<p>My D’s number two choice is Wingate University, a small private liberal arts college in NC, about 30 minutes from Charlotte. Any opinions on this school? We know a baseball player who is there, and she has visited twice, once the tour and once to visit a class and meet with a few professors. We were impressed. May plan an overnight. She’s been offered a great merit scholarship. They don’t do alot of advertising or recruiting, so they are not well-known. They are not at the academic level of Elon, Davidson, etc. but with an interest in graphic design and communications I am not as concerned with average SAT scores. High Point is her number one, but the scholarship program there barely makes a dent in the overall cost, so we will see what happens at her interviews there in February. Just wanted to know if anyone out there has any experience with Wingate and college life, etc.!</p>
<p>Would she have a car?</p>
<p>She would have a car. It is rural there, about 5 miles from Monroe which basically runs into the town of Wingate. And then Charlotte is about 30 minutes away. From talking to people it didn’t appear to be a suitcase campus, though I know alot of students are from NC. It is actually only about 100 miles from home (SC), but I would like her to come home only because she really wanted to, not because there was nothing to do. My son is at Presbyterian College in very rural Clinton SC, but we rarely see him. His fraternity and intermural job on campus keeps him busy and he enjoys weekends on campus. She will be there on a Saturday in March for Scholarship Recognition Day so that will be her first look at the campus on a weekend. Are you familiar with Wingate?</p>
<p>Is she conservative? Wingate is known for Jesse Helms. Davidson is just about Ivy league, Elon is a great small LA school, and Wingate is 4th Tier.
Nothing against Wingate but always good to compare apples to apples.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply! Davidson doesn’t have communications/graphic design, Elon just now is revamping their communications dept. to have Strategic Communications (from the looks of it they are modeling High Point’s) but with no graphic design in their art dept. (probably too late for scholarships anyway–I had checked them out earlier because my nephew is considering Elon–he’s a junior but has been visiting), and Wingate has Communications with a PR emphasis and Graphic Design minor. High Point is adding Graphic Design as a major and minor also to go with their strategic communications (PR and advertising). Winthrop is also on her list because of their Design curriculum–the academics look great, at least on paper. But it is a suitcase school and very liberal, larger student body–she’d be okay there but it is not one of her top two. She doesn’t want to go more than 3-4 hours away. Clemson is on the list for Graphic Communications, but she really doesn’t want a large university. Would enjoy their football games and would know alot of people, but she’s willing to go somewhere on her own, and might even be looking forward to the change! That was how we found Wingate. High Point Univ is into a huge marketing campaign and she loved it on her 2 visits. Wingate is very personal and friendly–they just don’t advertise! You almost have to know about them from someone. So they are probably 4th tier in the big picture, but she isn’t after prestige. $28,000 for a private school is very reasonable if it’s the right fit. We’ll see. I’m hoping to get some input, especially from some NC people!</p>
<p>I haven’t visited Wingate, sorry, no NC input. I asked about the car because (if you look at what students have posted on the web site that we can’t mention but I like to eat soup and STU, my car has DENTS, and I just read a REVIEW of The Dark Knight) I think Wingate is like a small college near here that I like quite a bit. There is not much “right there,” but there are reasonable things a college student likes to have access to at a larger town (like Monroe) just 3 to 5 miles away. Life is much more pleasant at schools like this if you have a car. </p>
<p>The fact that she has visited twice and likes it is a good argument in its favor.</p>
<p>I’m always interested in what students have to say, and I will certainly be following up on that aspect of her search. Thanks for that advice. I do hope she will decide to go out on a limb and do an overnight–you can learn so much about students from being immersed in dorm life even if it is for a short time.</p>
<p>Hi jtennis, We have 2 daughters. Our oldest won an Academic Scholarship to Wingate. We visited with her and were very favorably impressed by the beauty of the campus and the friendly students and professors. She made up her mind that weekend to attend Wingate. She had a wonderful 4 years and graduated MCL. She is presently in UVA Law School. </p>
<p>Our youngest daughter is an athlete, an all state softball player and junior AA (club) nominee. She loved visting her older sis while she was at Wingate. She spent several weekends there and when time came for her to make a decision we knew it would be Wingate. She is in her second year there and is doing well both academically and on the team. </p>
<p>We’re very proud of our daughters and, like them, have become supporters of Wingate University. if you have an questions feel free to email me. If I don’t know the answer I’ll find someone who does!</p>
<p>I concur. Prestige is often highly over-rated. It comes down to how you (and your kid) feel about a school, whether they will be challenged, have a good time, be safe, and any other personal factors you may have. </p>
<p>That being said, the program at Clemson is top drawer in Graphics. Yes, its a big state school, but within any particular program you find a niche anyway. It comes down to personality and how well you think your kid will adjust to college, in what setting and so forth.</p>
<p>High Point sparkles with new buildings everywhere and a very dynamic President. </p>
<p>Wingate is likely more of the classic small southern college experience and certainly more kids from local counties. When I drove through the High Point campus I was amazed at the number of out of state licenses. </p>
<p>Scholarships are very enticing and with the economic picture being so cloudy, it certainly plays a large role in one’s decision process. </p>
<p>Go where you and your kid are most comfortable and where you think she can excel.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>My husband brought this thread to my attention and so I logged onto his account to comment. I graduated from Wingate back in 1982 and I had a wonderful experience. The campus was/is beautiful and the professors were/are very caring and bright. Access to professors was never an issue and you really felt they cared. My favorite still sends me Christmas cards and keeps up on my family even after all these years! I feel I received a very high quality liberal arts education and I had no problem getting into the University of Florida College of Law where I graduated with honors after receiving my undergraduate degree from Wingate. I grew up in Florida and loved seeing a different part of the country during my college years. The weather was great - we really had seasons (unlike FL) and snow wasn’t common and so it was special - very special to a FL girl! 
