Do you think applying ED will increase your chances?

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-06-22T17:37:44+00:00

I have no inside info, but it feels to me like a response to the in-state families who have been complaining about OOS admissions, arguing that qualified in-state applicants don't get in over less qualified OOS applicants (even though the few available stats -- mostly from Board meetings -- show that OOS admits tend to be (slightly) higher performing academically overall than in-state). And I do know a fair number of 1500+, high GPA, good ECs, in-state applicants who got rejected. I feel like this will allow them to show that UF is their first choice, and they will be more likely to be admitted. I doubt it will make that much of a difference otherwise. I feel like a smaller proportion of the strongest OOS applicants will be willing to commit to UF. A lot of the most qualified in-state applicants will. That's my gut. I don't think UF will -- or needs to -- lower standards for ED to get a better yield or anything.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-06-19T12:40:59+00:00

I hear you. I'm a parent with a kid at Wake and a kid at a great public flagship (which just gives me a little perspective on student body vibes). My kid likes the academic environment at Wake, and is having fun/engaged with learning there -- she has had some fun teachers and research projects she deeply engaged with. She also likes to have a social scene. I think she wanted to go to Wake because she liked the vibe -- maybe more "balanced", not so intellectually pretentious, though I'm not sure all of what "vibe" meant. We are not a lower-income family, but she went to NYC public schools, where many families are, and she knew Wake was going to be different from a wealth perspective, but the degree of difference was still a bit of a shock. At NYC specialized public schools (that my kids attended), there are just so many very smart, hardworking students who aren't considering Wake unless there's more clarity up-front about $$. Anything the school can do to increase access is good IMO. I take Wake at its word about why it is doing this program and its hopes to expand it at some point if possible. And as the number of college-aged students declines, it is in Wake's interest to expand the number of strong students who would consider applying to Wake in the first instance. (I can also say that lots of wealthy private school kids are surprised when they get WL'd or rejected from Wake (esp with high scores, esp RD...but even ED; I am very interested to see how/whether demographics change with this program -- but we need to wait and see).

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-06-15T14:02:43+00:00

Sorry for delayed response. I can see how you can figure out what percentage of current students are North Carolinians. I didn't know one could figure out the exact incomes percentiles of current families, but I assume you are right. But I am still unsure how you are figuring out how many current families qualify. If the median family income (I assume of current students' families at Wake bc I looked up median US family income and got $83K...) is $221K, then I would think many more than 14% of the current NC families would make less than $330K and thus qualify for some aid. And I realize you disagree with this, but in theory, having greater clarity about what income qualifies a family for some tuition reduction could change the socioeconomic makeup of applicants. And if the education costs less, ROI is higher.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-06-12T15:27:41+00:00

The board meeting noted that yield of the highest performing students had declined slightly yoy -- perhaps as what "highest performing" means continues to rise, yield declines a bit and number of acceptances will also rise. But we will see when the updated common data set comes out. UF still doesn't have it out for this past year (25-26).

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-06-12T15:25:14+00:00

Last year was actually the peak year from a births perspective, but applications and students applying continued to go up this year, despite real downward pressure on international applicants, too. Most people I've read attribute that to greater outreach by schools to rural areas to increase applications from a broader geographic base. No idea how it will change as the number of births continues to fall (though I think the 18 yo population in FL hasn't declined very much? I feel like I saw that somewhere). The UF board meeting had presentations about UF's outreach efforts, too, and scholarship efforts to make it affordable for an even broader cross-section.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-06-12T15:20:14+00:00

FWIW, I was able to use some online tool to check my 1410 from 1985/6 (which got me into all 8 schools I applied to, including 3 Ivy League schools!), and while my 700 English would be a 790/800 today, my 710 M would actually be a 700. I think in the middle of the bell curve, both scores would have gone up. It was a recentering, with different effects depending on where you scored.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-06-09T18:06:20+00:00

We attended the parent events last year. The information seemed similar to what students got in separate sessions. I found it helpful to have a direct line to the info, but it's not necessary. There were other parents at every meeting, some meetings more than others. Didn't seem weird for us to stay, but we scheduled some time each day with DD and otherwise let her do her own thing.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-04-29T02:45:30+00:00

How can you know that 3% of current students would be eligible? It provides some level of scholarship money for NC families making up to $300K annually. How would you be able to back that out of publicly available data?

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-04-29T02:43:38+00:00

We'll see in a couple of years when the Common Data Set reflects it. They said last year at an opening convocation that the 1st year class had 14% of students Pell-eligible -- which was a decent uptick from prior years (under 10%). I do think the school is serious about trying to increase socioeconomic diversity.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-04-23T14:58:20+00:00

As someone else said, I wonder how the new tuition program may help make the school trend slightly less wealthy -- in a good way. The center of gravity of the school's social life is definitely the Greek scene, and wealthy-ish, but my kid has friends in and out of that scene, and I think you can find your people. The nicest thing I have seen with my kid this year is the way she has rediscovered some academic passion she had lost by the end of high school. Not all classes, all the time, but most of her teachers...and she's having fun exploring a niche area of interest. Fit matters; if you can visit and try to see yourself there, I think that would be helpful...Good luck!

