I chuckled at this, thinking of S25’s many elementary school field trips to Old Salem Museum & Gardens in Winston-Salem. Given that the big souvenir from those visits tended to be hand-dipped candles, I think you probably have a fair statement here about bright lights. 
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Since OP was asking about Wake and comparisons to SMU, perhaps we’ll put a pin into any OT conversation, and save suggesting other schools to consider unless OP asks.
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Yes, so they attract different types of kids. Most of the kids at Wake aren’t from surrounding areas, but they’re drawn to Wake for its strong academics and beautiful campus. As another person said, it draws lots of kids who have professional parents (docs, lawyers, profs), so there is a level of wealth, but it’s generally not super opulent and the education matters more than a flashy place.
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Wake Forest isn’t really walkable to downtown Winston Salem. The school was built in a fairly wealthy suburban part of the city with no real “college town” vibe in the surrounding area.
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Yep. Same for SMU and Dallas. Proximity to downtown isn’t the point. The original questions was
“Is money waved around as it is, say, at SMU?”
I say “no” and part of that is based on the characteristics of the city they are in (or near), regardless of the distance to the city and where the students come from.
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I appreciate your point— and am relieved at your conclusion!
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