<p>“Most who select Chapel Hill do so for financial reasons.”</p>
<p>^ Well, yes, in a somewhat more indirect way that what you suggest. I suspect many look at UNC-CH and all that it offers, and then look at other (much more expensive) schools, and seriously compare the differences in what each school offers. If paying full price at all schools being considered, that comparison might ultimately lead people to wonder if paying ~$30K more a year (w/regard to in-state folks here) for another school–that, in some cases, doesn’t offer nearly as much as UNC-- is actually, literally, worth that cost difference . So, yeah, I guess financial reasons do come into play. (There’s a reason why Kiplingers always ranks it as the “best value” among public colleges and universities–great combination of both academic strength and affordability.)</p>
<p>I agree, too, that success (or failure) is often dependent on the student–and, yes, sometimes a school is just a poor fit from the get-go.</p>
<p>Going to school up north and knowing many people who live here, if you want to go outside NC after you graduate, the UNC degree will be far more recognized than Wake. Despite UNC being a public school, it’s pretty well represented in major cities outside NC (especially NYC), whereas nobody really knows what Wake is. Yes, Wake may place some people in high-quality jobs up north as someone with an anecdote will inevitably say, but for the most part UNC is more well-recognized. Wake is certainly no better reputationwise than UNC, and if you decide you want to do something other than finance you’ll have more options at Carolina.</p>
<p>By the way, most people do <em>not</em> select UNC over Wake for financial reasons. All the smart kids at my HS who went to UNC never even considered Wake; the only person who chose it over UNC was someone was solidly in the middle of the pack admit-wise at both schools. UNC probably has a greater variance in intelligence of students (ie, you’ll see the occasional admit slip through the cracks, but you’ll also get more really smart kids who chose it for financial or scholarship-receiving reasons), whereas most Wake students are intelligent but I’ve never met one who’s really amazing. </p>
<p>plus, how many final fours has Wake been to, for a “basketball school”? A grand total of one…</p>
<p>elpope…I dont want to argue about your own anecdotal experiences. But I have to say, that carolina is 80% in state and Wake is 80% out of state and MOST of those come from Texas and New Jersey I hear. Wake has a growing reputation all over the country. And a lot of people “know” schools from sports programs, if you know what I mean. Not to denigrate any Carolina student or grad, because they have strong stats of their own, all very bright kids and its getting harder and harder to get into Carolina. 20 years ago they took people in the top half. Now its mostly top 10% and some down into the high teens, but that is it. And that is in state stats.</p>
<p>Carolina is more diverse socially, economically and racially. For some that is very important. The student body at Carolina tends to be more liberal, but of course that is a generalization full of holes from the git go.</p>
<p>For in state kids, its a windfall because its so cheap. But the downfall is there are hundreds of kids from their hometown there, and if they want a different social experience in college, they need to look elsewhere.</p>
<p>You can read all over CC from different schools, kids touting it, parents gloating over it, on and on…for every school. You also have detractors for every school, most of whom don’t go where they are sliming.</p>
<p>In the end, you wont know until you go. And you have to give it a chance if at first you feel out of place. It takes about 6 months to get in the groove.</p>
<p>For students anywhere, who are ambitious, if they buckle down and do the work and get the grades, they will have a great experience and have great opportunities. But in the end, character trumps credentials. Keep your right hand up at all times and best of luck!</p>
<p>The percentage of students who are National Merit Scholars at both schools is a pretty bogus statistic. </p>
<p>Wake Forest’s website (<a href=“Student Financial Aid | Wake Forest University”>Student Financial Aid | Wake Forest University) indicates that they only award four of these scholarships to incoming students from each class. I’m guessing that the only way Wake Forest can count additional National Merit Scholars is if an enrolled student wins an outside corporate National Merit Scholarship (which is quite competitive). </p>
<p>Safe to say, I think that both schools have plenty of bright kids. </p>
<p>The four year streak of having a Rhodes Scholar is really amazing for a school of Wake Forest’s size. It’s tough for any school (even Ivies and HUGE schools) to put together that many years in a row when there are only 32 Rhodes Scholars each year.</p>
<p>I would like to second the 'Apples and oranges comments"</p>
<p>I would also like to point the bias in Elpopes statement here: "UNC probably has a greater variance in intelligence of students (ie, you’ll see the occasional admit slip through the cracks, but you’ll also get more really smart kids who chose it for financial or scholarship-receiving reasons), whereas most Wake students are intelligent but I’ve never met one who’s really amazing. "</p>
<pre><code>I’m a freshman at Wake coming from abroad and have to point out that there ARE AMAZING people here. I know rhodes scholars,students with their own businesses, and charity founders.
In all honesty, Wake and UNC are both good schools, and so is Davidson. At the end of the day it what you do with the opportunities these fabulous schools offer that make the difference. This whole debate about the ‘better school’ is stupid.
</code></pre>