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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Wake alum, married to a Wake Alum with a kid at WM.  They have a lot in common academically. Small classes, professor involvement, etc. The downside to Wake that I missed when I applied and regretted my senior yearnis that it is very pre-professional.  It seemed like everyone was pre- law, med, MBA, 5 year accounting degree, etc. I had very weak placement applying for PhD programs— despite being phi beta kappa and summa cum laude.   WM also has a lot of pre-professional, but they also place kids well in non-professional grad programs.

I got a great education. And I think DC is getting a similarly excellent education at WM.  But the relationships and mentoring wasn’t there to go on for a PhD— at least in my major, which was a popular one. 
Besides that, I’d certainly consider them academic peer schools.

They are very different socially.  Wake’s Greek scene really dominates the school and the culture is very Southern.  WM’s has a much more relaxed Greek scene— it plays  a role, but not an outsized one.  Wake has a much stronger D1 sports scene. And I was there during the Tim Duncan years, which was great. But many years, Wake’s big time sports are meh. This isn’t UNC or Duke and don’t count on them getting a bid to March Madness while your kid is there. Football has improved, so Bowl prospects are better

DH and I encouraged our kids to apply to WM, but not Wake. We just couldn’t justify the price tag, when WM is just as good. And we don’t have kids with an interest in Greek life (or watching sports) or who would like the Southern vibe.

Also, WM kids trend UMC/affluent. Wake has a lot of flat out rich kids. Only you know if that’s the crowd your kids wants to run with— or can afford to run with.

YMMV, but having actual experience with both, it would be hard to swallow the extra cost for Wake.  And given our particular kids, it didn’t look like a great fit anyway.

Plus— not gonna lie— I grew up near Wake and my parents still live a 1/2 hour away— and Winston-Salem is fine. But interesting college town, great culture, etc— not so much. And given the location of its campus, Wake is kind of isolated from what W-S does have to offer, especially without a car.  I’m not sure how dependable Uber is in WS now, but in my time, way too many kids left campus to party and drove back drunk.

Williamsburg is also not a college town, but there is a lot more that’s walkable and the bus system works well for campus.

So, slightly different strengths, but great educationally. Look at your finances and your kids preferences for their social life.

My 2 cents.

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You can tell it’s been a few decades since you attended Wake (to be fair, not reasonable to expect any parent’s recollections of a college back in the 1990s to accurately reflect the experience an undergrad will have in the mid 2020s).  Wake has a small campus called Wake Downtown (Medical School, research labs and some undergrad classroom space) and there is a shuttle run between the two from the main quad, about a 10 minute drive, so easy access to downtown Winston.  And yes, of course kids Uber.   Winston Salem itself has gentrified quite a bit with two new Kimpton hotels downtown and a slew of bars and restaurants.  There is even a surprising  number of expensive condos.

It’s definitely not particularly southern anymore with large contingents of students from the Northeast (seems to be the largest group)., California and Florida.  Greek life is definitely still big, but there are no longer any fraternity or sorority houses, instead groups are allocated  space in dorms (only sophomores can live in these areas and generally only about half of any pledge class due to size constraints).

When you attended, Wake likely has little on campus housing.  Now it is available for all four years and required for the first three.  All of the dorms have been renovated in the past decade, but the dorms that were built in the past decade to support this initiative are particularly nice.

I don’t think much weight should be placed on an academic experience from the 1990s either, so much has changed.but would agree that business, stem, and pre-law remain popular.  The new president has a STEM background and increasing research opportunities for undergrads has been a priority and the new lab facilities are gorgeous,  The engineering program is relatively new but fully accredited.

The student rec center/gym is really beyond words, nicer than we saw anywhere else, including USC.[/quote]

I was at was in the early 90s— not the old campus in Wake Forest.  You are making a lot of incorrect assumptions. When I attended, 2 years of living on campus was required, but almost everyone lived 4. There was plenty of on campus housing for everyone. But the undergrad size was closer to 3500, which is a big difference.  They did shuttle to the medical school back then (I used it to do research in the med school library for a professor). And frats and sororities were housed in dorms back then— there were no frat or sorority houses (on campus— DEKEs and a couple others had off campus housing). Heck I pledged. Half heartedly and it didn’t really stick, but there wasn’t much else to do.  And W-S was starting to gentrify. It wasnt  High Point. But, it also wasn’t area search Triangle or Charlotte.  Still isn’t.  I still have friends and family near Wake, professors I keep up with at Wake, connections on campus and am in the area several times a year.  WS got somewhat hit by the 2008 financial crisis (lot of manufacturing bankruptcies nearby). But it has developed a nice downtown.  But it really isn’t a “college town”. Nor is WM a college town, although more is walkable/bikeable.

COMPARED TO WM, and as someone who has actual first hand experience with both, I’ll stand by comparable academic experience, with Wake being more Southern and more Greek-centric. And add conservative (in a Bush Republican way, not a MAGA way).  And that’s not a criticism. Many kids want that in a school. Mine, not so much. No one school is right for everyone. PP who said their athlete  frat bro loved it is on point— that’s big part of the social scene.  Wake got hit hard by USNWR (as did WM) for lack of SES diversity.  It’s a rich kids school.  WM is an UMC kids school. Neither one are attracting a lot of URMs or Pell Grant kids.

The Uber comment was a side note.  My friends in WS with HS aged kids in the area complain about them not being able to get Ubers reliably and Uber Eats orders being cancelled. But, sample size in the single digits. I’m sure if there is a need near Wake on weekends Uber there. Given its location, I would not send a kid to Wake without an Uber account and a pledge to pay weekend bills and not ask questions. It’s hard to get anywhere without driving.

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My kid is a current student and my brother graduated in 2010.  It’s changed a lot even since my brother attended.  Not sure why I would think your three decade old experience is more relevant.[/quote]

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