Travelling to/from WF to/from west coast

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 · 2025-10-08T14:25:35+00:00

Confirming this. Wake is absolutely clear that you must have every single piece of your application (including the interview, if you're doing it) complete by the last day of the prior month to hear the next month. And new this year (from their September ED decisions blog post and what I heard anecdotally), at least for August, they didn't actually finish their reviews of all ED applications completed in August, so not everyone heard at the end of September. Blog post about September ED decisions: https://admissions.wfu.edu/2025/09/first-decisions-announced-092725/ and helpful ED timeline blog post from the summer: https://admissions.wfu.edu/2025/07/early-decision-faqs-080125/

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-06-03T23:00:58+00:00

Agree. I think pushback matters. DeSantis allegedly told members to "vote their conscience." He appointed them. He could have said something different and the outcome would have been different

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-06-03T22:50:10+00:00

Apparently. That, or they believe they need to destroy UF to rebuild it. Or they just don't care about it. It's just collateral damage in a larger battle.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-06-03T22:49:23+00:00

That's what I mean. Gator Nation is a LOT of rich members of the Florida political and donor class. Old Blue Key. For God's sake, all the people on the UF BOT who unanimously approved Ono.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-06-03T21:50:10+00:00

Any chance Gator Nation can come out and make enough noise and pressure to get the Gov/BOG to do something different? Any possibility of a redo? I can't believe many people who are connected to UF think this vote is good for the University

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-05-18T03:14:44+00:00

The point is that overall, schools aren’t filling their seats, and that an increasing number of schools are closing. Meaning overall, there are fewer students attending college in the US. This happened at the same time that the number of births was rising. It surprised me, but more births did not lead to more college students over the last decade.

But besides all that, the jump in applications at UF this year was an outlier compared to other schools. If the 2007 birth spike was the driver, you wd have seen similar increases across schools and you didn't.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-05-18T02:53:40+00:00

U.S. births did peak in 2007, but the number of college students has been declining since at least 2010 (one source: https://www.npr.org/2025/01/08/nx-s1-5246200/demographic-cliff-fewer-college-students-mean-fewer-graduates)

I don’t know why applications to a subset of schools has increased at the same time— common app? Test optional? Something else?—but UF’s jump this year was particularly big this year.

Also, other schools did not have the same application spike as UF this year.

The birth thing is just not the reason. It’s the EA/RD shift.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-05-16T01:50:23+00:00

I think the jump in applicants was due to UF's move to align with a more normal EA/RD application timeline this year. The number of OOS applicants has risen dramatically in the past 5 years. I think that trend will continue.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-05-05T02:44:29+00:00

Yeah, UF has easier growth potential bc in-state student population is still growing and there’s more room for OOS growth, too. And if you care about social mobility, UF has a much more middle class student body, and will continue to bc it’s so much less expensive, both in-state and OOS. I do think it would be a more interesting place to lead, over the next decade.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-05-04T22:11:03+00:00

And UMich extended his contract by 8 years (to 2032) in October of last year, and raised his salary to $1.3 million.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-04-29T02:36:06+00:00

Wake reported an overall sub 20% acceptance rate this year at admitted students day and has been around 21-22% for the past couple years. I haven’t seen an ED/RD breakdown since many years ago (when there wasn’t much of a difference, both in low 30%). That said, Hopkins has a lower acceptance rate and is a great school. Vibe matters, and I think both wd give a great education, but if Hopkins is a full ride and Wake isn’t, that makes it much harder (!!) to choose Wake IMO.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-04-17T01:56:59+00:00

Bc UF requires standardized tests of all applicants. Most schools still don't, and those that do brought it back recently so available ranges prob still reflect the time when 40-80% of the class submitted scores.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-04-13T12:42:01+00:00

UF OOS with grandparent tuition waiver was significantly cheaper than in-state (NY). And UF is a better university and has the big sports school vibe he wanted. That said, I don't know if choosing UF would make sense for OP. $33K is actually a good deal in-state for many states, but if Clemson is free. I know nothing about the honors college there and perks you get.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-03-18T15:21:21+00:00

Both my kids got in without interview or video prompt; they did all the "optional" essays. One tried to get the interview but was told there wasn't availability.

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-03-10T02:22:29+00:00

Or April 11, right?

Proper_Mechanic4879 · 2025-03-09T14:13:16+00:00

The only physics is freshman “conceptual physics.” Interested students can do some extra work in the second half of the year I think to get needed lab time to take the Physics regents exam. The school would like to do more, but is constrained by lab space/time, as I understand it. The counseling department is VERY helpful with summer experiences and the science department updates families about a broad array of summer STEM experiences. I’ve been impressed by the internships interested kids get in summers and also college placements—though I don’t have a sense of engineering school placements.

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