Wake Forest University Top Questions

There's so many different groups on campus, but overall, it is a less diverse school than say, a large state school. I think it is safe to say that most student and families are conservative, yet there is a large liberal population as well. Groups overlap all the time, so you don't see too many stereotypes of groups around campus...they all intermingle rather than form cliques.

There is not an overwhelming feeling of diversity on campus but there is different people with different beliefs here. Those that would feel most comfortable would be preppy, smart, and outgoing people.

Is very white, upper middle class, and from either New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida, or Texas. (you get the point.) Probably the two biggest surprises that I had when coming to wake were how much of a New England presence there is on campus, and then having to buy like 5 more sundresses. The school may be in the south, but beware: sometimes it seems like everyone is from Jersey (where they say "water" funny and don't pump their own gas.... as they will all tell you). Also, New Jersey is basically all white, so Wake is actually diverse for them, which is weird. Students are generally very politically apathetic, and come from conservative backgrounds.

Definitely racially segregated, anyone who says otherwise is delusional

There's a lot of separation between student groups -athletes, greeks, independents etc. There's always been a certain northern vs. southern students mentality, and Wake even likes to pair freshman roommates north/south, but it's mostly all in good fun. Wake is conservative, but since there's plenty of young people you have a fair amount of liberals as well.

Wake is a racially divided school, which is unfortunate. There are a lot of close-minded students, especially politically. The school is a very conservative one. Different types of students interact, but only if they put in the effort to do so. Athletes don't usually party with Greeks, etc.

As I said before, Wake is not very diverse but the administration has been working hard to change that. As a white person, I have a ton of black friends but a lot of students here keep themselves racially segregated. The average student at Wake Forest is probably in the high middle class. It shows. People drive BMW's and don't think twice about it. Wake Forest is probably more conservative than most college campuses. However, the College Democrats are pretty vocal too.

its a pretty conservative school but i think thats starting to change on campus. i cant really imagine that anyone could really feel out of place here, thers a niche for everyone. most people tend to be from the upper middle class here, i mean who else could afford the 40,000+ a year it takes to go here. but there are also a lot of scholarships to help kids that cant.

Let's be honest, Wake looks pretty homogeneous on first glance. Most of the diversity comes from the athletes. There is not much of a gay or lesbian community around little Winston-Salem or in our bubble on campus. Most people are probably in the upper middle class or higher, and I am not even sure about religious backgrounds. This is all, sadly, pretty true. But Wake is making a conscious effort to increase diversity, and the little diversity we do already have is extremely accepted by the student body as a whole. As I mentioned briefly before, Greek life is huge at Wake. There are 7 sororities (and a new one coming next year thanks to popular demand), 12 fraternities, and a number of historically black fraternities and sororities on campus, as well. In general there is a good relationship between all the different organizations. There are definitely the stereotypes for each one, but people have no problem getting to know people from other organizations and seeing who they are outside of this label. They basically are around to connect you with a group you may not have otherwise gotten to know, and to give you some pre-arranged parties to attend. The majority of Wake's social life is run around fraternity parties and sorority events, especially if you are too young to go to bars. That is not to say independents have nothing to do. Apartment parties (in the great apartment complexes near campus) are common, and independent girls are always welcome at fraternities, as well ;-). Even though we are not a campus full of Southerners, the southern hospitality does still exist on campus. Guys holding doors for girls, people saying hi to everyone they even kind of know as they pass them on campus, etc. There are also a lot of good looking people here, and with the gym being redone, they will probably only be in better and better shape in the years to come.

I'm disappointed with a large number of wake kids. So many people are highly ambitious and incredibly hard-working but they also have a tendency to be a follower. Too many people here are apathetic, especially to issues concerning wake itself. There aren't very many free-thinkers, which is very frustrating. Get ready for a lot of wealthy white kids! I predict that a large percentage of students in my class will enter the corporate workforce, although a large percentage of each graduating class goes on to serve in the peace corps or teach for america.