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Wake Forest University Guide

The ԹϹ guide to Wake Forest University’s culture, admissions, and other essential information for prospective students and their families.

Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Mascot: The Demon Deacon

Type: Private Research Institution

Population: 8,500 (5,000 undergrads)

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Wake Forest University

ԹϹ Wake Forest

Located in North Carolina, Wake Forest’s 340 acre campus is located on a former estate donated to the university, and the lush gardens and museums nearby reflect this heritage. The students, known as “deacs,” treasure the air of camaraderie and the scholarly atmosphere of the school. While the school is historically Baptist, it is now non-sectarian, and is focused on research for the sake of knowledge alone.

Wake Forest University Guide

Wake Forest Statistics

Year Founded:1834

4 Year Graduation Rate:82%

Gender Distribution: 53% female, 47% male

Acceptance Rate:28%

Residency: 12% in state, 78% out of state, 10% international

Location Type:Suburban

Schedule System:Semesters

Student/Faculty Ratio:11:1

Average Class Size:20

Demographics: 70% Caucasian, 12% Other, 7% Hispanic, 7% Black, 4% Asian

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National Rankings

US News Rankings:

  • #23 Best Undergraduate Teaching
  • #25 Best Value Schools
  • #27 National Universities
  • #35 Study Abroad
  • #50 Undergraduate Research

Independent Rankings:

  • #3 Best Test Optional Colleges per Niche
  • #14 Most Accessible Professors per The Princeton Review
  • #33 Research Universities per Forbes
  • #36 Top Private Universities per Niche
  • #56 Top Colleges per Forbes
  • #62 Best Value Colleges per Niche
  • #68 Best National Universities per The Times of Higher Education

Wake Forest Admissions Information

Application Deadlines:

  • Early Decision: November 15th
  • Regular Decision: January 1st
  • Transfer Deadline: March 15th

Notification Dates:

  • Early Decision: On a rolling basis
  • Regular Decision: April 1st
  • Transfer Deadline: Mid-May

Acceptance Rates:

  • ED: 38%
  • RD: 26%
  • Transfer: 5%

Average Applicant Pool: 13,000

Average Number of Applicants Accepted: 3,600

Average Number Enrolled: 1,300

Application Systems:Common App, Coalition App

Average GPA: 3.9 weighted

SAT Scores: 25th% – 1310, 75th% – 1470

ACT Scores: 25th% – 29, 75th% – 33

*Test mandatory. Writing sections are not required.

Demonstrated Interest:

Wake Forest strongly considers demonstrated interest.

Recommendation Letter Policies:

One letter from a teacher is all that is required.

Wake Forest Essay Prompts:

  • Common App Personal Statement (650 words)
  • List five books you have read that intrigued you. (Spaces have been left for you to include each book’s title and author and mark whether the selection was required or not required.)
  • As part of my high-school English curriculum, I was required to read _________. I would have liked to replace it with______. The required book I was most surprised I enjoyed was ________.
  • Tell us how a work of fiction you’ve read has helped you to understand the world’s complexity.
  • What piques your intellectual curiosity, and why?
  • As part of our “Voices of Our Time” series — which allows students, faculty, and staff to hear from some of the world’s leading thinkers — Wake Forest has hosted Ta-Nehisi Coates, Michelle Alexander, Eboo Patel, and Thomas Friedman. If you could choose the next series speaker, whom would you pick, and why?
  • Give us your top ten list.
  • At Wake Forest, we gather our students in “Calls to Conversation,” congregating small groups around dinner tables in faculty’s and administrators’ homes to discuss topics organized around a theme, for example “arts for social change,” “gender in society,” and “leading a meaningful life.” If you could design a theme for a “Call to Conversation,” what would you choose, and why?
  • We live in an age intensely interested in heroes. Professor Joseph Campbell defined “hero” as “someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Describe a hero in public life and how and why, in your opinion, they meet Professor Campbell’s definition.

Special Notes:

Interviews are strongly recommended when applying to Wake Forest. They are held in person or via Skype between June 1st and November 30th.

