Advice for future scholars

mcbabysheep
Sun, 18 Nov 2012 19:14:53 +0000

If you want a school full of nerds, Hucmenzu is right. Wake Forest is not the school for you. Wake has a very intelligent undergraduate student body, but I will concede for the sake of argument that not many students at Wake are intent on pursuing a PhD. Most are looking to either get either a MAC, MBA, JD, or MD degree after undergrad and then go into the work force.

I think the key mistake you make is assuming that one must be a PhD candidate to be a scholar. I respect those individuals who make careers in academia, but frankly, many of them have lost touch with reality. Many of my professors included. Wake’s motto “Pro Humanitate” (For Humanity) is on point. The skills learned at Wake Forest transition fluidly into what you call “life oriented” vocations (by this designation you actually grant that the world of academia isn’t real life).

Also, the Greek scene is big, but it’s not SO big. People on CC only know what they’ve heard, or people from Wake who aren’t involved in Greek life exaggerate it so they can have some climactic story of their college “warzone” experiences with fraternities and sororities. The Greek scene is a formidable scene on campus, but the plain fact of the matter is that over half of Wake students aren’t involved in it. I’m not, and I have no problems with maintaining a happy social life. I have many friends in frats, and they never give me the “cold shoulder” because I’m not involved with the Greek scene.

If you isolate yourself in an academic bubble, you’re going to have a bad college experience, and you’re going to look for something to blame. The Greek system usually is the pinata that gets blindly beaten by malcontent students who honestly have no one to blame but themselves.

So, the simple fact is, academics isn’t the end-all for life, and Wake recognizes that. They mold intelligent adults who are ready to take on challenges. Academics are very important, but Hucmenzu is right; if all you ever want to do with your life is academics, a liberal arts college like Wake might not be for you. I love Wake Forest, and I would go here again if I had to do it all over.