Wake Forest, will I get in? (highschool class of 2021)

[h20sugar]

Hi! Do you think i’ll get into Wake I know no one can tell me for sure, but I’d love for people to talk to me about my chances or any tips they have before my senior year!

Stats
3.83/4.0 UW
4.8 Weighted
48/765 (may not be exact) top 6%
act: 27 (may not send)

Extracurricular stuff:
played violin for 6 years
participated in community orchestra
in the highest orchestra at school
treasurer for orchestra

volunteered @ church for past 5yrs
volunteered at hospital, library, soup kitchen

National Society of Highschool Scholars, Beta Club

Student Council and Students in Action 2 years
Ethics Bowl and Mock Trial Team
Book Club 3 years
Medical Society
Language Club

accepted into Girls State
Medex (hospital program)
and Wake Forest Summer Immersion

Let me know

[h20sugar]

also i’ve passed all my Aps thus far

[jdhfhabcdef]

Under holistic admissions no one can say if you “will” or “will not” get in. I’m WFU 2024 and I find demonstrated interest is big for them. Get an interview and get a campus visit to maximize your chances. Do the essays well. If your standardized test score is below their 50th percentile not sending it may be a good idea.

[h20sugar]

yah that’s why I said even though no one can tell me, but thanks that’s really helpful!!

[Bill_Marsh]

This should be a good target school for you but not a sure thing. Chances of getting are probably 25-30% as things stand now.

[h20sugar]

that’s what i was thinking, thanks!

[golfpdler]

Can you dunk a basketball? just kidding. Take the ACT again and again, etc. essays and visit.

[navyblue1234]

your ACT is pretty low, take it again or don’t send it

[rickle1]

Not sure how serious these other posters are but here’s reality.

ED is approx 50% of the class. I think the admission rate for ED is also approx. 50%. RD is much more difficult, somewhere between 20%-25%, lower if completely unhooked. Definitely don’t send your ACT. I would get it above 30 to send, otherwise it won’t help and could easily hurt. With your current stats, ED would be much easier to predict. Don’t know if that is viable for you/your family.

Your ECs are interesting so that’s a plus.

Their application is very different. Requires a lot of thoughtful writing (not just essays) and is very important in the process. Take your time with it and show them who you are.

[newdeac1]

I have 2 Daughters at Wake (senior and freshman). The senior applied ED1, and the freshman applied RD. I agree that 50% of the class is filled by ED. That being said, I do not know if it is “easier” to get in during ED. The quality of the applicants in each pool could be different, thus the admission percentages in each pool could be different due to this. At Wake 87% are in the top 10% of their class and 61% are in the top 5% according to their published data.
I would only recommend ED if you are sure that Wake is your top choice not due to ease of admission. My oldest daughter was sure, and my younger daughter was not 100% sure. As a result, the second daughter went RD. My daughters both were 4.0 UW GPA and 33 and 34 ACT performers. Admissions at Wake is very competitive, and my daughters indicate that most of their classmates are high stat students. That being said, the interview appears to be a point of emphasis at Wake, and I would highly recommend going to campus to have it done. Expressed interest is also very important. I do not think that the summer immersion programs are all that influential. For the applicant above, I would not submit ACT scores below 30-31 as it will hurt your application. We think that Wake is a great school and would recommend it very highly?.

[rickle1]

Just to add more data (albeit anecdotal) to @newdeac1 post, S is a junior (rising senior) at Wake and all of his friends were high stat kids. I know some don’t provide tests as Wake is TO, but S was among the lowest test score performers of his group and he was a 1420 SAT (I think that correlates to a 31 ACT). So I would think you need to be in that range, at a minimum, for test scores to help.

I would also try to raise your UW GPA to at least a 3.9 if possible, especially if you don’t have the test scores.

I also highly recommend Wake Forest.

[College1187]

Hi @h20sugar,

Good luck with everything this upcoming year! I am an incoming member of Wake Forest’s class of 2024, so I hope I can share some helpful insight. To re-emphasize what a handful of people were saying, Wake Forest places considerable weight on their supplemental essays. Wake has one of the more challenging applications, as there are roughly six questions the admissions committee makes you respond to. Be creative and thoughtful when you write. Compose multiple drafts, and go beyond the “cliché” topics, as that will go much farther than a standardized test score. That being said, make sure to consider the test-optional route if you think your scores are not up to par! They will not penalize you for not submitting them! I did not send mine in :).

Also, be a pro-active senior! Meaning, if you want to increase your chances of becoming a Deac, be in contact with Wake Forest’s admissions office and schedule an interview. Wake Forest, as many have already shared, cares a lot about demonstrated interest, so be sure to highlight your enthusiasm about Wake Forest in ways that go beyond merely applying, especially if you are a no-test applicant. The admission team wants prospective students to let them know that they are excited about being a part of the Wake Forest community, as those are the people they accept, which is why Wake has a high yield rate.

I hope this message is helpful! Again, I wish you all the best in your college search. Be open to new schools, and don’t look at College Confidential too much! Remember, no one on this platform is an admissions rep, and don’t be discouraged by all of the high scores and GPAs people post. There is so much more to admissions than what gets discussed on this website. Be confident and know that by the end of your admissions cycle, you will end up at the school that is right for you!

[h20sugar]

Thank you so much for all of this!! And congrats on getting into Wake!! I’ve actually finished my first college essay idea and I would love for someone who got in/goes to Wake to check it out!! I know this isn’t standard for a forum but it would be appreciated.

