it. A lot of the time Wake is thought of as a business/pre-med only school but the liberal arts flourish on campus and we have some of the greatest professors out there. Wake could definitely use some more social spaces on campus. Winston-Salem isn't as bad as it may seem. Sure its sort of weird that basically everything in the area is funded by tobacco money but there's a great art district of town that is growing and plenty of places to eat in the area. Wake may be its weirdest in tailgates. I know some other schools do it too but seeing guys in ties and girls in dresses at a football game is just weird. I was abroad in the fall and I couldn't wait to get back. Wake really becomes a home. As much it may seem like a bubble sometimes (and it is), it's a really great place that I can't wait to get back to when I'm gone.

The school size seems just right now, but the parking is absolutely terrible. Wake is a really great place to go to school and the people are very nice for the most part. greek life is very important for social purposes.

Wake is an awesome school. It is a good size - I love the fact that is has big sports and is well known but is small enough to be very personal. However, in the Greek scene the school seems very small and everyone knows everyone else's business. People are extremely impressed when they hear I go to wake, it definitely ups their opinion of me. There is not much of a college town which sucks and a couple of the bars are closing down so there will be even less places to go. School pride is decent, you can find avid supporters. Wakes actual campus is gorgeous they spend alot of money on it to keep it that way though. The Greek life is also awesome if you want to be apart of it. There are always parties to go to and easy safe ways to get there. Scheduling for classes can be a pain for the Freshman and Sophmores.

Wake is a small school, and that's nice. The academics here are excellent. The campus is pretty. The girls are pretty, too, so ladies, if you come here either make sure you're really hot or prepare to drown your loneliness in your studies because the guys seem to hold all the cards here. The university has lately been making some decisions that seem to indicate an increased desire to make money. The parking prices rose $200 from this year to the coming year, in addition to the usual tuition hike. Also the incoming class size was increased to the extent that we had to kick the professors out of the on-campus housing that 5-10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of them (mostly the foreign ones) inhabit in order to accommodate the incoming freshmen. The secrecy and haste of that decision created so much controversy that the administration had to back down somewhat, allowing the faculty an extra year (instead of three months) to find somewhere else to stay.

The best thing about Wake for me is the sense of community. No other school I have expirienced has such a tangeable sense of unity. Wherever I go in life I will always feel a connection with other Wake grads. The one thing I would change is the frat scene because I think it promotes clicks and bubbles which suck. The size is perfect. It's a very intimate community where you feel like you know the kids you're going to school with but it still has all the resources of any huge state school. For me, Wake is the perfect mix between the small school I wanted for education and community and the huge school I wanted for everything else. There isn't much of a college town atmosphere. Outside of sporting events you are usually on campus. The judicial system can be kind of strict at times but as long as you tell the truth you should never face any insurmountable legal hurdles within the judicial system. There have been countless priceless moments of rolling the quad with my fellow classmates but one was particularly thrilling. My freshman year our football team beat Florida State 30-0 handing their legendary coach his first home shotout ever and his first loss to Wake in almost twenty years. As students poured out of dorms screaming, on their way to roll the quad, it began to rain. Thus, the quad turned into a mudsliding fest and almost every student returned to their dorms covered with mud from head to toe. A number of my clothes were ruined but I will never in my life forget the absolute thrill of that moment.

I love Wake. I love the small, community feel that it has to it. I love that it is a gated university and not smack dab in the middle of a city or town. There is a lot more school pride now, I believe, since last year's football acc victory.

