Grinnell vs. Wake Forest

College Search & Lists
1

I am trying to decide between Grinnell and Wake?

I want to major in Political Science and International Relations.

2

My nephew went to Grinnell. My son goes to Wake. They are very different schools with very different climates. What are you looking for?

3

I’m not really picky about schools, so it’s hard to say. But are their any unique characteristics that stand out?

4

Grinnell is liberal and Wake is conservative. Grinnell is top notch for science (no idea for Wake forest) and has no Greek life whereas Wake is very Greek. Both have strong honor codes and political science.

5

Here are maps that show where the freshman classes came from in 2010 (that data is getting a bit old… sorry)

http://chronicle.com/article/Interactive-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=153384

http://chronicle.com/article/Interactive-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=199847

Grinnell primarily draws from the Midwest, while Wake primarily draws from the South and Northeast

Grinnel has around 1700 undergrads while Wake Forest has around 4800 with an additional 2700 grad students.

Grinnell is a D3 school for athletics. Wake Forest is D1.

Grinnell is a classic LAC. Wake values and promotes its LA program but many students have a strong pre-professional focus to their study (i.e they are planning on Law, medicine or graduate work in business).

Wake Forest has 25 faculty members in its Politics and International Affairs department. Grinnell has 12 when you combine Poly Sci with the Rosenfield Program.

I don’t know that much about the culture at Grinnell but if my nephew and girlfriend are any indication, it is a pretty casual place where both genders wear sweats and t-shirts. Wake is preppier. My son says people (male or female) don’t leave the dorm unless they are well dressed and put together. You see men wearing shorts, Sperrys and pastel button down shirts.

Both Grinnell and Wake focus their social activities back onto campus. (i.e. this isn’t NYU where students flock into the city for nightlife). Greek is big at Wake but not the only game in town. Service is important at Wake and most of the big campus wide activities are fundraisers or community outreach (Hit the Bricks, Wake n Shake, Project Pumpkin)

6

One last thing. I don’t know about Grinnell, but Wake takes education seriously. Students at Wake work pretty hard. It is a best fit for students who value a rigorous education.