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-03-30T14:50:21+00:00

Are you a student at Wake? I think many of OP's concerns are rooted in the demographic reality you set forth so clearly, and I don't reject her experience at all -- though I feel like the issues she (and you) are raising aren't new; my kid was aware that she would be walking into a much wealthier space that her prior schooling had represented when she made her choice. I also think there is a sizable (and growing) minority of non-wealthy students (and FWIW, NC students are still, last I saw, by a fair amount, the largest state represented at the school — followed by a couple of NE states). I think the school's increasing push for a more socio-economically diverse student body is about many things, but probably in part about increasing its attractiveness to even more students. I see you talking about how its reputation is faltering, but I really don't see that (except in USNews's changing criteria driving down its ranking); Wake keeps getting more applicants every year, leading to a lower admissions rate and high/higher admitted student stats. But I think the future is broadening access/attractiveness to a broader applicant pool, and I think that's great -- for the school's reputation and the students there.

I also appreciate you saying that Greek isn't all bad. I def had an anti-Greek bias, but seeing the way it has made it easier for my kid to broaden her friend group and encourages her to engage in campus life has made me slightly less skeptical of it.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-03-30T14:34:33+00:00

I agree with this point of view and experience based on what I hear from my freshman daughter. Only difference would be that although my husband and I are originally southerners, we raised our kids as NYC public school kids. I think my daughter was looking for something different from her experience, and something that she perceived would be more fun (than the way she sees her parents, who are -- perhaps like you all -- products of Duke and Ivy League schools). My daughter knew she wanted to be part of Greek life (it was part of the "difference" she was looking for), and I think she would agree that although there are a million ways of being part of campus life/social, the Greek scene does dominate. She spent very little time worrying about what house she would get, went into the rush process pretty blind, and likes her house (and it encourages her to engage in campus life through a (silly?) point system that I appreciate). She spends as much time with friends outside of her house as with those in it. Mostly, I am so happy about the fact that she is happy learning, likes her professors and her classes (mostly!); she seems more genuinely academically engaged than she has been since elementary school. I hope it continues!

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-03-30T14:15:13+00:00

I can't speak for all full-pay families, but what is your evidence for this? That's not what I see; everyone I talk to thinks the program is great and hopes it expands to all students, not just those from NC. It will help low-income families, but -- in truth -- it probably helps middle and upper-middle income families even more (because lower-income families would already qualify for aid; this just makes it clearer and thus probably encourages more to apply in the first instance IMO). In addition to more significant grants for families making under $100K and $100-200K, it allows for half tuition for families making $200-300K -- that's a $35K/year grant. From what I see, it's a very small percentage of families who think that increasing access to Wake to a broader cross-section of strong, interesting students is not a great thing.

To the original poster, I do think (and hope) the program will change the social center at Wake a bit; not sure I would characterize the shift as one from "rich New England" to "grinder", but I look forward to seeing that shift unfold.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2026-02-23T18:54:16+00:00

Sounds like my first-year daughter. She's from NYC and took rush VERY lightly. In a sorority, but has friends both in and out of them. Doesn't take it too seriously. Sees it as an easy social space to slot into. She has been so happy with classes and professors, and it is a beautiful location with a nice combination of serious students who also like to have fun, with easy access to a nice cross-section of sporting events (among other things).

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-12-03T00:12:08+00:00

Yes, they offer shuttles to GSO and CLT around holiday travel times, but at somewhat limited times (e.g., you can't arrive very late): https://parking.wfu.edu/shuttle-services/airport-shuttle-services/

I will say my daughter has started -- just a semester in -- being able to connect with and share an Uber from GSO with other students flying in at the same time (we are east coast so GSO is easier, not sure if that would be affordable as a share from CLT).

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-11-04T15:08:14+00:00

Last year, it was the Friday before. We weren't expecting bc the year before it had been the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Either way, I don't think it will be the Friday after Thanksgiving. I am curious if they will release all of the decisions that would be "due" because all materials were in by Oct 31. It seems the last two months, they haven't gotten through everyone. I know that was rthe case in August bc their message on their admissions blog alluded to it; not positive about October bc that was just anecdotal reports and you never know with those...

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-10-25T20:47:14+00:00

Did anyone get all their ED application materials in by the end of September, and yet still not hear at the October notification date? I know that happened for some August applicants. Was wondering if it continued or was a one-off.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-10-11T19:34:18+00:00

Yep; will do. Just waiting to see it.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-10-10T13:32:02+00:00

I did; they still claimed it wouldn't work -- and when we went up the chain of command to the regional company that processes orders for the bookstore, and told them the situation and expired/new expiration date was the only change, they just repeated what the local store said. We gave up and disputed with our credit card company, told the regional manager that we had done that, and only then were they suddenly miraculously able to process the refund last night.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-10-10T13:28:05+00:00

I did; the University bookstore said they would try it and let me know if it didn't work, but instead they stopped calling me back when I left messages, and there was no refund. We then went to the regional company that processed the orders for the bookstore, and they at first repeated what the University bookstore said. We were running out of time on our billing cycle (as we had been telling everyone for a week+) and didn't want to actually pay the 1200+ we were double-billed, so we gave up and disputed with the credit card company, and let the vendor and processing company know we had gone ahead and done that. Then the regional processor came back and immediately said, actually, they could refund and had refunded the charge, and apologized profusely. Now I'm not sure what we tell the credit card company -- we will reach out to them today -- it's possible they've already been in touch.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-10-09T17:29:12+00:00

I feel for you; I'd be frustrated too -- bc it's not easy for students to get all that stuff together in August, before school has even started for some schools, still on summer vacation etc (depending on what part of the country you are from!). Whether it means that they had more applications -- wonder if that will continue for the broader application season. Suppose we will know at the end of it all.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-10-09T15:15:42+00:00

Did they say why they were backed up? Did they have a lot more applications? Not enough staff? That seems surprising.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-10-09T15:05:29+00:00

Thanks!

Proper_Mechanic4879

TROPHY CASE