The best thing about Wake is the campus. It's beautiful and stands out from others. It's a great size, perfect for walking anywhere since it is not too big. The basketball and football stadium off campus is a great idea because it prevents sports day traffic, etc... The brick buildings are beautiful as well as the two quad set up. All of the facilities are nice. The school is definitely getting a little bit bigger. I love Wake for its size, that is obviously why I came here. If I wanted a bigger university, I would have gone somewhere else. With the small school things are more personal and our alumni support is great. Alumni keep coming back for all different events. I am not happy to see Wake reach above 4,000 students. Wake is a great school this small- we compete and surpass all of the larger universities. Being the second smallest institution in Division 1 (slightly above Rice) really shows how amazing we compared to all of the other universities. We are ranked in the top 30 universities, which is great. I don't see why we have to expand our enrollment. If people want a larger school, feel free to go somewhere else. I love the personal attention received at Wake and the strong networks formed that I am afraid will both diminish as the student enrollment continues to increase. I want it to be a privilege to be a Demon Deacon, only given to a select few- the best. The more enrolled, the less special it feels to be a part of Wake Forest. When I tell people I go to Wake they are impressed. I spend most of my time on campus on the field hockey field for sure since I play on the Wake Forest field hockey team. Go DEACS! College Town- does not exist, but I heard where Freddie B's is located will eventually become a street like Franklin Street by UNC. hmmmm....we'll see. Administration- honestly I am shocked by some of our professors. I went to a public school for high school and my teachers there were much better teachers. I have a few great professors, but the majority are not very good. That also might have to do with the low pay teachers receive at Wake. That should definitely be increased because if we want to continue to have high rankings, we need to attract the best teachers to attract the best students. Recent controversy- faculty apartments being knocked down for student housing. Wake wants to increase the student enrollment to 4800 is some many years (5 I think?) Next year we already have 80 more freshmen coming to Wake. Because of this increase they increase parking to $500 and it will probably go up each year because of this prospective increase each year until Wake reaches 4800 students. Well possibly a better situation would be to go back to old ways- only recently sophomores were required to live on campus. Why can't sophomores have the option to move off? That would eliminate over crowding issues with housing on campus and then less people would require to have their car on campus full time. Freshmen already have to park off and sophomores have their cars full time on campus. With sophomores off there will be more parking available since students don't have to park their car on campus- they have their option to car pool, ride their bike to school, walk, etc... School Pride- at games, yes. Orange Bowl was the best example- simply amazing. Unusual- no swim team and a poor swimming facility as well as a really small work out gym. Experience- the Orange Bowl. Also for field hockey- the NCAA final four and hopefully winning another National championship (we will next year....) Frequent Student Complaint- these lap tops are ridiculously not good!!!! Seriously we need a contract with a better and more up-to-date company that will suffice our needs better. These lap tops are so cheap. I know we had a contract with Dell last Fall that fell through because Wake pays next to nothing for these IBM thinkpads and did not want to pay more with Dell. Well if it is part of our tuition anyways, Wake should invest in better quality lap tops. I know other universities, Syracuse for example, is given an option of 3-5 different lap tops and different brands to chose from. It is still part of their tuition and they have to get a lap top, but they do have a choice and may have to pay more depending of their choice. Tuition is already going up 6{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} next year anyways, so I am pretty sure adding on a little extra would be worth getting better lap tops. If not, an option would be best. Most students go out and buy lap tops anyways because these are horrible...so why own two?

The best thing about Wake is the community of students, faculty, and staff. I don't know many college campuses where you could walk down the sidewalk and know most of the people you pass, students and teachers alike. The atmosphere at Wake really fosters the building of personal relationships that will carry you through all 4 years. Teachers are easily accessible which is great for learning and really adds value to the education. There is an enormous amount of school pride, from both current and former students. We may be small, but our successes are large and far reaching. Whether it be through national champion athletes, Rhodes Scholars, or award winning researchers, Wake is known throughout the country. One experience I will always remember is winning the ACC Championship and going to the Orange bowl in 2006. The win was a school-wide win. The football team had the support of everyone in the school. Those who could not make the game celebrated the ACC victory on our main quad with cheering and participating in our traditional "rolling of the quad." Students who didn't even know each other came together to celebrate side by side. At the Orange Bowl, we sold over 17,000 tickets; even though our enrollment is just over 4,000. Even though our fans were outnumbered at the Orange Bowl by Louisville fans, we made our presence and our cheers were heard by the players. It was truly a magical experience and is the best example of our athletics combining with the general student population.

School pride is definitely big in the form of Screamin' Demons for basketball and football games. People are usually mildly impressed when I tell them I go to Wake, but less so than when I used to say that I was looking at Stanford and Duke -- it just doesn't have that same reputation. Winston-Salem is definitely not the best college town, but there are a few good restaurants and Hanes Mall is good.