February 2022 Scholar Blog

Hey everyone! My name is Nick and I am a part of the Winston-Salem cohort for Wake Forest University’s College LAUNCH for Leadership program. The February Saturday Summit, “Discover Wake Forest,” is a notable tradition among all College LAUNCH participants. Luckily this year’s members of LAUNCH, including myself, got to experience all the great things that Wake Forest University has to offer and gain a better understanding of what’s to come for senior year and college applications. Let me take you through it!

The day started with a welcoming speech by Mr. Thomas Ray, an Associate Dean of Admissions at Wake Forest University. He assured everyone that though the college search process can be difficult and strenuous, it can also be exciting and lead to many possibilities—however, this all comes with being prepared, something that LAUNCH works incredibly hard to do. One of the most rewarding aspects of College LAUNCH is getting to know how the complex college system works, which takes us to the first activity of Discover Wake Forest: being a Mock Admissions Committee for a fictional university (Great Lakes University). Parents and students at Saturday’s Summit evaluated three college applications to Great Lakes and Mr. Ray was able to walk everyone through the real expectations and setbacks that come with accepting, waitlisting, or denying students. Whether it’s the level of difficulty and success in classes, extracurricular activities, test scores, recommendations, or essays, they all play a role in getting accepted into a university. With this information, students like myself were able to grasp how to submit college applications that express who we are and also express what a university can gain from us being at their institution. 

Now as important as it is for universities to see if their applicants are a right fit for their schools, it’s just as important that students decide which universities are a right fit for them to apply to and attend. One of the best ways to see this is by touring schools and this is exactly what our next activity brought us to: an in-person campus tour of Wake Forest University! I’ve been able to have campus tours of many elite universities, but I would say that Wake Forest is a large contender for one of the most beautiful campuses that a school can offer. I love libraries! It’s a great place to study and an even better place to experience literature to its fullest. Being able to see Z. Smith Reynolds Library was amazing and hearing about the collection of Maya Angelou’s work in the library was a dream. I also have a passion for art and the way it conjures the pulchritudinous of the human mind. This made gaining knowledge of the theatrical performances, art shows, and musical concerts at Scales Fine Arts Center so intriguing, only adding to what Wake has to offer. Though we weren’t able to see Wake Downtown, it must be stated that their pre-med and engineering buildings are said to be fantastic to the eye and something to look out for. I wish I could go over every building, from Reynolds Gymnasium to Worrell Professional Center (which houses Wake’s School of Law), and the historic Wait Chapel, but the next activity to discuss is of high importance: lunch. There is a multitude of options at “The Pit” in Reynolda Hall that can make you crave breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a combination of it all. If you want something more healthy and nutritious? You got it! If you are craving pancakes, pizza, or cupcakes? You got it! There are a plethora of places to eat around Wake Forest, but good food has to be paid for somehow. So let’s return to understanding the college process by going through our next activity: financial aid.

Mr. Ray facilitated a discussion about what the best steps are in understanding college costs and financial aid. As what he described as the “sticker price of a school,” that price can be expensive and look unpayable. But he told us that’s why we have external scholarships, federal grants, state grants, school scholarships, FAFSA, and so much more that will help almost any student pay for the school they get accepted into. To get the best financial aid support, one has to start early and ask for help in the first place. A student could go to their school counselor, scholarship websites, parents, or the school they’re applying to in order to see what’s the best aid offered to them. Also, all LAUNCH Alumni are able to reach out to Dr. Ellison and the College LAUNCH team for support with this, as well. 

In the final activity of the day, it was time to hear about the college experience through LAUNCH students who attend Wake Forest. In a comfortable and open environment, Mr. Cesar Grisales (Assistant Dean of Admissions at Wake), parents, and students asked questions about the black experience at Wake, what college schedules and roommates are like, their expenses, and what LAUNCH was able to provide for them. Their consensus was that it takes time to get used to college and the different environment it offers compared to high school. College LAUNCH provided unparalleled opportunities to understand college life. Experiencing college, especially as a black person, can be hard but what matters is understanding that you are building towards your future. Wake Forest provided each student with a great amount of aid, and they all decided to take the opportunity to come to this school because they knew it would help them achieve their future goals. 

Just like that, the day was over and my peers and I had gone through “Discover Wake Forest.” I can’t put into words how much I appreciated this opportunity. I gained so much valuable information that I can already see helping me in my college application process and my college career in the future. What I initially viewed as the complex inner workings of the college system is now the understandable paths one can take to get to the schools they desire. My College LAUNCH peers and I have a ways to go before we open the Common App on August 1st, but I know that for me, I have less anxiety and stress going into the world of college applications.