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The Insane Cost of Attending Wake Forest

DeacinBama said:
If you had to speculate, assuming all other things are equal, do you think a UNC graduate with a 3.9 gpa or a Wake graduate with a 3.4 is more likely to get into UNC SOM?
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Their MCAT, science grades, and interview would play big roles.

Of course you can go to UNC and get into med school. Many do every year. But I have seen many students that go to their state school (even state schools with med schools) and they get essentially no advising or prep. They either take several extra years to get into med school or they never make it.
 
Rafi said:
I’m on the admissions committee of a medical school. There are many reasons that a student at Wake has advantages. First, all med schools have a formula to weed out a ton of applicants, and the formula gives a lot of weight to the quality of the undergrad school. Wake has a stellar rep in this regard. Second, Wake has a robust pre-med advising system, which is great preparation for all aspects of the process. Finally, Wake has a medical school and accepts many Wake undergrads each year. It’s a built-in feeder process that many schools just don’t have.

If you have a kid that wants to go to med school, they’ll do themselves a huge favor by going to a school like Wake.
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So you have no data.

Got it.
 
Rafi said:
My kids are in the 8-13 range and are big Wake fans. This past football season was the most exciting since 2006 and the soccer team plays in top 5 matchups constantly. They have a great time following both.
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Soccer is meaningless for attracting kids who don’t live in W-S.

Football is barely a factor.
 
Having ACC caliber sports coupled with school size is a major attraction for a lot of kids. Football and bball in particular. Or at least it used to be and was for my 20 year old (who isn't at Wake)
 
Rafi said:
Their MCAT, science grades, and interview would play big roles.

Of course you can go to UNC and get into med school. Many do every year. But I have seen many students that go to their state school (even state schools with med schools) and they get essentially no advising or prep. They either take several extra years to get into med school or they never make it.
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You didn't answer my question.

I already know that the MCAT score, sGPA, interview, etc., play a big role. That's why I asked you to assume all other things are equal.
 
DeacinBama said:
You didn't answer my question.

I already know that the MCAT score, sGPA, interview, etc., play a big role. That's why I asked you to assume all other things are equal.
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If all other things are equal and strong, they would probably both get accepted. The UNC grad might have a better chance, but it would be close.
 
Louis Gossett Jr said:
I love the typical all in defense of Wake Forest. The cost is unjustifiable, unless you are getting a business degree every other major is useless and you should attend the cheapest state school option and save your money for law, medical or other advanced degree. Which also happen to be easier to get into because you crushed it at the cheaper easier state school receiving all As
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I agree with this for the most part. I went to a small school for undergrad that isn’t blowing anyone away on the prestige scale. But I graduated debt free thanks to a good scholarship and my parents. Where I got my law degree is all anyone really asks about. And for what it’s worth, I felt very well prepared when I got to law school. I finished in the top 1/4 of my class at Wake. I don’t think spending an additional $100k on undergrad would have resulted in a better outcome.
 
wakelaw13 said:
I agree with this for the most part. I went to a small school for undergrad that isn’t blowing anyone away on the prestige scale. But I graduated debt free thanks to a good scholarship and my parents. Where I got my law degree is all anyone really asks about. And for what it’s worth, I felt very well prepared when I got to law school. I finished in the top 1/4 of my class at Wake. I don’t think spending an additional $100k on undergrad would have resulted in a better outcome.
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Did you go to your cheapest state school option?

I can’t speak to law school with any specific knowledge, but going to the cheapest state school option is horrible advice for getting into medical school.
 
Rafi said:
If all other things are equal and strong, they would probably both get accepted. The UNC grad might have a better chance, but it would be close.
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I tend to agree. I think that Wake's reputation goes a long way, but I don't think that reputation quite overcomes the relatively lower GPA that Wake's difficulty and grade deflation cause, at least vis-a-vis medical school. I think Wake's selling point regarding graduate and professional school admissions needs to be 1) you'll get exceptional counseling and guidance that small(er) schools can provide more easily and 2) a liberal arts education is a worthwhile goal irrespective of future plans.
 
ETA: Oops, realized you were talking about undergrad. Nevermind.
 
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Definitely an interesting discussion here. If I could do it all over again I don't know that I would have ended up at Wake, but Wake's reputation has helped me more than I thought it would in the Northeast. People are generally impressed in my professional experience.
 
Rafi said:
All private colleges have similar price tags. Almost no one pays full price. Wake is the #23 best value college in the USNews 2018 report.
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ConnorEl said:
Only about 30 percent of Wake students receive need-based aid.
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HailToTheDeacons said:
If both the underlined statements are true, how are the majority of students avoiding full-sticker price?
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I don’t think both statements are true wrt WF.

The 30 percent figure is easily found online.

I’ve been told 50-60% of Wake students (parents) pay full fare. I don’t know if that’s true but I suspect it is.
 
ConnorEl said:
I don’t think both statements are true wrt WF.

The 30 percent figure is easily found online.

I’ve been told 50-60% of Wake students (parents) pay full fare. I don’t know if that’s true but I suspect it is.
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Need-based doesn’t count academic, special category, athletic, etc scholarships. I think about 10% of the Wake student body are div 1 athletes.
 
PhDeac said:
Yeah. But he was Muggsy Bogues.
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Only visiting player to get a standing ovation from the fans at Cameron Indoor at the end of the game. Wake lost of course but his obvious effort and heart won the admiration of even that generally obnoxious crowd.
 
My kids are still very young, but I've already resigned myself to the fact that even if they manage to do well in school WF won't be an option for them. I'm trying hard to train myself to keep it all in perspective when they get to high school and the hand-wringing over college admissions begins.

I don't even encourage my kids to follow Wake sports. They have no WF gear. It helps a lot that Wake has sucked at nearly everything since I graduated in the 90s. My six year old asks me at least once a week during basketball season why I pull for a bad team like Wake Forest.
 
Rafi said:
Their MCAT, science grades, and interview would play big roles.

Of course you can go to UNC and get into med school. Many do every year. But I have seen many students that go to their state school (even state schools with med schools) and they get essentially no advising or prep. They either take several extra years to get into med school or they never make it.
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He said all things being equal, which means MCAT, etc. shouldn't influence your answer. The answer, of course, is that the 3.9 UNC grad would get in over the WF grad.

The quality of the undergrad experience at Wake (smaller classes, access to profs, etc.) is generally superior to big state schools. But given the job market and economic landscape these days, it's no longer worth it to pay the high premium for that advantage.
 
inspectah said:
My kids are still very young, but I've already resigned myself to the fact that even if they manage to do well in school WF won't be an option for them. I'm trying hard to train myself to keep it all in perspective when they get to high school and the hand-wringing over college admissions begins.

I don't even encourage my kids to follow Wake sports. They have no WF gear. It helps a lot that Wake has sucked at nearly everything since I graduated in the 90s. My six year old asks me at least once a week during basketball season why I pull for a bad team like Wake Forest.
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I will add that I say this as a third-generation WF grad. I doubt Wake thinks about families like mine when they jack up tuition every year, but they should.
 
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