[h20sugar]

@College1187 see above ^^

[Mwfan1921]

Do you have any hooks (URM, first gen?)…if not don’t send an ACT of 27.

Also, make sure you are demonstrating interest…do a virtual admissions session, reach out to your AO, do a virtual interview.

Applying ED shows demonstrated interest as well…is ED on the table for you? Only ED if WFU is your first choice and the net price calculator indicates it would be affordable for you. Note the NPC may not be accurate if your parents are divorced, own a business, or have real estate beyond a primary home.

https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/wfu

[h20sugar]

@College1187

Hi @h20sugar,

Good luck with everything this upcoming year! I am an incoming member of Wake Forest’s class of 2024, so I hope I can share some helpful insight. To re-emphasize what a handful of people were saying, Wake Forest places considerable weight on their supplemental essays. Wake has one of the more challenging applications, as there are roughly six questions the admissions committee makes you respond to. Be creative and thoughtful when you write. Compose multiple drafts, and go beyond the “cliché” topics, as that will go much farther than a standardized test score. That being said, make sure to consider the test-optional route if you think your scores are not up to par! They will not penalize you for not submitting them! I did not send mine in :).

Also, be a pro-active senior! Meaning, if you want to increase your chances of becoming a Deac, be in contact with Wake Forest’s admissions office and schedule an interview. Wake Forest, as many have already shared, cares a lot about demonstrated interest, so be sure to highlight your enthusiasm about Wake Forest in ways that go beyond merely applying, especially if you are a no-test applicant. The admission team wants prospective students to let them know that they are excited about being a part of the Wake Forest community, as those are the people they accept, which is why Wake has a high yield rate.

I hope this message is helpful! Again, I wish you all the best in your college search. Be open to new schools, and don’t look at College Confidential too much! Remember, no one on this platform is an admissions rep, and don’t be discouraged by all of the high scores and GPAs people post. There is so much more to admissions than what gets discussed on this website. Be confident and know that by the end of your admissions cycle, you will end up at the school that is right for you!

Hi @College1187 , I’m not sure why I cannot PM you, but let me know if you are willing to read my college essay as of now. Thanks so much again.

[WFUparent1]

I agree with others’ suggestion to not send your ACT–it would likely work against you. Also, there is a fair amount of evidence that ED admissions are more lenient so if that’s an option I would consider ED.

On a different note, it looks like you’re premed? If so, it’s important to know the pre-professional culture at Wake is pretty brutal, particularly for pre-med. Advising is laissez-faire, and the competition is fierce. Most of the pre-req classes are unabashed weedout classes. There is a minimum required GPA you have to have in order to qualify for Wake’s pre-med committee to write a letter endorsing your med school apps. Other schools do not have this requirement; but it’s a way for Wake to ensure that its med school admissions rate stays high, by keeping weaker students from applying.

Also, there is a bit of an issue with grade deflation at Wake and although Wake likes to imply they are so prestigious that a lower GPA from Wake is the equivalent of a higher GPA from most other schools I can tell you from a med school admissions standpoint that is simply not the case. Med schools look at the GPA, period. Where you did undergrad is of limited relevance unless you went to a top elite school.

If you are really serious about going to med school, with your stats there’s a chance you’d be better off going to a good state school and excelling there. Just a friendly piece of advice from someone with med school/GME admissions experience

[Temperantia]

Other things to consider: the 50% admit rate in ED includes most recruited athletes and many other hooked students so the percentage of unhooked students is considerably lower. Wake is one of the only schools that offers a rolling ED1 so an early ED1 application over the summer can render a decision before the regular ED1 deadline. That means that if they decline admission you can still apply ED1 to other schools. I read somewhere that about 18% of the enrolled students did not submit scores so while they are not required, good scores still provide an advantage or, put another way, when not submitting scores an application will have to stand out in other ways.

[h20sugar]

@WFUparent1 Thank you for the insight! I’ve actually seen a lot about the grade deflation on this forum. My high school was pretty competitive and I couldn’t really just coast through so I know that atmosphere well. However, I do have many in state schools (in state being S.C. for me) but I still want to have schools that are rigorous while still giving me a chance to get accepted in to med school. What suggestions do you have for schools similarly ranked as Wake or lower even with the same academic quality that give me a more viable med school acceptance? Or for anyone reading this preferably not too far from South Carolina. Also does your daughter know anything about the African American experience at Wake?

[WFUparent1]

@h20sugar for private schools maybe look at the University of Richmond which is academically comparable but may have a less competitive culture and doesn’t (last time I looked) have a policy which allows the college to control who applies to med school. I don’t know too much about the state schools in your part of the country. It is not uncommon for someone who would be a solid student at a private school to be an academic superstar at a state school and thereby actually have a better chance of med school acceptance from a state school.

My daughter’s white but says African American Greek life was “pretty intense.” A lot of the AA students are athletes but not all. D was friends with quite a few athletes, socialized with AA students throughout Wake, there were a couple of AA students in her sorority and BF’s fraternity and they are still friends after college. Was on dance company with quite a few AA students. Did not notice any overt racism but also comments she thinks she had more black friends than other white students did. Her take: “it’s what you make of it.” I think she means if you are relatively extroverted and thick-skinned it can be a good experience. I do remember an Asian-American mother at a sorority function complaining to me that her daughter (a third generation American) was assigned to an all-Chinese student hallway at Wake her freshman year. I thought that was a little surprising and a possible indication that there are opportunities for improvement in Wake’s diversity work. But I can’t really speak from personal experience at all.