In the words of Wake Forest, applying Early Decision II “the opportunity to show your interest in and commitment to us.” They care a lot about how much you care about them. That said, Wake Forest that Early Decision applicants aren’t given preference in admissions. Statistically, though, that isn’t really the case.

Yes, they use the same criteria when reviewing applications ED II (barring recruited athletes), but the way the numbers work out shows us that a higher percentage of applicants are admitted ED than Regular Decision. Maybe this is because ED applicants tend to be more qualified than the regular application pool, or maybe it’s because the demonstrated interest of ED is super impactful, but, whatever the reason, applying Early Decision does offer qualified and competitive applicants a boosted chance of admission. Overall, the acceptance rate is just under .  

In this post, we’ll break down everything you need to know to apply Early Decision II with the strongest chances of admission.

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Early Decision offers your best chance of getting into Wake Forest, and if the ED I deadline has passed Early Decision II is your strongest option. Simply applying ED II isn’t enough, though, as you need your application to stand out from the pack of similarly qualified and driven applicants. This is how to write a supplement (and more) that makes your application shine.

Why have you decided to apply to Wake Forest? Share with us anything that has made you interested in our institution. (150 words)

It is easy to treat this like a throw-away question, but don’t do that. It’s true that “anything that has made you interested in our institution” is super broad and possibly overwhelming, but it also offers an opportunity to kick-off your supplement with a very specific hook for why you are a strong fit for wake forest. We recommend focusing on your prospective major, and maybe your minor if it is a really logical pairing given your background. For example, if you want to major in political science with a minor in economics, and have taken lots of classes in both, that would make sense. However, if you want to major in political science and minor in a language, but you’ve never studied that language, this wouldn’t be the place to make the case for it.

It's also important to speak on a specific facet of the Wake Forest community that is meaningful to you. Don’t talk about the architecture or lawns. Instead, highlight a club, student group, program, or cultural aspect of Wake Forest that makes you feel like the college is your perfect fit.

After this question, which is required, they introduce their “optional” supplemental prompts:

We welcome the opportunity to get to know you beyond the numbers. You are invited to answer any, all, or none of the following optional short-response questions.

If you read our posts, you know that optional isn’t optional if you want to get in. So, yes, you are going to answer all of them.

List five books you've read that intrigued you. 

Wake Forest asks for the title, author, and whether it was required or not for five books. While they can all, technically, be required reading, they shouldn’t be. We advise that only one or two should be required reading, but at least three need to be books you read (or are reading) independently.

Don’t just put books on the list that you think sound impressive, either. If you, as a teenager, think a book sounds impressive, it is highly likely that the application reader will either be incredulous or roll their eyes. War and Peace? Leave it off unless you’re specifically interested in studying literature. And while including nonfiction is fair game, try to only include one celebrity memoir, if any. Having a list full of SNL-alum memoirs doesn’t communicate what you may think it does, especially if you’re applying to study a STEM subject. Similarly, we’re capping you at one self-help type book. This includes any book that is trying to teach the reader how to be better, smarter, richer, or healthier. You can put one on the list, but no more than that.

And what if you have nothing to list? Start reading. Audiobooks count.

Tell us what piques your intellectual curiosity or has helped you understand the world's complexity. This can include a work you've read, a project you've completed for a class, and even co-curricular activities in which you have been involved. (150 words)

We love this prompt, but we don’t love that you only have 150 words. This means that every single word must do something towards not just conveying a fact, but communicating a story. The reader should feel this prompt, as much as they cerebrally ‘think’ it. How? Zoom wayyyyyyyyyyyy in. If you did a project about octopuses, don’t write about that, write about watching an octopus at an aquarium for 2 hours waiting for it to move, sneezing, and looking up to see it had moved only when you were otherwise occupied. If you are fascinated by patterns, write about finding fractals in Romanesco cauliflower or a fern frond or a shell at the beach. If you care deeply about words, pick a punctuation mark, and dig into it. Whatever your choice, your care and attention must be palpable.  

Dr. Maya Angelou, renowned author, poet, civil-rights activist, and former Wake Forest University Reynolds Professor of American Studies, inspired others to celebrate their identities and to honor each person’s dignity. Choose one of Dr. Angelou’s powerful quotes. How does this quote relate to your lived experience or reflect how you plan to contribute to the Wake Forest community? (300 words)

Ok, so they let you choose a quote. Your first instinct may be to Google to find one. While that is a fine approach to start out with, we have a word of caution: make sure the quote you pick is real. The internet is full of incorrectly-phrased and misattributed quotes, and you really don’t want to write a whole supplement around something Maya Angelou didn’t actually say or write.

Once you have your quote, though, what is your way in? The easiest way to write this supplement is to stick the quote at the top, and then write about it. That works, technically, but isn’t the best approach if you actually want to get into Wake Forest. Instead, start with a piece of a story that leads you to the quote you picked, then weave the quote into the fabric of the supplement. This shows thoughtfulness, skillfulness, and artistry. And, most importantly, be authentically yourself. Don’t try to ‘sound deep’; focus on sounding authentic.

Give us your Top Ten list. (The choice of theme is yours.)

This one is such fun, but also pretty intimidating. What do you do when you can do anything? Our response, typically, is to write a list that accomplishes two goals. 1) The list should reveal something about you that hasn’t already come up in the supplement. 2) The list should be playful, fun, or even a little comical. Don’t aim to make the application reader laugh, but it’s great to get a chuckle. So, if you are science person, maybe it’s your top 10 elements. Or if you are a math person, maybe it is your top 10 buttons on a graphing calculator. Or if you are a writer, it’s ten ways to start a sentence. Or if you are a future historian, maybe it is 10 moments that changed the course of history, but no one knew it at the time.

THE INTERVIEW

Wake Forest offers of telling them about yourself. One, the supplement, you will have already done. The other two are interviews options: a video interview, or a 20-30 minute virtual interview.

After you submit your application, you will receive information about the video and virtual interview options via email (so check your email). Once you receive that email, you have only five days to make your choice — or pick any option at all. Neither the video nor the virtual interview is required, but that doesn’t mean that you should skip an interview. You can, though, pick which one works best for you.

We help students prepare for and excel through virtual and video interviews. If you are going it alone, you should most definitely prepare notes ahead of the conversation and remember one key thing: interested people are interesting people. You always want to show that you are interested in others, and that you are curious about who they are and what they love about Wake Forest. So, if you are doing a virtual interview, go in with questions and turn the interview into a conversation.  

An application to Wake Forest offers a variety of ways of letting them know who you are and how much you care. Don’t miss the opportunity when it’s offered. Remember, optional isn’t really optional if you want to get in.

Every year, we help strong students get into outstanding schools. Email us to learn more.