Hi guys, I really need help picking between two schools that I love. See I want to apply early for either Barnard or Wale Forest and I love both of them so much and I was wondering if someone could help me pick?
Wow. What a huge difference. Have you visited both? How do the finances look when you run the net price calculator on each school’s website?
Nobody should help you pick. These are two very different schools. You need to consider which environment YOU want to spend the next 4 years at. If you don’t have a clear #1 I suggest you revisit both in the fall when school is in session and if you still have no preference then reconsider applying to either school ED.
Wow - those two schools are so different! I would revisit both and ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I prefer being in NYC or in Winston Salem? Winston Salem is lovely but the school is not in the city- it is in a suburban area near the city. Winston Salem and Manhattan are very different.
- Wake is a traditional campus with more of a traditional college experience. Barnard is not. Do I have a preference?
- Barnard is diverse. WF does not have much diversity at all compared to Barnard.
- WF is about 50% Greek. There is no Greek housing. Students involved in Greek life live in the dorms. Ask yourself how you feel about Greek life.
- Barnard has fewer students than WF, but WF can feel much smaller due to location. It may also feel " low energy" compared to Barnard.
- Barnard allows you to be part of Columbia and part of NYC. It is not unusual to spend weekends exploring Manhattan or attending events on the Columbia campus. WF has most of its social life on campus- there is not much within walking distance. There is a small area with shops and restaurants about 5-7 minutes away by car.
- Is one more affordable?
- And the obvious- Barnard is all women, however the students do socialize a lot with those from Columbia.
They are both great schools but I would not apply ED unless I revisited and one emerged as the clear winner.
two girls—biggest draw back for me as far as wake forest goes…“WF is about 50% Greek. There is no Greek housing. Students involved in Greek life live in the dorms. Ask yourself how you feel about Greek life.”
My daughter did not want to join a sorority, and she actually did not mind that all of the students live together. She thought it made the school feel more inclusive. Later on she started to realize that 50% Greek may be too much for her.
I’m with @intparent and @happy1 on this one: those schools are so radically different that you need to revisit them or (more likely) revisit you- and what you are looking for from your college experience.
50% greek will feel like 100%.
wake forest is a great school…and has great graduate schools including an awesome med school. but the greek life I think is to over powering.
I agree WF is a great school, but not for my daughter- partially due to the heavy Greek presence.