My son intends to be a double major in finance and history. He has attended accepted students days at all 3, likes all 3 very much; cost is not a factor. He’s a super strong student, 36 on the ACT first time taking in 10th grade, all As from a rigorous independent school.
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All great schools – he should go to the one where he feels he will be happiest.
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I agree, all of those colleges could be great academic fits for the student you are describing. If the admitted students events didn’t decide the issue, he could just pick the campus he liked best, the setting or location he liked best, or so on.
What’s his working / career goal ?
Any weather or sports considerations ? Wake is in the ACC which means fun hoops and football.
Something must have stood out at one etc ?
The “inclusive” nature of the WUSTL campus design, the Coke bottle campus of Emory or - I can’t speak to Wake. Believe it or not, my daughter eliminated it after our visit because each building has a parking lot in front vs a centralized garage so it seemed like an office park to her.
That’s what I mean - there has to something..
Maybe it’s the access to a large city vs a mid size city - in all cases a few miles from the main action. That would eliminate Wake if large desires but maybe the other two if a smaller city desired.
Food quality in the dining hall? I didn’t eat at any (well, maybe I did at WUSTL) but niche student reviews say WUSTL is an A+, Emory a B-, Wake an A- .
Diversity ?
Wake is 64% white with 35% getting need aid so it’s much less racially diverse than the others. Is that a positive or weakness in the student’s desired school?
Emory 31% white and 38% get need aid.
WU is 36% white but only 27% get aid.
The majors and or curriculum within at each school. Maybe they focus on different levels of history ?
Something has to stand out - or - maybe all three will be great and there’s no bad answer.
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My son graduated from Wake Forest with a finance major and a philosophy minor and my daughter graduated with double business enterprise management and English majors. Feel free to DM me if I can help.
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Would you please confirm he got into Olin at Wash U? If that is the case, and he has to apply into the other two - go to Wash U.
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I may be wrong but it also seems they have more focus areas, certainly than WFU but even of Emory although they have some interdisciplinary focus areas.
Not sure what OP is focusing on though - all three may have.
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Depends on the type of business he wants to do. I would eliminate Wake unless theres a cost advantage. Otherwise Emory for finance/consulting, Emory for marketing, WashU for tech,etc.
Emory is generally seen as stronger for businesses, however both have high post grad salaries.
Because it utilizes an open curriculum, Wake Forest should be the easiest of the three to do a double major.
I note many people also do double majors, sometimes double majors and a minor, or a primary major and two minors, or so on at WashU. It doesn’t have an open curriculum per se, but it has a flexible curriculum structure that encourages exploration in depth, and enough different lower-credit majors and minors to make all this feasible.
So, like, my S24 who is a possible Bio major/premed is probably also at least doing a second major in Classics, and possibly a minor in Applied Microeconomics as well. That is possible because that combination would pretty much fulfill all the general curriculum requirements, and the credit requirements for the Classics major and Economics minor are not too high.
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You have three fine choices.
I’m led to believe that Emory and Wash U are a bit stronger academically, overall, than Wake.
That seems to be the case for Business specifically, as both Olin and Goizueta are generally considered top-25 undergrad (and grad) business schools.
To me, unless he feels that “fit” at Wake is superior to WashU and Emory, and assuming all are affordable sans hardship, I think this decision should probably come down to WashU and Emory.
I have not spent time on the Emory campus, but WashU is lovely, and it’s close to the free zoo, the Hill (Italian food), and other nearby attractions. And if I lived in St. Louis, I’d be eating Imo’s pizza about weekly. I rather liked provel and St. Louis style pizza.
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Insufficient information for readers–at least for this reader–to make any recommendation (and I am familiar with all three universities).
Since COA is not a concern and no preferences are stated, maybe campus culture may make an impact on the student’s decision.
Thanks for your questions. COA is not a consideration. My son is an entrepreneur and cares very much about the quality of academics and to be stretched by his classmates. He wants to double major in history and something in business, probably finance. He is hoping for a collaborative environment, smart and kind classmates and some fun, and will likely rush a fraternity. If he goes into IB it would be TMT, but he wants to eventually enter the tech VC world. He is from a large city.
Help me out with this. I don’t know what it means to be “stronger academically”. And frankly I don’t know what the rankings mean.
But anyway, I’ve seen Wake ranked among the top 40 business schools for what it’s worth. I don’t dispute that Emory and Wash U are ranked top 25. So, what benefit exactly will a student get out of attending a top 25 business school over one that is top 40?
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If your son is an entrepreneur, then I think WashU is the clear choice. Look into the Skandelaris Center, the opportunity to be involved in ownership in on-campus business’ for interested students, and the strength of the BSBA entrepreneurial tract. He could also take MBA level courses (WashU is currently ranked number 1 for entrepreneurial focus at MBA level). It is easy to double major there and can have either business or history as primary major. Could also have a business, finance and Entrepreneurial double major with a history minor, or either business focus as a minor. It is very collaborative and not a cut-throat environment per my current senior who also has a business/humanities double major at WashU.
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Just read more about the Skandelaris Ctr., super impressive. Thank you.
Internships are important. As all 3 universities are outstanding with respect to academics, it may help to investigate internship opportunities for sophomore & juniors at each school.
TMT (tech, media, telecommunications) is a popular goal for many targeting IB. There are outside commercial resources for prep in this area which could help a young individual to better understand the tasks in IB TMT. This makes the choice among the 3 universities less critical as such resources are open to all (typically for a fee).
It really depends on the formula the ranking uses. But while taking those into account, the basis for my slight preference for Emory and WashU over Wake is harder to explain… but I’ll try. It’s based mainly on:
- Opinions, stats, and anecdotes posted on this site over the last 15ish years
- The average admit to Emory and WUSTL is a bit stronger in GPA and test scores than Wake. While the kids don’t teach, they do add to the educational experience through their involvement and output. (I’m thinking – classroom discussions, team exercises/presentations, etc.)
- WashU’s endowment is $12 billion and Emory’s is $11 billion. Wake’s is $2 billion. So the former two have greater capacity to provide intra- and extra-classroom enrichment for their students.
- Reputation takes a long time to build. Both WashU and Emory are known for strength in a number of areas. When I am looking at program rankings (which are not, per se, based on rep… but which can move the needle on it…), they tend to be higher, in most, than Wake.
I have them in different “overall quality” tiers, but only by one level. To me, that’s more than close enough for the OP to simply choose based on fit.
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Perhaps someone already mentioned this but Wake has secondaey admissions to business school. After 3 semesters of pre-reqs, students apply based on grades, leadership, and interviews. Ive seen 60-70% rumored as acceptance rate but no offical confirmation.
Emory bba does not require calculus. Every other undergrad b school ive looked at does (i have not researched washu). That might be a plus to some students.
Id also look as geography of where students go for jobs afterwards if your child has a peference on that.
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@prezbucky, thanks for elaborating. Much appreciated.
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