Info for the Class of 2030

Top Ten Things in my Experience When Applying to and Experiencing Wake Forest

1. Quality over quantity. As you reflect on your involvement throughout high school, don’t try to speed-run through everything you did; find a few concrete examples of moments that impacted you.
2. Anyone can write a good essay topic, but it is up to you to make that topic worth reading and prioritize the quality of your writing for both your essay and supplements. 
3. Focus on why Wake is the right school for you, not the other way around. Maintaining this attitude throughout your process will keep your application to Wake Forest specific and help you advocate for yourself in relation to the resources available at Wake. 
4. Enjoy your senior year. College applications are important, but they aren’t everything. Don’t sacrifice your entire year to squeeze in five new extracurriculars for your resume.
5. Even after my application to Wake Forest was submitted, I kept in contact with my regional admissions counselor throughout the year. I emailed him about things I did throughout my senior year, either in my community or academically, to show that I continued my work ethic even after all my college applications had been submitted. 
6. I won’t lie to you; college’s first week or so can be rough. Being away from home for the first time, making entirely new friends, and figuring out how to be an adult can be stressful. However, after about a week at Wake, I knew I would be sad to leave when I graduated.
7. Take advantage of Wake’s importance of tradition. Wake values tradition more than any other school I know. Rolling the Quad after a victory, going to Pitsgiving, attending Lovefeast, running at Hit the Bricks, and dancing through Wake ‘n’ Shake are just a few of the highlights of my Wake experience and bringing the campus community together. 
8. Get involved on campus. All clubs and organizations are extremely welcoming, whether a club sports team, a capella group, or student government; they all value first-year engagement and want to share their passion for their interests and pride for their school. 
9. One of my core memories here at Wake was my first Lighting of the Quad. This is a tradition around the holiday season, when student organizations and administration perform performances and speeches on the quad, bringing the entire campus together. This made Wake truly feel like home.  
10. If I could give you one last piece of advice for this year, this is incredibly cliche, but just know that everything works out how it should. That might be the last thing you want to hear because, trust me, when I was a senior in high school, I felt the same way. I didn’t understand why everyone told me that until looking back now. Everything works out how it should, and you will understand why this time next year. Just trust the application process and keep doing what you’re passionate about.

Hope to see you next year!
Hailey Auster

I can’t forget about spruce needles, how they’d jab into my right index finger. Spruce trees filled the edges of my backyard, resting on a sea of white rocks that split my backyard in half—there was the driveway on one half, and on the other—a mat of rocks on dirt, the color of sand. 

Spaces of green have always commanded my attention, but not like before. Since I stepped foot on this southern campus, it feels like mustard greens, elephant ears, bumble bees, fungi and perennials are only a few inches away from tapping my shoulder wherever I walk. 

Here, gardens are full. I have rosemary sprigs to pinch and smell, purple basil to snip and eat, zinnias, African marigolds, sweet roses and fleabanes to dry on my wall, bulbs of strawflower and amaranth to keep in bowls, a bush of hydrangeas to hold in tomato cans, anemones and sea lavender to squeeze in old wine bottles freckled with dust.

I have plants living amongst me. I can wait for carnations to unfold and break from its shell as it catches light that slips through my window shades. Even the okra I used to eat in Nigerian soups followed me from home, filling my hands, maroon and ripe. 

I was afraid that the blocks of concrete I attached to my name kept me distant from this campus, that my urbanness was only reserved for the brick and steel towers that guarded me from smelling cherry blossoms and sunflowers, from touching the palette of dahlias. And if we can keep this between us, I hope Wake’s landscaping team can forgive me for snagging flowers from the quad. 

But I don’t keep all of these flowers to myself; I share them with my dear friends. In a way, I get to share a part of me with my friends and the Wake Forest community.  We can all take notice of something that builds a new home for us in our own way. Connection doesn’t have to start on this campus. 

To me, a part of being a student here is getting to share who you are, while carrying pieces of home and making other communities yours. As you’re searching for a new community, whether you’re already on campus or are hoping to be, don’t be afraid to pluck those flowers from the quad. 

One afternoon Matt Clifford, Assistant Vice President of Campus Life and Dean of Residence Life and Housing, saw me waiting for a clear coast to pluck roses outside of the gym, and told me to just “take ‘em… they’re meant to be enjoyed.” To extend his generous encouragement—just take ‘em, because they’re meant to be enjoyed by you and by the next person walking across from you.

For seniors interested in Wake Forest, I would start by advising you to make the most of your final year by getting involved in any extracurricular activities or completing any certifications offered at your high school. This allows for admissions representatives to get a fuller understanding of you, your interests, and how you can be an asset to their college campus. Advanced Placement (AP) classes are also great ways of getting credits before college and give you the opportunity to get ahead in divisional requirements, and they also show your commitment to academic rigor. 

If you have submitted an application to Wake Forest, I would definitely suggest choosing to participate in an interview – whether video or virtual – as the next part of your admissions process. Having a conversation with a member of the Wake Forest admissions team gives the opportunity to share more about yourself, your academic interests, and what makes you engaged by the university. Interviews help to bring your application to life as you are able to make an impression beyond your essays and Common or Coalition Application. 

And speaking of that application, remember that Wake Forest is a university, so try to frame your responses, whether in the main or supplemental essays, in terms of your genuine intellectual curiosity. Admissions representatives want to know you, but remember the life of the intellect is always at the top of their minds. (This advice holds true for your video or virtual interviews too.) 

Finally, I would advise you to demonstrate as much interest as possible! Getting in touch with and creating a relationship with your local Wake Forest admissions representative is a terrific way of doing so and something I found really helpful during my admissions process. I was able to continually demonstrate my enthusiasm for being a part of the WFU Class of 2027 throughout the year and communicate any further accomplishments I had achieved or leadership positions I had filled after submitting my application.

I’m so glad you are considering applying – or maybe have already applied to Wake Forest! I can tell you from experience that Wake Forest will help you to find your passions and prepare you to lead a life of meaning and purpose. 

Go Deacs!