Wake Forest University

Date: Apr 18 2002
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
I have had an exceptional experience at Wake Forest so far. I believe that its best feature is its size. With an undergraduate enrollment of around 4000, I see people all over the place that I know, yet there are many people I've never seen before. Another nice thing about a small enrollment is that I really get to know my professors in small classes. My largest class so far (even having taken all introductory courses) was about 30 people. I also had a class of 7, and a class of 6. I don't think you'll ever find that anywhere else. The faculty here is amazing. Most of them will bend over backward to help you in your classes. They're required to have office hours, and are generally more than willing to accomodate your schedule. They're also very student-oriented. They are all required to participate in research, but they generally prioritize that after teaching.

Academically, it is pretty tough here. I study around 2-3 hours on a normal week night. Exams are what really kill me, though. I study about 5 hours before any given test, and between 10-20 hours on average for a midterm or final. It may seem like a lot, but it's not that bad. Intense and stressful for awhile, but then everything gets back to normal. I definitely have time for other activities. I spend significant time working with 3 different student organizations, hold 2 jobs, and still manage to have some free time to myself and keep my grades up. I guess the key is just time management. However, if you want to party a lot and not have too much work, I wouldn't recommend Wake. Wake has absolutely amazing resources if you are willing to take advantage of them. People complain about not having a social life at Wake, yet many of them are not involved in any substantial activities and don't really make an effort to do things.

As far as the Greek system goes, I don't think it's as big of a deal as everyone makes it out to be. It definitely has a very strong presence, but I don't think it necessarily divides the campus in a significant way. I did not rush, but not for any particular reason. Many of my friends rushed, but didn't pledge, and there was not any pressure for people to do so. My friendships didn't change because so-and-so was in this or that frat or sorority. I'd say about 1/2 of my friends are Greek, but it hasn't negatively impacted anything.

Another stereotype of Wake is that it's composed of rich white people. I'd say this is somewhat accurate, although I don't believe that Wake is quite as homogenous as this stereotype implies. Politically, I'd say that Wake is pretty diverse. Not only does it have a strong conservative voice, it also has a strong liberal voice with many students in between. Ethnically, Wake is lacking. However, they have recognized their problem and are actively trying to change this and to integrate other ethnic groups into the student body. There is self-segregation of different ethnic groups, but I don't think this has anything to do with Wake Forest itself. Wake is definitely on the higher end of the socio-economic scale. I know of only one student here who couldn't attend here if he didn't have some sort of scholarship. BMW's, Audi's, and the like are all over the place, many students go to summer homes in Aspen, the Carribean, or Hiltonhead for vacations and many of my friends are kids of diplomats, politicians, businessmen, etc. Wake has recognized this disparity and is working to improve this by offering more need-based scholarships.

The one thing that Wake does lack is any sort of a college town atmosphere. There aren't many places close enough to walk to (Reynolda Village is within walking distance, but it targets the rich parents more than the rich kids), so you have to drive everywhere. There are plenty of eating options off-campus, but it would be nice to have something close by.

As I said at the beginning of this review, I have had an exceptionally good experience at Wake and would highly recommend it to almost anyone. It has its problems, but the positive features far outweigh the negative. Wake Forest is rising in stature evidenced by increasingly selective admissions, statistically improving entering classes and the many students who turn down offers at other top schools (eg Harvard, Stanford, Duke) in favor of our small size and friendly atmosphere. It's a great place to be…