Washington University in St. Louis Visit Report by beadymom

Visit Activities:

Information Session: Yes - Found the information session helpful. Admission officer, teacher and student presented the information. All topics were covered - testing, essays, financial aid.

Campus Tour: Yes - Tour guide was very enthusiastic and pleasant. Described the campus buildings as we passed along with personal stories.

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Campus:

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Tour guide was very nice, didn't visit with any of the other students.

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Very clean, lots of green area, not too spread out - put plenty of open space.

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Buildings were Old English style. New buildings were being built to match the older ones. New buildings in the Engineering department and new freshmen dorms.

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We visited a Modern Double. Very nice and new. We did not see the traditional dorms and were curious what they would be like. It looked like the buildings were quite a bit older.

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Blue light poles everywhere. We were told if activated the police would be there very quickly.

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We were very impressed with the campus overall.

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Off-Campus:

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Very nice and safe looking. Forest Park immediately to the North with lots of attractions for free (zoo, museum, planetarium). Restaurant/entertainment district within walking area.

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Lots of activities available in the St. Louis area. Students are given a free metro pass so they can get on the metro on campus and go many places.

Campus Visit Notes for Washington University in St. Louis

Visit Description:

We visited during an Engineering Day tour.

We arrived early and were able to find the parking without a problem. The front entrance of Brookings Hall is very impressive - like walking through the front entrance of a castle. There were guides to point us in the right direction, so we didn't have any problems finding the registration.

The tour was very organized, even though there were many people there! We were offered pastries and coffee while we waited to be called for the tour. Also, bottled water as we left for the tour. They kept the tour sizes to around 20 so it was easy to hear the tour guide.

The tour guide was very enthusiastic and passionate about the school. She did a very good job of talking and walking backwards at the same time! (haha) She had a lot of knowledge about the school and also interjected some personal stories to keep it interesting.

Most of the tour was from the outside, but we did go through the student activity center (DUC - Danforth University Center) and we saw a double modern dorm room. The activity center was fairly quiet when we went through initially (8:30am), but was VERY busy during lunch - probably from the huge crowd attending the tour!! The dorm room was very nice and clean. Two twin beds in one room with a connecting bathroom to another room with two twin beds. We would have loved to see a traditional dorm room, but it was not on the tour.

She then brought us back to the "Chapel", which isn't really a chapel, for the information session.

The general information session was very informative. The speakers were an admission officer, a student and an engineering professor. They discussed a lot of important things - double majors, test scores, essays, financial aid, clubs, study abroad. After a short break, there was an engineering specific information session, with a visit to one of the buildings and frozen custard to follow.

We skipped out on the custard and did a little exploring on our own. We walked through the halls of the three engineering buildings. Very nice! Then made our way back to the DUC for lunch (they included a $7.50 pre-paid card for the student). The lunch was good, but as I mentioned above the dining hall was VERY busy at that time. Makes me wonder what it would be like on a typical day during the school year.

I was very impressed with the campus and organization that went into the tour to make it run so smoothly.

The only negative that my DS saw was that he was not allowed to have a vehicle on campus his freshman year. Since this was our first college visit, I'm afraid he will see that at many schools and will change his opinion eventually! :)

Hotel/Lodging Recommendations or Comments:

We stayed at the Cheshire in Clayton. It was a very nice hotel and only about a mile south of campus. The price was comparable to other chains in the area. They had a swimming pool and free brkfst.

Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments:

We went to the "Loop" on Delmar Ave and ate dinner at Pi. The pizza was wonderful, along with the atmosphere. Very fun looking area for the students to hang out.

Other Comments (Transportation, local attractions, parking, etc.):

We also visited the Arch while in St. Louis - only about 15 minute drive. There is two metro stops at the edge of campus and the school provides a free metro pass to all students for all four years.