Introduction
Wake Forest is a rare find in higher education
Wake Forest University
Videos
Information Summary
| Overall Score (about) | 83.1 |
| Total Cost On-Campus Attendance | $71,638 |
| Admission Success rate | N/A |
| Student Ratio Students-to-Faculty | 13 : 1 |
| Retention (full-time / part-time) | 96% / 100% |
| Enrollment Total (all students) | 8,401 |
Academics
Curriculum
At its core, Wake Forest is a liberal arts university. This commitment to educating the whole person is reflected in the extensive core curriculum, which is required for all undergraduate students. Most students complete the bulk of the core curriculum, which consists of several basic requirements and additional classes across five divisions, during their first two years. The basic requirements include a first-year seminar, a writing seminar, two courses in health and exercise, and advancing to the 200-level in one foreign language. First-year seminars are often the highlight of the freshman course load. These classes are limited to fifteen freshmen and are offered by senior faculty in their own area of expertise. In order to meet the foreign language requirement, students may take a placement exam to determine their level of mastery and be placed in a beginning, intermediate, or advanced class. Students with excellent language skills may test directly into the 200-level and take only one class to meet the requirement.
In addition to these basic requirements, students take classes in five divisions: humanities, literature, fine arts, social sciences, and math and natural sciences.
I might have never taken a class in anthropology, sociology, or psychology (all of which I loved) if not for those requirements. You
Most Popular Fields of Study
Gallery
Admissions
In 2008 Wake Forest became the first top thirty university to make standardized testing optional for admission. University officials made the decision based on research that suggested standardized tests are not the best predictors of success in college. There is
Financial Aid
Wake Forest is one of a small group of private universities pledged to
Student Financial Aid Details
Students
Housing
The Wake Forest campus is the heart of the college community, where most of the action takes place. Seventy percent of Wake Forest students live on campus in residence halls. Freshmen mostly live together on South Campus. The majority of these freshman dorms are arranged in hall-style living with fifteen to twenty rooms on a hall. Halls share bathrooms and common rooms. Each room has air conditioning and comes equipped with beds, dressers, desks, and a micro-fridge. All dorms have communal kitchens and free laundry facilities. The residence halls are coed, but separated into male and female halls. Freshmen-year roommates are assigned using a compatibility survey.
After freshman year, students move to North Campus into upperclassman dorms. Upperclassmen choose their own roommates and have more diverse housing options. The majority of upperclassman housing is suite-style, meaning that six-to-eight people share a suite with three or four bedrooms and shared bathrooms. Upperclassmen can also move to Polo Residence Hall or student apartments, which offer apartments with private kitchenettes, bathrooms, and living rooms. These usually accommodate two to four people.
Groups of students who share a particular interest may also apply for Theme Housing. These programs are usually located in university-owned houses on the edges of campus or in blocks of rooms in university residence halls. Current theme housing includes the environmental house, foreign language houses, the technology house, and various sports-themed houses such as crew, lacrosse, and soccer. Students must live in university housing for their first two years. Upperclassmen who choose to move off campus often find apartments in one of several nearby complexes that cater to university students or rent homes in the surrounding neighborhood. These rental properties are a short drive from the university and a great option for students looking to save money or get a little more space.
Dining
All students who live on campus are required to have a meal plan. The number of meals required varies based on your type of university housing. Students who have their own kitchens are required to buy fewer meals than students who share communal kitchens. Commuter students are not required to purchase the meal plan. On-campus dining options include three food courts, a buffet-style dining room, a Subway on the Quad, and three coffee shops including a Starbucks in the library. The largest food court is a sunken dining room traditionally referred to as the Pit. The Pit serves three different meals a day, each including a salad bar, pasta station, deli sandwiches, home-cooking station, fresh waffles, world cuisine, and desserts. The dining room itself is spacious, clean, and bright with tons of seating for groups large and small and is fitted with flat screen televisions. There is a carry-out option that allows students to box meals for dining on the go. A favorite alternative option is the Magnolia Room, a buffet-style dining room that serves southern classics and home-style favorites. Students line up outside the room before its 10:30 A.M. opening and the room stays filled until closing time at 2 P.M. The Benson University Center is favored for quick meals. The recently remodeled dining hall includes a Chickfil- A, Panera bagels, Fresh Market smoothies, and more.
