Anonymous
01/17/2026 15:09
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:W&M is like 1/3 Greek now, it for sure has a pretty big presence on campus
26%
They haven't updated the numbers for this year, but both frats and sororities had record recruitment numbers for the last couple decades. I was told it was at about 30%.
https://www.wm.edu/offices/studentaffairs/news/record-growth-strengthens-panhellenic-community-at-william-mary.php
Nothing to be proud about IMHO.
Maybe if you hate Greek life. The growth of a very social community is good for the campus as a whole. Far more people who actively pick schools with Greek life than those picking schools without it.
DP. Greek life helps when there's not a whole lot else to do. Williamsburg is a snoozefest for a young adult.
W&M is 30% Greek, Wake is 50%, OP's kid WANTS Greek life, how is this at all relevant to the thread besides trolling?
Anonymous
01/17/2026 15:07
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:W&M is like 1/3 Greek now, it for sure has a pretty big presence on campus
26%
They haven't updated the numbers for this year, but both frats and sororities had record recruitment numbers for the last couple decades. I was told it was at about 30%.
https://www.wm.edu/offices/studentaffairs/news/record-growth-strengthens-panhellenic-community-at-william-mary.php
Nothing to be proud about IMHO.
Maybe if you hate Greek life. The growth of a very social community is good for the campus as a whole. Far more people who actively pick schools with Greek life than those picking schools without it.
DP. Greek life helps when there's not a whole lot else to do. Williamsburg is a snoozefest for a young adult.
Anonymous
01/17/2026 15:05
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:W&M is like 1/3 Greek now, it for sure has a pretty big presence on campus
26%
They haven't updated the numbers for this year, but both frats and sororities had record recruitment numbers for the last couple decades. I was told it was at about 30%.
https://www.wm.edu/offices/studentaffairs/news/record-growth-strengthens-panhellenic-community-at-william-mary.php
Nothing to be proud about IMHO.
Maybe if you hate Greek life. The growth of a very social community is good for the campus as a whole. Far more people who actively pick schools with Greek life than those picking schools without it.
Anonymous
01/17/2026 15:03
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Lots of crossover of applicants at Wake, W&M, Davidson and Richmond. Mine got in 3 of these. Not being top kid is going to be a tough admit at any of these schools. Davidson does t have sororities, but eating houses. I have a very happy kid at UR and one headed to W&M. I think you can find your people and your place at any of these schools. Def some differences though so visits with kids on campus to see the vibe will be key. Demonstrated interest is also pretty important. Good luck.
Anonymous
01/17/2026 15:01
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:W&M is like 1/3 Greek now, it for sure has a pretty big presence on campus
26%
They haven't updated the numbers for this year, but both frats and sororities had record recruitment numbers for the last couple decades. I was told it was at about 30%.
https://www.wm.edu/offices/studentaffairs/news/record-growth-strengthens-panhellenic-community-at-william-mary.php
Nothing to be proud about IMHO.
Anonymous
01/17/2026 14:37
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Anonymous wrote:Have had kids at both of these schools. Similar in size, but that’s about it. In terms of facilities and buildings, William & Mary is leaps & bounds behind Wake- it’s where you can tell the difference between a public and a private school. Whoever said Wake is more country club is spot on. Lots of wealth on that campus, whereas W&M is more economically balanced as a state school. Campus populations reflect that- not a lot of folks at W&M is wearing Golden Goose and driving Land Rovers, which seems to be the standard at Wake.
Not a lot to do for social scene at W&M with no sports teams that are great and bars in the Burg not liking college kids.
Both academically rigorous.
You can't walk anywhere from the Wake campus to stuff though. W&M has four bars right next to the stadium that are packed full of students every Thurs-Sat.
Anonymous
01/17/2026 14:20
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Anonymous wrote:How about Richmond?
Probably more like Wake than W&M.
Anonymous
01/17/2026 14:16
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Anonymous wrote:DC applying from NY next cycle.
Is interested in school spirit, greeks, parties. She's a good student but not top top. In large public. Has summer jobs, but we'll have to work on a narrative for story. No academic awards, competitions, etc. She works paid jobs in summer. Will apply business.
I think she's like UNC or UVA but won't get in OOS. Tulane would be easy ED, but I'm not sure that's a fit. USC might be a reach. I think she might like Davidson, but we haven't been.
We visited William & Mary and liked it. Is Wake similar to that or the other schools she's thinking about?
Keep in mind that at Wake, you have to apply to the business school after sophomore year. No guarantees of entry there. Frankly, either of these is going to be a tough admit for a "good" but not top student.
Anonymous
01/17/2026 14:12
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We definitely got the sense that Wake is fun. Parties/darties and Greek life, too. DD is definitely interested in both, and it felt like a good fit.
Also, I think I remember that sororities have houses on campus but maybe only the officers live there? Not 100% sure, but my sense was that being in a sorority did not define a kid’s identity/friend group. Our tour guide was really open about that. She was a sophomore or junior and specifically said she was living in a large suite with a bunch of friends who were a mix of independent and in different sororities. The sorority part sounded more like a club to
me than an identity, which seemed similar to my (very positive) Greek experience at a different school 30 years ago.