Transfer:

  • Students who have graduated high school and completed any college coursework are considered transfer students.
  • Transfer students are eligible for all need-based financial aid, but not merit aid.
  • High school and college transcripts are required, as is a college report. Standardized tests are optional. Interviews are not offered to transfer students.

Wake Forest Admission Strategy

Admissions Criteria:

The aspects they consider very important are: character, class rank, secondary school record, and essay responses.

The factors they consider important are: recommendations, interview, extracurriculars, and talent. While the interview is technically optional, they do recommend all students complete one, and most admitted students do complete an interview.

The aspects which are considered are: legacy status, first-generation status, geographic origin, race/ethnicity, standardized test scores, and level of interest.

Whether an athlete is recruited is considered in the admissions decision, although they are still expected to be prepared for the school academically.

What is Wake Forest Looking For?

The school uses a holistic admissions process, meaning they review all parts of the application and judge it as a whole. The most important part is the school record; seeing if the student challenged themselves with difficult courses, and did well in them. They look to these for demonstrations of intellectual curiosity and academic vitality. While there are no grades or test scores which are automatic admissions cut-offs, failing to perform academically will weaken your application.

They want students who are authentic, and who come across in the essays as genuine people. They want to judge the student’s character, and see how they fit with the idea of the school community they are trying to build.

The school wants students who will be actively and passionately involved, and they approach this both by attempting to further involve current students, and by recruiting and admitting students who they believe will be actively engaged with and participate in the campus community. They are looking for students who are actively passionate and invested in the school and their own communities.

Wake Forest Strategy:

Applying Early Decision is the easiest way to improve your chances of admission, especially given how important demonstrated interest is to the school. The ED pool is smaller, and is used to fill a proportionally large part of each incoming class. While the standards are not relaxed, the smaller pool and demonstration of interest means students who would slip through the cracks in regular decision admissions may have a better chance. If Wake Forest is your first choice, you should definitely apply ED.

While the interview at Wake Forest is technically optional, it is still an important part of the admissions process, and students should participate in one if possible. Not only is the interview itself important, but it allows students to demonstrate their character, another key component of the admissions decision. Students should practice for the interview before going into it.

The school is test optional; therefore if you did poorly on your tests, you shouldn’t send in your scores. If your scores are at or above average for the school, then you should send them in, especially if they are on the above-average side of things. Wake Forest wants to admit students who are academically prepared, so only submit your scores if they support that narrative.

For the essays, demonstrating your character is key. Wake Forest asks for more essays than most schools, and asks unusual questions. The answers should be unique to you, and should enlighten admissions officers about aspects of your character and personality they are unable to find out about elsewhere. The top ten list is an easy way to stand out, so long as you don’t pick an overdone category. Wake Forest looks for authenticity and character in applicants, and the essays are the best place to demonstrate this.

Wake Forest Academics

Schools:

Core Requirements:

  • Basic Requirements (5 courses: First Year Seminar, Writing Seminar, 1 200-level language course, Lifestyles and Health, and Exercise for Health)
  • Divisional Requirements: Humanities, Literatures, Fine Arts, Social Sciences, and Math and Natural Sciences

Courses of Study:

  • Option to double major
  • Popular majors include Economics, Communication, Psychology, Finance, and Business
  • Students usually declare majors in the Spring of their sophomore year, it requires permission from department heads to change majors.

AP Credit Policies:

  • Wake Forest awards varying amounts of credit from AP exams, depending on score and test. AP credit cannot be used to get out of divisional requirements, but does count towards total credits needed for graduation.
Forest University Guide

Special Programs

Honors Programs:

  • Wake Forest doesn’t have an overarching honors program, but each department has its own honors track, each with its own benefits and admissions requirements. These may only be entered by current students in high standing.
  • (Latin Honors [summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude] based on cumulative GPA)

Research Availability:

  • The center (URECA) serves to get undergraduates involved in research on campus.

