bigred07

Yeah, well, my neighbor's kid turned down a Cornell CAS acceptance to attend WashU. He didn't even want to make an accepted students overnight visit. I believe that that WashU ROCKS! for him as much as Cornell rocks for you.

Milkmagn

It's reputation here in the northeast isn't that great. I didn't hear about WashU untill my senior year

srunni

Well, choosing your college based on its reputation amongst the common man is a pretty stupid thing to do...they're not the ones that interview you for grad school/jobs.

Unless you just want to go to a school that will get you oohs and aahs from the average Joe you might talk to on the street.

nngmm

that says more about you than about WashU.

ST2

Ignorance is bliss for some people.

Elisokool16

Since I'm going to Wash U this fall, I've had to answer the "where are you going to college" question countless times and often to blank faces.

Obviously, It's a little annoying to have worked so hard to get into a school that many people haven't heard of. However, we shouldn't really care. First off, the people who matter know how great of a school Wash U is. The people that act like they know about college and either think that Wash U is in Washington or just plain have no idea what you are talking about are out of touch with modern American education. No worries! Just be happy that you are going to an incredible school, it will only become more well-known!

Milkmagn

not really... A lot mof people in the northeast have not heard of it

Johnson181

^ And a lot of people in the northeast have heard of it.

missmolly

Washington University ROCKS!!!!!!! That is all I will say!!!!!

pmflah

the fact that you or your circle of fiends have not heard of it does not mean its "reputation in the northeast isn't that great". Reputation and awareness are two different things. Reputation is measured by what people think of something once they have knowledge. People who haven't heard of it don't even factor into the equation. Many "ordinary" folks haven't heard of Amherst or Williams but few would dispute that their reputation is excellent. Similarly, among people who have knowledge, WU's reputation is outstanding.

Collegekid12

reputation compared to "the Ivies or Emory, Tufts, NU? What's, I guess, the reputation that WashU has?"

Less prestigious than all of the Ivies and Northwestern and more prestigious than Emory and Tufts is what I would say.

LizziePoo

^^
Why does is matter? I doubt very seriously that an employer will have two candidates from WashU and Northwestern, and pick the Northwestern grad over the WashU grad b/c it's more "prestigious".
What matters so much more than "prestige" is what you do with you education. Once you get in the top 20 schools, individual prestige/rank doesn't matter, because prestige is relative. I personally think WashU is a better school than NU b/c it has good academics and an active social scene, so it's students get more adapted to interacting with people as opposed to sitting in their dorms. That's my personal opinion. Someone else's personal bias shouldnt be the determining factor in your life.

Collegekid12

"I personally think WashU is a better school than NU b/c it has good academics and an active social scene"

...and Northwestern has poor academics and an inactive social scene?

mom of alex

It should not matter what you think WashU's reputation is in making your college choice. Like everyone else said, choose the college where you can study what you have interest in, be happy and where you feel it is a good fit. Everyone will have an opinion on what is the "better" school. As someone stated earlier, your choice of major will definitely influence which schools make your final list. My daughter's final list included both Tufts and WashU because of the major she was interested in. She ultimately chose WashU because she loved the school and could see herself there. She is graduating in just a couple of weeks and had an incredible four years there.

iflylikepaper

what?? washu is less prestigious than nw? washu has a lower acceptance rate, is smaller, and is ranked higher than nw. i don't know, i was accepted to washu, northwestern, and cornell, and i'm choosing washu because i like it the best and i see it on the same "prestige-level," if not higher, than the other 2.