We are going to be honest… 10 years ago, no one was asking us about Wake Forest. And looking back, maybe that was odd because it is a great school. Maybe as the kids say, it was just “slept on.” Wake Forest used to be the South’s best-kept secret, but the secret is now out!
Wake Forest is quickly becoming a popular choice amongst our students. Looking at recent data from the school, it’s actually not just amongst our students. Wake Forest is getting more and more popular and with that their acceptance rate is falling and alumni parents are starting to ask questions. A couple of years ago when their acceptance rate was in the mid-40s, alumni parents weren’t exactly nervous about their legacy students getting in. But now that the acceptance rate is much closer to 20%, many parents are asking us, “what does that mean for my legacy student?” So we thought we would break it down, demystify legacy admissions at Wake, and tell you what your student needs to do to get in.
Does Wake Forest consider legacy status when it comes to admission?
Yes, but keep reading.
Like most other colleges, it's really hard to research legacy admissions at Wake Forest. The school doesn’t publish much and third-party blogs are only starting to pick up on Wake Forest. However, we do know the metric that Wake Forest has used in the past to score applicants. They rank factors from very important to not considered:
If you look at this chart, you can see that Wake Forest does consider “alumni/ae relation” aka legacy status. They rate the importance of legacy stats with other factors like race, first-generation status, and geographical residence. You might be asking “what does this mean for my kid though?!?!”
Simply, Wake Forest will look at legacy status. They do care, but that it isn’t a guaranteed “in.” If anything it will give your student a very small bump. All of these “considered” factors are less important things like GPA and class rank and essays. Legacy status is even considered less important than smaller factors like interviews and recommendations.
So will my legacy student get in?
It depends… We look at legacy numbers across schools and we always find pretty much the same thing. With schools that look at legacy status, legacies are admitted at a slightly higher rate. We don’t know the exact legacy acceptance rate for Wake Forest because they do not release this data and when asked, they told us to shut up and go away. But we can tell you not all legacies get in. And honestly probably, mathematically, most legacies don’t get in. And we can promise that all the legacies that do get in are good candidates in their own right.
This Isn't Legally Blonde
There is a stereotype about legacies that they aren’t the brightest and they are just using a name and money to get in. In our experience, this is very far from the truth. Some legacies do come from privileged backgrounds, but that means that funds have already been invested in their educations and experiences. Legacies routinely go to top high schools, work with top tutors, and have great resumes. The legacies that get into schools like Wake Forest are good candidates outside of their status. Your student should be pushing themselves to be competitive amongst these types of candidates.
So what makes a competitive Wake Forest candidate?
Wake Forest tells us exactly what they find very important in a candidate: rigor of high school classes, GPA, class rank, essays, and personal qualities. A great candidate will also have great recommendations, interviews, extracurriculars, etc. But let’s look at that first string of very important admission factors because it's, for lack of a better word, important that they shine in those categories if they are going to be let in.
Classes
There are three academic factors Wake Forest is looking for and they are really related. If your student takes hard classes and does well in them, they will both have a good GPA and class rank. For the Class of 2025, 69% of those admitted were in the top 10% of their high school class and 91% were in the top quartile. Legacy families routinely get great tutors the minute their students' grades start slipping so often legacies have very high GPAs even if they are taking the most challenging classes. Try to have your student do the same.
Essays and Personal Qualities
How do schools know about a student's personal qualities? Well, there are a few places that this can come through, the biggest one is in essays, but this can also come through in interviews and activities sections. This is our favorite part. Wake Forest has a 20% acceptance rate which means that not all kids with perfect grades will get in. They need the rest of their applications to shine and we can help with that. Their essays need to be fun, moving, and creative. We help students figure out which parts of themselves to put forth in essays and come up with gripping stories that exemplify their best character traits. Admission offices routinely write personalized notes on our student’s acceptance letters talking about their essays. From our experience, a fantastic essay will do a lot more to move the needle than legacy status alone.
We should also note that Wake Forest tracks demonstrated interest, meaning following them on social media or going on a tour might give your student a tiny bump. They are also a school that has been test-optional since 2008.
We love Wake Forest. We find that we send some of our kindest kids there. The school has a lot of little quirks, and we love strategizing the application. If you are nervous about your student becoming a Demon Deacon just like you were, we can help.
Reach out here!