Half the sophomores in a sorority live together, and many also sign up to live together off campus as seniors when still sophomores. Definitely way more than a club. Wake has been dealing with more interest in Greek life than spots on both the frat and sorority side for a few years now. There doesn’t seem to be university interest in adding more chapters for either, although they are increasing the freshman class size by about a 100 per year for the next 10 years or so. This will probably decrease the prominence of Greek life as there simply isn’t enough spots in the desirable chapters.
Gotcha. Thanks for that info. Seems different than what we understood, for sure. Plus the likelihood of rush getting more competitive in coming years - more interested kids but no new chapters (or increase in available bids) is likely to build exclusivity and leave more kids feeling left out. Bummer.
My dd went to Wake wanting to be in a sorority and wound up dropping after not getting her two top houses on preference day. She still really likes Wake, and has lives with girls who are in sororities. There are coed fraternities for business and volunteering that are popular as well as club sports, I wouldn’t write it off for competitive Greek life as many peer schools re the same.
Anonymous
01/17/2026 14:01
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We definitely got the sense that Wake is fun. Parties/darties and Greek life, too. DD is definitely interested in both, and it felt like a good fit.
Also, I think I remember that sororities have houses on campus but maybe only the officers live there? Not 100% sure, but my sense was that being in a sorority did not define a kid’s identity/friend group. Our tour guide was really open about that. She was a sophomore or junior and specifically said she was living in a large suite with a bunch of friends who were a mix of independent and in different sororities. The sorority part sounded more like a club to
me than an identity, which seemed similar to my (very positive) Greek experience at a different school 30 years ago.
Half the sophomores in a sorority live together, and many also sign up to live together off campus as seniors when still sophomores. Definitely way more than a club. Wake has been dealing with more interest in Greek life than spots on both the frat and sorority side for a few years now. There doesn’t seem to be university interest in adding more chapters for either, although they are increasing the freshman class size by about a 100 per year for the next 10 years or so. This will probably decrease the prominence of Greek life as there simply isn’t enough spots in the desirable chapters.
Gotcha. Thanks for that info. Seems different than what we understood, for sure. Plus the likelihood of rush getting more competitive in coming years - more interested kids but no new chapters (or increase in available bids) is likely to build exclusivity and leave more kids feeling left out. Bummer.
Anonymous
01/17/2026 13:59
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
How about Richmond?
Anonymous
01/17/2026 13:57
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Sooo much more wealth at Wake. Expensive private school.
Anonymous
01/17/2026 13:55
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Anonymous wrote:We definitely got the sense that Wake is fun. Parties/darties and Greek life, too. DD is definitely interested in both, and it felt like a good fit.
Also, I think I remember that sororities have houses on campus but maybe only the officers live there? Not 100% sure, but my sense was that being in a sorority did not define a kid’s identity/friend group. Our tour guide was really open about that. She was a sophomore or junior and specifically said she was living in a large suite with a bunch of friends who were a mix of independent and in different sororities. The sorority part sounded more like a club to
me than an identity, which seemed similar to my (very positive) Greek experience at a different school 30 years ago.
Half the sophomores in a sorority live together, and many also sign up to live together off campus as seniors when still sophomores. Definitely way more than a club. Wake has been dealing with more interest in Greek life than spots on both the frat and sorority side for a few years now. There doesn’t seem to be university interest in adding more chapters for either, although they are increasing the freshman class size by about a 100 per year for the next 10 years or so. This will probably decrease the prominence of Greek life as there simply isn’t enough spots in the desirable chapters.
Anonymous
01/17/2026 13:06
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Have had kids at both of these schools. Similar in size, but that’s about it. In terms of facilities and buildings, William & Mary is leaps & bounds behind Wake- it’s where you can tell the difference between a public and a private school. Whoever said Wake is more country club is spot on. Lots of wealth on that campus, whereas W&M is more economically balanced as a state school. Campus populations reflect that- not a lot of folks at W&M is wearing Golden Goose and driving Land Rovers, which seems to be the standard at Wake.
Not a lot to do for social scene at W&M with no sports teams that are great and bars in the Burg not liking college kids.
Both academically rigorous.
Not a lot to do for social scene at W&M with no sports teams that are great and bars in the Burg not liking college kids.
Both academically rigorous.
Anonymous
01/17/2026 12:58
Subject: what's the difference btw William & Mary and Wake?
Wake is definitely a lot preppier and Greek heavy but I would say w&m is still surprisingly pretty preppy and
Greek, especially in the business and computing schools.
If you take a look at the class of 2030 account there's a whole lot more of I play xyz sports, I'm hoping to rush, I'm a dj, etc than more nerdy bios. And this is all just from early decision which you'd expect to be the *most* passionately nerdy group of students if that's what you think the vibe of the school really is.
Greek, especially in the business and computing schools.
If you take a look at the class of 2030 account there's a whole lot more of I play xyz sports, I'm hoping to rush, I'm a dj, etc than more nerdy bios. And this is all just from early decision which you'd expect to be the *most* passionately nerdy group of students if that's what you think the vibe of the school really is.