My son was accepted. I am really excited about this!
New SAT: 1580
SAT II: 780 on Math 2, and 800 on World History
GPA: 4.0 and school does not weight
Most rigorous curriculum with 12 APs, two classes above AP level, and two classes at local flagship. 5s on all AP exams so far.
Varsity letters and team captain
Math club president
NMSF, and several honor societies
He did not write the scholarship essays.
I didn’t think he would get in due to lack of demonstrated interest. It turns out he had demonstrated interest without me knowing it. He attended the session when the rep came to his school, and he said he was struck with the way that she really apologized to the group of students about Wash U being need aware. Then after he applied, the rep emailed him inquiring as to why he had sent in the FAFSA when he was not applying for aid, and he replied to her saying that he sent in the FAFSA just to make sure that they knew for sure that he didn’t need aid.
@ATXDAD15 According to the Common Data Set for WUSTL, 129 enrolled from the waitlist in 2016, 0 from 2015. The amount offered the waitlist was not listed. The Counselor letter posted did say that they reduced the waitlist offered 50% for 2017
I think it is petty to only blame demonstrated interest for not getting in. Because washu takes into account demonstrated interest, a lot of people who get rejected or waitlisted and didnt show interest automatically blame the fact that they didnt show interest. There is a sense of entitlement in some, not all, (and more so directed at washu than any other school) in individuals with high act/sat/gpa. You will never go onto a cc on a top 20 college results thread and see people blaming such factors besides at washu. Yes washu takes demonstrated interest into account but it is not likely that this would be a determining factor. Like I said previously, To see 40 posts all saying “didnt get into washu but only applied bc no sups”, “didnt get into washu but i showed zero interest”, etc. come on. Even by saying this it is a tiny bit mean to people who got in or are currently attending. Is the only reason why these people got in because they showed demonstrated interest? People here need to stop over exaggerating demonstrated interest. Yes I agree it plays some type of role but for some reason people here think it can completely determine your admission decision.
It’s the same on all of the threads I’m on this year, @toplel, and it’s the worst from parents, imo. On the Rutgers thread, some said their children didn’t get in because of affirmative action, and on UNC, it was because of OOS caps and other things. As a few have said on here, we will never know why the college accepts some and denies others, unless you were part of the decision process…blaming anybody or anything else is pointless. Take your rejection graciously and move on.
@toplel I see what you’re saying but of course we rejected folk aren’t exactly happy with our results. While many of us blame it on a lack of demonstrated interest, it is safe to say that many of use doubt all the other aspects of our applications. I am sincerely happy for you and all the other admitted students–you clearly worked hard to earn your spot and were selected because WashU saw something in you that fit in at their school. I just hope you’ll exercise some sensitivity for the people who were rejected, especially those of which WashU was their top choice.
Not sure what the percentage is. But heard if you reply by checking that box you have to go if accepted. Son got waitlisted with great stats, and will hear from 6 other schools by April 1. Is it true if you check that box you commit?
@toplel I don’t think we’re blaming or wishing we (daughter) get in somewhere they didn’t feel we are the right fit. We are analyzing it for the benefit of future applicants. Also, if we have our first child applying to college, we have no idea where they stand. That’s why we applied to 15 schools from ones that are ranked past #200 in U.S. News up to top 25. Just because they are in the top 2-3% of their class, we know there is no sure thing because there are talented kids everywhere. We literally thought there was a shot for all 6 top private university applications done and also a change that none of these would accept as well. It’s a totally different world for us parents who never saw a college website when we were applying and went off of mail and research at the library. We used typewriters and lined up the blanks to make sure we could fill out the applications correctly. There weren’t a million kids getting 800’s on the SATs because there weren’t the same resources or the same level of engagement in the application process.
I started to write a similar email to @toplel and @Ceciliaagnes but stopped…but now I will just say I also feel the need to defend the “complainers” although my daughter hasn’t received a single rejection yet (those will come on Ivy day and she honestly will be totally fine with it!).
I have not taken the “complaints” as whining and certainly don’t think people are not graciously accepting their rejections or waitlists. There just are some realities that are worth mentioning not only for the sake of future applicants, but because some of these really super qualified students that aren’t getting in for whatever reason truly deserve the chance to speculate why it is that they were not accepted.
Wash U does track visits and demonstrated interest more than most schools.
UNC DOES cap OOS students and the stats of the IS kids are significantly lower than the OOS kids overall.
Some schools are truly not need blind and your ability to pay may hurt your admissions chances.
Some schools are looking for tuba players, soccer goalies, more URMs, whatever…
Every school has the right to try to put together the best combination of students for its entering class, as they see fit.
And it may not always be fair but it is what it is. But there are students that have the stats for a lot of these schools and they and their families are disappointed. This is a forum for them to vent and to get support. Telling them to stop whining or complaining or whatever you want to call it is not necessary and it’s actually insensitive.
Yep, speaking for myself, recorded D’17s stats and outcome hoping that it will help someone in the future, much as those in the past have helped us. I probably let some surprise at the decision creep in, but hey we’re all human. It is not a zero-sum game; we can be surprised at our outcomes and happy for you at the same time!
Congrats to all accepted students! To those that weren’t accepted, best wishes that you find a great outcome elsewhere.
This is exactly why I wrote in my original comment a section addressing those who didnt get in but had washu as their top choice. The latter part of my comment was directed to individuals who didnt even want to go to washu or only applied because it had no supps and were just simply blaming demonstrated interest. I sincerely do hope you find a school that will fit you perfectly and would much rather see students like you who actually want to go to the school be here.
I am not saying that washu is by any means as good as an ivy or top 10 school but in general for other top schools you will never hear this debate going on. For other top schools it is just accepted that it is difficult to get into and that people dont get in because they dont get in. People dont think of themselves as “super qualified” and then expect a seat from the admissions committee. Again I recognize that washu takes into account demonstrated interest but it has gotten to the point where people talk about it so much and blame it so much that people have this idea that they are “super qualified” or even “over qualified” for washu and didnt get in just because they didnt show interest which is remarkably egotistical. I am not saying that everybody does this but trust me this mentality is certainly out there. As a junior at washu i find it rude when people write comment after comment implying or suggesting that demonstrated interest is a make or break factor. Did I really get into washu only because I showed demonstrated interest (incidentally the only thing i did was do an off campus interview because someone called me to set one up)? Honestly?
@BabyJesustakeme Are you sure it’s first come first serve? I don’t want to schedule a visit before I’ve heard from all my schools, but if I end up going to WashU, I would want to visit before committing. If I wait till April first to book the plane ticket, is that too late?