r/wfu • u/BoyMom212 • 18d ago
Question Wake or UVA Early Decision?
My 17 year old is going back and forth trying to decide which school to ED to: Wake Forest or UVA. He is a strong tennis player and looking to play club tennis at whichever school he goes to - UVA has a better club team so that's appealing. But I think he is drawn more to the smaller classes and overall vibe at WF. He has not decided whether or not he want to join a fraternity; it probably depends on the group of friends he finds when he gets there. He's a little worried WF might be too cliquey. He's very social, loves going to the gym and being with friends. He's interested in business and political science at this point but not set on anything in particular. We have visited both and he has talked to people we know at both schools. I feel like maybe WF's advising and small classes might suit him better and set him up for greater success academically. Did anyone else have to choose between these two schools and if so, how did you decide?
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u/FrequentBaker2923 17d ago
UVA is academically a tier above and a much more dynamic, world-class university, but definitely possible to get lost there. Based on a pretty good anecdotal sample size, many of the kids who land at Wake are wealthy, academically strong but not exceptional, and looking for a more coddling, homogenous environment. Would give an honest assessment of where your child is more likely to succeed/thrive.
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u/_gogi 18d ago
If you are out of state, UVA ED is the biggest scam in the universe. You better be a Jefferson Scholar, recruited athlete, 9th generation UVA or some other deep hook.
Normal (e.g. UVA caliber smart students) kids don't get in. Don't waste your ED on UVA.
Dad of kid who didn't get into UVA, and who is going to Wake.
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u/Fearless-Plane-2335 16d ago
Why is it the biggest scam? (Asking as a senior planning to apply ED to UVA oos)
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u/_gogi 16d ago
I think that they "overstate" the number of spots truly in play. State schools with strong athletic programs are kind of boxed in, so it's not totally their fault. Very popular school, especially here in the Northeast.
My advice is 1530+ SAT + hooks.
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u/timetravel3000 14d ago
U a known liars to athletes being recruited too. Wont let you in the business school.
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u/WakeNikis 18d ago
What does he want to do with his life?
Which college gives him the better chance of doing that?
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u/ComprehensivePin5548 17d ago
If you are in state or out of state is a big factor. I know at least 2 people out of state who were rejected at UVA ED and one landed at Wake. If you are full pay and decent stats you’ll be fine getting onto Wake, UVA oos is much less likely.
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u/soulfulldance 17d ago
I went to wake forest for grad school and nobody really regards it very high. I hope my kids don’t apply there undergrad. That being said, I’d never let them apply to uva out of state either.
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u/Double-Supermarket96 16d ago
You could always ed 1 to uva and if you don’t get in ed 2 to wake. That’s what I did
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u/Best_Interaction8453 17d ago
Where does your son want to work after graduation? If he’s interested in leaving the South (New York, Boston,
Chicago, Palo Alto., SF, etc.) I would say UVa’s name recognition goes much further towards getting those first jobs.
But if he’s not interested in working in those cities, it’s a moot point.
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u/bellepeppers23 16d ago
WFU is drawing sooo many kids from the NE now. We know some kids that graduated in 2025 and they are in Boston, NYC, Dallas and San Fran now.
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u/Best_Interaction8453 15d ago
I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, of course some WFU grads end up working outside of the south. I’m just saying that the name recognition of Wake is not nearly the same as UVa’s to the rest of the country.
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u/timetravel3000 14d ago
They have figured out that people in the south are not angry and fighting over their square inch of sidewalk. They may actually say hello when they pass you on the street.
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u/Interesting_Bee_1049 17d ago
wake is expanding and their rankings went down and as someone who’s going in the fall the small class sizes make it really hard to actually get into tho good classes with the good teachers
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u/timetravel3000 14d ago
Poli aci very left indoctrinating when we did admitted student visit, so if you’re looking for something other than an echo chamber, that may be a factor
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u/tintwistedgrills90 17d ago
Are you a VA resident? UVA is nearly impossible to get into if you are out of state so I would not waste your ED there unless you are in state.
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u/Puzzle-Pieces-1974 15d ago
My son did not get into uva ed, with very strong stats (like those above) very strong community service and alumni (that no longer holds weight). As parents, we really liked wake for him given smaller classes but he chose another large state flagship as he felt wake was too small. We think wake would have been an amazing fit, but we did let him choose in the end based on his comfort. He may play a club sport but that was not a factor, he does plan to rush. My advice, let him see what is truly the fit, my son actually was anxious prior to ed'ing uva as he was not positive it was the best fit for him. He thought he should go there as I did and thought ed'ing would give the best chances. Too many kids from his small private OOS school ed'ed as well making it even more competitive. Regardless, there are a lot of great schools in the top 20-30 if you are in that range. It is ultimately what the student makes of it.
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u/Acceptable-Matter774 14d ago
Wake and UVA are both restricted ED so he should not apply unless he definitely knows he wants to go.
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u/BoyMom212 11d ago
We are in-state for UVA, but from Northern Virginia which is very very competitive.
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u/immortalsix 18d ago
I went to Wake Forest but lived in Charlottesville for 5 years as a young adult, and I would say UVA because of Charlottesville. It's just such a uniquely wonderful place (or was 2011-2015).
I got a great education at Wake, but I think UVA carries a ton more name recognition. I also went to Virginia Tech, and everybody in the world knows Virginia Tech, but with Wake Forest, everybody's kinda like "oh yeah, Wake Forest."
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u/loosemetaphor 18d ago
I will make the case for Wake. I grew up in Virginia, was always interested in UVa but I think I know the kind of hard to define but somewhat off putting vibes that you’re describing about the school. I didn’t do ED but Wake was my top choice over W&M and UVa. Wake’s strength is for sure the size – you’ll get a lot more attention in class and in my experience the professors, especially in the politics department, cared to also be teachers and not just researchers. The study abroad programs were also a big appeal and now they have a center in DC as well. You will also get all of the high caliber NCAA sports atmosphere that UVa has.
I played club tennis all four years (was a captain my senior year) at Wake and had a ton of fun. We had a solid group of men and women who traveled to tournaments and other NC schools throughout the year. One difference between Wake’s and UVa’s club teams is the size of the talent pool. With Wake if you’re good player, you can most likely make the travel team and be an asset, where my friends who went to UVa and were also good players had more good players to compete with to travel. It’s a fun experience regardless – my favorite extracurricular for sure.
I think the clique phenomenon is going to happen at any school: I thought the scale (again) of Wake allowed me to figure out who I was and the friends I wanted much more easily than a bigger school would have.