<p>a few notes:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>To all the people citing their impressive numbers and expressing their shock: that’s the problem right there. Numbers are NOT the most important thing to this school. Just look at the CollegeBoard list of “very important admissions factors.” Character/ personal qualities is the first bullet!! Standardized tests is down at 7th and GPA is 11th. CLEARLY numbers are not the key. And a huge list of extracurriculars still doesn’t prove “character / personal qualities” without clear passion.</p></li>
<li><p>admissions are always a crap shoot at the top level; blame it on the process as a whole, not on Wash U. I got into Penn and not Emory… a friend got into Princeton and not Hopkins. </p></li>
<li><p>2010 rankings (ex US News & World Report) rank Wash U top 20, above Cornell, Brown, Berkeley, UCLA, Georgetown and other better-known schools. Don’t underestimate.</p></li>
</ol>