My S25 has applied RD to Wake and we have visited. From what we can tell, from the outside looking in, it checks all his boxes. My question is this: are many/most of the students wealthy? Is money waved around as it is, say, at SMU? I went to SMU and my son applied there too, but I’ve just spoken to a friend whose son just finished his first semester and the level of wealth is overwhelming and there’s a LOT of ‘keeping up with the Jones’. I think my son has decided to forego SMU based on this and I guess I need to know if Wake is similar in that regard.
I don’t know about Wake, but regarding SMU, you might have a look at TCU. While some wealth is there as well, it may be more low-key, not waved around.
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There are students at Wake Forest from wealthy families. There are not easy ways to display it like at some other schools.
There are no fraternity or sorority houses, only identical suites. Students live on campus for three years, so outward display of wealth is really not a thing that’s easy to do. Study abroad is encouraged and provided for all, with a scholarship for air travel to the destination. Over half of students are full pay, but most seem to come from upper middle class professional families.
Many of our kids’ friends were on financial aid and worked in campus jobs, and DS’s fraternity had scholarships for students who needed help. DS had a fraternity brother from one of the wealthiest families in the US; he drove an old Honda. DD’s friends were middle to upper middle class in family background. Their fraternity/sorority dues were about $900 per year, by the way. My guess is that wealth is probably more visible in Greek circles.
There are some high profile students from extremely wealthy and/or public families, but most seem to fit in with everyone else.
I’d say the comparison would be more with Vanderbilt or Duke rather than SMU.
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DD applied ED and got into Wake – it was always her favorite, but we both suspect the wealth may be weird for her, as someone who has attended a Title I high school (it’s a great high school, but not wealthy).
I was curious about your question so I looked up the Common Data Sets, and it looks like about 30% of students at SMU are found to need any financial aid, and about 25% of students at Wake are found to have any financial need. That 's a lot of wealth both places. Looks like Wake meets almost all demonstrated need (essentially – says 97.5%); SMU meets 85%.
That said, when we visited Wake, the people we met felt very down to earth, and DD is excited to go there. We haven’t gotten the sense that money is waved around…but clearly, a lot of students have a lot of it.
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So 75% of Wake students have no financial need as noted above. Some receive some merit or athletic aid, but the majority of students are paying close to $90K per year.
I’ve known a number of WFU students, and have been on campus. I respect that many of the full pay students might not show outward signs of wealth. But there are plenty of golden goose shoes, designer clothes, students with cars, and students taking fancy vacations on school breaks. Students lean preppy there (also tend to be friendly and outgoing) and Greek life is important to the social fabric of the school.
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I have a current junior, and i think it does lean wealthy, but also down to earth. My child has friends who went to UMiami and SMU and says it doesn’t even compare to the money scene at either of those schools ( maybe because there just aren’t a lot of places to spend money in Winston Salem?). He has met really nice friends.
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Best of luck to your DD at Wake!
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This is so helpful. I don’t care how much $ someone has as long as it isn’t used as a weapon. SMU’s wealth is over the top and almost seems…competitive. Thank you for your response.
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Wake is ‘wealthier’ than SMU, at least by full pay + merit percentages but that doesn’t mean the kids act a certain way.
SMU, in Dallas, has an entirely different vibe from Wake in Winston Salem. This article captures that vibe. The surrounding city impacts the student culture and attitudes. NC and Texas in general are very different.
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Agree, and Wake is more of an intellectual school, which I think is different than the vibe at SMU. Even though Wake is in the south, it’s not the southern vibe that people think of at SEC schools where girls are spending $10k to decorate their dorms.
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Each year a few students from our public high school choose Wake. I would not describe them as preppy and I think they are pretty down to earth. Brooke Shields has two children there and I’m guessing that’s a wealthy family. Beautiful campus. We looked inside the business school and it was fancier than other schools we toured. Good luck.
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Wake is one of the popular destinations for kids from professional-class families in my non-Southern area. The kids in question are good students, tend to like sports and maybe play HS sports, are comfortable socializing, and might be a little on the preppy side but not usually over the top.
They tend to also be applying to colleges like Duke, UVA, Michigan, UNC, BC, or Vanderbilt (sports connection), but also possibly UAAs like Case, WashU, Emory, CMU, or so on.
Realistically, most of these kids are in fact privileged relative to a large majority of high school students. On the other hand, they are not necessarily the absolute most privileged kids–more just a bunch of kids of lawyers and doctors and bankers and other well-compensated professionals who want a college that will give them a very good education and help them launch their own professional careers, while also being a lot of fun.
Of course people are aware there are in fact some VERY wealthy people at Wake. But at least around here, that isn’t really part of the key branding/appeal of Wake.
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Maybe. I wasn’t speaking to the quality of the school or the composition of students, necessarily, just the different surrounding environments. Big D is bright lights and big city. Winston Salem ain’t. 
This is exactly how my kid would describe it. Yes, these kids are privileged, but I don’t think there is the same money culture as SMU even though on the whole Wake might in fact be wealthier. And bumping to Brooke Shields at move in is a huge perk ( for me) ….
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The big difference is you won’t be looked down upon at Wake if you don’t have access to a private jet.
I second the TCU recommendation. I have children who have attended both Wake and TCU and each had amazing experiences.
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Furman would be another to look aT vs a TCU imho. More in line with Wake but more kids getting need aid as a percentage.
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Agree. My comment about TCU was directed more at the SMU reference.
I don’t know anything about Furman, but LAC vs mid-size university seems to me to be apples and oranges.
Wake is not mid size - well that’s subjective. It’s 5400 undergrad. Both have business programs, etc . Both are offset from mid size southern cities. Both have former religious heritage.
Furman is a back up school for Wake and Duke.
I think there’s more commonality than not personality wise - my opinion anyway. And I think it’s more in line with what OP is looking for.