Hide Your Keys!

[Wakeforest22890]

More money.

 

[devi8]

I blame you. You're obviously loaded, and instead of investing in a small on-campus arena you are investing in motels.

Actually why is DR not stuffing money in the pockets of our recruits. That's the quickest/easiest way to improve our predicament. Shitty alum

 

[Rafi]

Actually why is DR not stuffing money in the pockets of our recruits. That's the quickest/easiest way to improve our predicament. Shitty alum

Seriously. He has tens of millions and is not putting it to use in anyway.

 

[Deacfreak07]

I think expanding our undergraduate enrollment is a bad idea. What's the general thinking on here?

I don’t love it personally. I realize it’s probably inevitable, and Wake will always be tiny relative to peer institutions. I worry about expansion without intentionality. Wake decided not to be Davidson long ago, but I hope that we keep our identity as a small liberal arts university where professors want to actually teach their classes. I’m afraid we are willing to give up too much of that for cash with emphasis on business and engineering tracts.

 

[Rafi]

More money.

Of course, that's why it is being done. But I think that may be misguided. If it lowers our selectivity and lowers our academic ranking, then it becomes more difficult for the institution to obtain grants. It also will make the school less unique, so it may not receive as many donations.

 

[Deacfreak07]

Of course, that's why it is being done. But I think that may be misguided. If it lowers our selectivity and lowers our academic ranking, then it becomes more difficult for the institution to obtain grants. It also will make the school less unique, so it may not receive as many donations.

It’s definitely not going to lead to less donations. Parents that can afford Wake tend to have wealthy beyond the cost of tuition.

 

[netflixnchildres]

It’s definitely not going to lead to less donations. Parents that can afford Wake tend to have wealthy beyond the cost of tuition.

An article came out 2 or 3 years ago about undergraduate institutions where the students came from rich families. They defined rich as students whose parents had a top 1% income in America, or a top 1% net worth in America. Wake Forest although not number 1, was in the top 5 in the country for percentage of undergraduate students enrolled from these families.

 

[DistrictDeacon]

An article came out 2 or 3 years ago about undergraduate institutions where the students came from rich families. They defined rich as students whose parents had a top 1% income in America, or a top 1% net worth in America. Wake Forest although not number 1, was in the top 5 in the country for percentage of undergraduate students enrolled from these families.

Gross

 

[Biff Tannen]

It wouldn't surprise me if they tried to retrofit/repurpose the building at the corner by the stoplight. Hopefully they'll tear down the sanctuary. Open space, playing fields, and parking are the things the campus needs at this point.

Redeveloing the site on the south side of Polo Road seems like a more reasonable area for near term growth. It's currently just some single family homes and the student townhomes.

 

[netflixnchildres]

Couldn't edit my post, but it was from the NY Times. 22% of Wake Forest undergrads come from families with incomes of $630,000 or more which puts them tied for 4th in the country with Wash U. St. Louis. The only schools with a higher percentage were Vanderbilt (#1), Colgate, and Middlebury. Its about the ability to accept more rich kids.

 

[inspectah]

Couldn't edit my post, but it was from the NY Times. 22% of Wake Forest undergrads come from families with incomes of $630,000 or more which puts them tied for 4th in the country with Wash U. St. Louis. The only schools with a higher percentage were Vanderbilt (#1), Colgate, and Middlebury. Its about the ability to accept more rich kids.

That's an astonishing statistic and frankly very disappointing.

 

[thatguy2016]

2019-20 full cost of attendance to WFU: $74,424
2019-20 tuition alone: $55,440

I looked for Harvard's tuition cost; I don't see 2019-20 posted, but 2018-19 is $46,340

 

[ironwill24]

That's an astonishing statistic and frankly very disappointing.

So this was my sentiment when I was a freshman at wake coming from parents with a combined income of less than 100k. I felt resentment for these kids that didn't have to have a job while in college and had everything handed to them. However, my perspective changed when I matured a little bit and realized that my generous scholarship wasn't due to my very mediocre athletic ability in a minor sport but was due to these kids parents paying full price. I'm fine with 22 percent being from 1 percent households as long as wake isn't actively turning away deserving kids just because they aren't 1 percent and are providing them with the financial assistance to be able to attend and contribute to economic diversity

 

[DistrictDeacon]

So this was my sentiment when I was a freshman at wake coming from parents with a combined income of less than 100k. I felt resentment for these kids that didn't have to have a job while in college and had everything handed to them. However, my perspective changed when I matured a little bit and realized that my generous scholarship wasn't due to my very mediocre athletic ability in a minor sport but was due to these kids parents paying full price. I'm fine with 22 percent being from 1 percent households as long as wake isn't actively turning away deserving kids just because they aren't 1 percent and are providing them with the financial assistance to be able to attend and contribute to economic diversity

Because Wake admission is no longer need blind, they probably ARE turning away poorer kids in order to admit more 1%ers.

 

[Buttermaker]

Couldn't edit my post, but it was from the NY Times. 22% of Wake Forest undergrads come from families with incomes of $630,000 or more which puts them tied for 4th in the country with Wash U. St. Louis. The only schools with a higher percentage were Vanderbilt (#1), Colgate, and Middlebury. Its about the ability to accept more rich kids.

Holy shit. Worse than I thought.

 

[Rafi]

It’s definitely not going to lead to less donations. Parents that can afford Wake tend to have wealthy beyond the cost of tuition.

I get this, and I think it's what our administration is going for. However, I think it may not be correct. I think it could lead to fewer gifts that are very large - in the tens of millions range. If it is less unique, there may be fewer large gifts. If the students are of a lower caliber, there may be less chance that one becomes a multi-millionaire and donates large amounts to Wake.

 

[Buttermaker]

Because Wake admission is no longer need blind, they probably ARE turning away poorer kids in order to admit more 1%ers.

If you can pay full freight now, and particularly if you have an alumni parent, you are much more likely to be admitted than if you don't check the box that you can pay the full tuition. No standardized test scores also helps WFU's "flexibility" in admissions, which comes in handy when you need x number of students paying full tuition.

 

[Fishbelt Deac]

Does WFU still have what they used to call "need based scholarships" or something like that? Basically getting the scholarship was merit based, but the amount was based on need.

[ETA: If I had googled first, I would have found out the answer, which is mostly yes]

No longer need-blind admissions is a negative IMO.

 

[Rafi]

Does WFU still have what they used to call "need based scholarships" or something like that? Basically getting the scholarship was merit based, but the amount was based on need.

[ETA: If I had googled first, I would have found out the answer, which is mostly yes]

No longer need-blind admissions is a negative IMO.

The average need-based grant/scholarship is $43,000.

 

[Rafi]

I get this, and I think it's what our administration is going for. However, I think it may not be correct. I think it could lead to fewer gifts that are very large - in the tens of millions range. If it is less unique, there may be fewer large gifts. If the students are of a lower caliber, there may be less chance that one becomes a multi-millionaire and donates large amounts to Wake.

To follow-up a little on this:

- Wash U started chasing the rich kids a decade ago, and their US News ranking has been steadily dropping (from ~ 10 to ~20).
- Wake had 3 Rhodes Scholars in the 80s, 4 in the 90s, 4 in the 00s, and only 1 in the 10s (last one was 2012).