Wake Forest: need aware or need blind?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My freshman has one class of 50 (intro science class) and all the rest are less than 25. That’s the statistics that matter to me. Also, 98 percent of the class employed or in grad school within six months of graduation. Our student also got into Tech, but class size and ability to live on campus for several years important to us. Both great schools, so I don’t take the comparison as an insult as it was apparently intended.

When 75% is full pay, they can afford to send their kids to grad school if they can't get a job

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just looked at the CDS and was surprised that only 24% of the first year class gets financial aid. It’s such an expensive school and over 75% are paying full price.

Also, it’s need aware.

This is an example of why Wake, Vanderbilt, Tulane, etc. dropped in the USNWR rankings. These schools don’t have a lot of poor, first generation kids taking out Pell grants. However, they do offer a great education with small class size, professors with PHDs, lots of really smart kids with high stats. You need to decide what is important to your family when researching schools.

Vanderbilt barely dropped...but Wake and Tulane tumbled. Seems like Vanderbilt is different from those two.

Vandy moved down six spots. The smaller the school, the larger the impact of losing factors like class size. Tufts, which was ranked similarly to Wake before, fell to 40.

Vandy is need blind and meets 100% of demonstrated need

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are rich White, run from it

My very Black daughter is thriving and hooked up with internships every summer by the alumni so speak for yourself. By the way, we are in that 24% statistics that have gotten aid and Wake has been less than UMDCP for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Wake, graduated about 20 years ago. I loved my time there, learned a lot, and made great friends. However, the money there was insane. I came from a private HS in DC so I was no stranger to privilege or money. But it was a different level at Wake.

I don't think it's a reason not to look or go there, but it's also something to be aware of. I wasn't going in, and I wish I had been.

Funny to think you were maybe an SES diversity admit at that point! There is always another "level." DC of close friends attended Wake briefly a few years ago - had been 1st choice school. Left because couldn't really handle other students getting picked up by their family jet.

Not been our experience at Wake but who needs first hand accounts when dcum posters are so free to offer second and third hand accounts.

I don't think these families advertise, but one can be in a position to know of this while other students never have reason to know. Do you have any other insights informing need blind/need aware realities there?

[Anonymous]

My fellow alum friends whose kids have attended/are attending are NOT of that income level, but they do OK enough. Their kids seemed to do fine more recently.

I mean, it has always been a place with a lot of wealthy kids, but there were also more MC kids there, too. I didn't really run with the wealthy crowds, so my friends tended more towards the less well off. I managed to find and date the son of an actual tobacco farmer who brought a cow down from the mountains for their fraternity cow patty bingo event (he is still a friend and now a lawyer)

Don't write it off, but I have a feeling the signs of wealth have increased since my time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My fellow alum friends whose kids have attended/are attending are NOT of that income level, but they do OK enough. Their kids seemed to do fine more recently.

I mean, it has always been a place with a lot of wealthy kids, but there were also more MC kids there, too. I didn't really run with the wealthy crowds, so my friends tended more towards the less well off. I managed to find and date the son of an actual tobacco farmer who brought a cow down from the mountains for their fraternity cow patty bingo event (he is still a friend and now a lawyer)

Don't write it off, but I have a feeling the signs of wealth have increased since my time.

Has Wake followed WashU and Tulane in accepting a massive %age of its class ED? That is a telling indicator if they are taking more full pay kids vs. prior years since ED favors full pay / wealthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My fellow alum friends whose kids have attended/are attending are NOT of that income level, but they do OK enough. Their kids seemed to do fine more recently.

I mean, it has always been a place with a lot of wealthy kids, but there were also more MC kids there, too. I didn't really run with the wealthy crowds, so my friends tended more towards the less well off. I managed to find and date the son of an actual tobacco farmer who brought a cow down from the mountains for their fraternity cow patty bingo event (he is still a friend and now a lawyer)

Don't write it off, but I have a feeling the signs of wealth have increased since my time.

Has Wake followed WashU and Tulane in accepting a massive %age of its class ED? That is a telling indicator if they are taking more full pay kids vs. prior years since ED favors full pay / wealthy.

No. And interestingly they added EA this year but only for first gen kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Wake, graduated about 20 years ago. I loved my time there, learned a lot, and made great friends. However, the money there was insane. I came from a private HS in DC so I was no stranger to privilege or money. But it was a different level at Wake.

I don't think it's a reason not to look or go there, but it's also something to be aware of. I wasn't going in, and I wish I had been.

Funny to think you were maybe an SES diversity admit at that point! There is always another "level." DC of close friends attended Wake briefly a few years ago - had been 1st choice school. Left because couldn't really handle other students getting picked up by their family jet.

Funny you mention that. My son is applying to Wake and his friend who is already there has offered to give him a seat on their plane when they go back and forth.