Study Abroad:

Business Options:

  • There are 4 offered. These are offered through the university’s Business School.
  • 3 are also offered.
  • Business related allow students to explore their interests outside of the classroom.

Pre-Med Options:

  • Wake Forest does not offer a pre-med major, but does have a for pre-med students, with course recommendations and advising.

Pre-Law Options:

Computer Science Options:

  • The offers both a BA and a BS in CS, along with a for non-majors.
  • There is a program, which allows students to earn both degrees in only 5 years.
  • There are a number of CS related .

Additional Specialty Programs:

Programs for High Schoolers:

  • allow students to take classes either online or in-person at Wake Forest, and let them experience college life and earn course credit.
  • allow students to experience the school both academically and socially, and explore their interests with courses or research.
Wake Forest University Guide

Student Life at Wake Forest

School Motto:

For Humanity

Mission and Values:

  • Mission: Wake Forest College stands as the cornerstone of Wake Forest University. It is a distinctive academic institution that values and maintains the liberal arts tradition within the context of an internationally recognized research university. The College embraces the teacher-scholar ideal, valuing exceptional teaching; a commitment to outstanding and innovative research, discovery, performance, and creative activities; and personal academic interaction between students and faculty both in and out of the classroom.
  • Student Testimonials (, , )

Residential Housing System:

Wake Forest guarantees students a place in housing for all four years, and requires full-time students to live in on-campus housing for their first three years. There are separate dorms for first year students and upperclassmen. Some upperclassmen can live in houses owned by the university, in place of more traditional dorms.

Housing Statistics:

  • 99% of freshmen live on campus
  • 80% of students live on campus at any given time.

Campus & Surrounding Area:

  • The tree covered campus is located North of downtown Winston-Salem, and is separated into two quads, North and South, by administrative buildings.
  • The is located on a former estate, and has associated , , and a , all of which were part of the same estate.
  • Safety Information (, )

Transportation:

  • The university provides a free for students, faculty, and staff, which travels around the campus and into downtown Winston-Salem.

Traditions:

  • A biennial party held on homecoming weekend, hosted by the university’s president.
  • A race/walkathon to raise money for cancer research
  • A traditional Moravian religious service/meal.
  • An annual celebration on the quad featuring live music, free food, movies, and dancing

Student-Run Organizations:

  • Sample Organizations (, , )

Sports:

  • Atlantic Coast Conference (Good Tennis and Women’s Field Hockey)
  • Main Rival: University of North Carolina

Greek Life:

  • 45% of students are involved in Greek life, including, social, service, and academic organizations.

Nightlife:

  • There are frat or apartment parties most weekends.
  • Winston-Salem has a bar and restaurant scene, many of them near the campus.
  • Student organizations put on shows most weekends, in most every genre, so there’s always something to watch or experience.
Wake Forest

Financial Information

Yearly Cost of Attendance:

  • Total: $77,342
  • Tuition and Fees: $57,760
  • Room & Board: $15,248
  • Books: $1,500
  • Personal Expenses: $1,550

Financial Aid:

54% of students receive financial aid. All students must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to be considered for aid. There are various need-based grants to help students pay for tuition. Wake Forest commits itself to paying for 100% of demonstrated need for its students.

Scholarships:

Wake Forest has a number of highly selective merit-based , which go to students with outstanding academic achievement. These scholarships do not require an additional application; students who apply are automatically considered for them. Some of these scholarships also take financial need into consideration.

Fun Facts

  • Wake Forest University was originally located in the town of Wake Forest North Carolina, which was named after the school. It moved its main campus to Winston-Salem in 1946.
  • Presidential debates were held on campus twice, the first between George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis in 1988, the second between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000.
  • Wake Forest was the first major Southern university to desegregate.
  • Notable alumni include golfer Arnold Palmer and basketball player Tim Duncan.
  • Wake Forest was the first top 30 university to go test optional.
  • When the school was founded, students were required to work on its plantation for half of each day, and the school’s original name was the “Wake Forest Labor Institute”.
  • The school’s original campus is now a Baptist seminary.
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