Winternational was an awesome opportunity which at that time was unique to Wingate and something that I felt shaped (in a very positive way) the student body. Look closely at that opportunity if your child is considering Wingate. While in the '80s most of my classmates were from NC, almost everyone I interacted with had been abroad (due to the Winternational program) and that makes a huge difference. Winternational whet my appetite for foreign travel and so I then did a semester abroad through Wingate which was amazing. Thereafter I pursued and received a scholarship opportunity to study abroad for a year. (A post Wingate adventure) The fact is though that Winternational through Wingate was the start of my desire to experience more of this large and diverse world outside the boundaries of our country. Do give Wingate a good look!</p>
<p>My best friend’s D is planning to attend Wingate next yr. (unless she gets in Appalachian which isn’t looking very likely). They visted and were very impressed. She loved the student apartments. A girl fr. our church is a soph. at WU and likes it very much too.</p>
<p>As long as she doesn’t need a lot of “city” entertainment, she will be fine. The east side of Charlotte (closest to WU) is not the best part of town. However, with I-485 connecting to hwy. 74 in the Matthews area now, she could get down to Pineville pretty quick if she needed a “mall fix”,lol.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for everyone’s input. My D has considered Appalachian State because they have a good Graphic Design program. But it’s probably larger than she really wants, and with it being an out of state public school, the merit scholarships are not as good. If she goes somewhere that large she will probably go to Clemson, because she has a good scholarship offer and it is in-state. Though it is ironic that it only costs about $3-4,000 a year more to go out-of-state to Appy than in-state to Clemson. SC public colleges are not a bargain compared to the states around us! She just can’t take the $7000 of state Palmetto Fellows scholarship money across state lines! She will be going for scholarship interviews at High Point at the end of the month, and then to Wingate for scholarship recognition day in March. Hopefully she will get a feel for the incoming freshman and the student body in general on those visits. Both schools seem very friendly. Wingate appears to be 70% NC kids. High Point draws 70% from out-of-state, mostly Maryland and the Northeast. Not many SC kids there. One of her biggest concerns is that she is going to be in Graphic Design/ Communications (unless she switches back to Interior Design if she goes to High Point–Wingate doesn’t have it), and having to take alot of art classes, she is not an “artsy” kid and doesn’t want to go to an “artsy” school. That ruled out the Art Institute and the Savannah College of Design quickly! She’s well-rounded, will attend athletic evens and play intramurals, might want to join a sorority, will be involved in some type of FCA or faith-related organization and service club by choice, is very social yet studious, will want to stay on weekends if the campus is not dead (if it is she’d end up at a friend’s campus I’m sure), so basically she just wants a college with “normal” students. Glad to hear such positive reviews for Wingate–they may be one of those “best kept secrets” in NC. That was the way one of the HPU professors referred to High Point before the school went on this huge national marketing campaign! But for them, it was necessary because the enrollment was dwindling. Their president has really turned it around–it really does “wow” you. Their branding statement is …where everyone receives an extraordinary education in a fun and caring environment. And that is exactly the way the campus feels–lots of energy!</p>
I was excited to see your post. My son was offered their highest scholarship. We just toured the campus and were impressed. I ask everyone I meet about this school and nobody has a negative thing to say. That is a great law school. You should be proud. This is the same path my son wants to take. My concern was such a small unknown school would be downgraded by the good law schools. You relaxed my fears. I welcome any more advice you would be willing to share!
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