Subway, the latest open dining option, is the number one stop for late night meals. Students can use their meal plan to get a value meal until 2 A.M. Expect long lines when the fresh bread comes out of the oven. Since its opening in 2008, the Starbucks in the library has become a hot spot. The two-level space is comfy and warm; huge study rooms in the back are also a draw. The student-run coffeehouse Campus Grounds also attracts a loyal following for its warm atmosphere and cushy couches. Shorty
Student Enrollment Demographics
Student Graduation Demographics
Athletics
Wake Forest is the smallest school in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the third smallest school in the country to field a Division I football team, but its sports programs have enjoyed huge success. The school’s basketball team, which has cranked out NBA stars like Josh Howard, Tim Duncan, and Chris Paul, has often been ranked in the top twenty-five. The golf program has turned out stars like Arnold Palmer, Curtis Strange, and Jay Haas and has earned three national championships. The football team finished the 2006 season as ACC Champions, earning an appearance in the BCS Orange Bowl, which drew the largest gathering of alumni in Wake Forest history. The field hockey team won three consecutive national championships from 2002 to 2004 and played in the national championship title game in 2006. And both the men’s and women’s soccer teams finished their 2006 seasons in the top twenty-five. The university’s 2006 fall sports success even attracted national attention, with USA Todayrecently profiling the athletics program under the headline
Traditions
- Rolling the Quad
- After major athletic victories, students and sometimes faculty and staff send rolls of toilet paper flying over the ash trees of the university’s main quad. Billowing toilet paper never looked so beautiful.
- Project Pumpkin
- This annual volunteer event brings more than 1,500 children from community agencies to trick-or-treat in dorm rooms and play games set up in residence hall lounges and across the quad. Most undergraduate students dress up to join in the festivities.
- Lovefeast
- This candle lit service in Wait Chapel honors the area’s Moravian heritage and tradition. Students and community members sing carols and partake in the traditional feast of sweet buns and coffee.
- Brain Piccolo Cancer Fund Drive
- Student groups raise money for the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University in honor of Piccolo, a former Wake Forest football player and member of the Chicago Bears whose friendship with African-American teammate Gale Sayers and death from cancer at the age of twenty-six inspired the movie Brian’s Song. Through events like Dance-A-Thons, races, and silent auctions, Greek groups raise more than $50,000 annually for the fund.
Local Community
Winston-Salem’s Best
- Burke Street Pizza
- Best 24-Hour Dining: Jimmy the Greek
- Best Burger and Milkshake: Cookout Drive-Thru
- Best Frozen Yogurt: Zack’s Famous Frozen Yogurt
- Best for a Date: 6th and Vine Wine Bar and Cafe
- Best Brunch: Mary’s Of Course
- Best Sandwich Shop: Simply Yummy
- Best for Parent’s Weekend: Village Tavern
- Best Alternative to Village Tavern on Parent’s Weekend Because It Will Be Packed: Fourth Street Filling Station
Alumni
Eighty percent of Wake Forest students graduate in four years. Within six months of graduation, approximately thirty-five percent of graduates enroll in graduate programs and sixty percent are employed. Wake Forest has five professional and graduate schools of its own
Faculty
The undergraduate experience at Wake Forest is characterized by small classes with devoted faculty. Wake Forest maintains a distinguished faculty in which eighty-six percent of the full-time professors hold the terminal degree in his or her field. With a studentteacher ratio of 10:1, students can expect to receive a good deal of individual attention. Classes are anything but impersonal; professors know their students, greet them in the hallways, and often host dinners in their homes for small classes. All professors keep office hours and many make an effort to individually meet with each student during the semester.
This website and its associated pages are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by this school.
StateUniversity.com has no official or unofficial affiliation with Wake Forest University.