did not demonstrate interest and got in. just saying 
@CheekyNandos I think if you book on Southwest you can cancel your flight and get a full credit that you can use anytime during the next year. You might also be able to book a refundable flight.
@toplel I understand what you are saying now, but there were a couple of posts that came across differently, but it makes more sense now. And for the record, I do know some “Ivy-rejects” that are in other schools now that are STILL not over it and feel completely victimized and it drives me insane, so I understand your frustration. Getting into an Ivy is like not winning the lottery and then complaining it’s not fair.
There are people that apply to Wash U that only do it because there is no supplement…and as much as I like Wash U, I truly think that this is a way for them to boost their stats and how they play the game (most schools have there own version of this!). As a result, because they are trying to have a good yield, they really do their best to weed out the people they think they just applied for the hell of it because what’s another $70??? (And I think this is fair.) But it’s not always the case…some that truly wanted to attend don’t get in, and some that really had no interest end up getting in. It’s not a perfect system, obviously.
If you ask me, I would love it if all schools had the same EA or ED policies. I think they should all have ED so schools know they are truly their first choice. Then when they get their RD applications they know that there is no one that applied RD that got into an SCEA or REA school…there would just be less game playing. It’s really become such a game and I feel for you students because it’s really an emotional roller coaster.
You are all wonderful, whether or not you go to Wash U or not!
Hi everyone, I’m a current student at WashU, feel free to ask me any questions you might have, I’ll try to be as unbiased as possible!
I’m not affiliated with our admission or financial aid departments so I can’t help with questions regarding those things, but I’d be happy to point you to the appropriate resources.
@collegemomjam This post is mostly an affirmation of what you said, I simply felt the need to write this for the benefit of anyone else reading this thread.
As you mentioned, I do agree that WashU tries to game rankings a little (as do all universities do). Perhaps, this is why WashU has historically wait listed an above average number of students. However, with regards to not having supplementary essays, I don’t think the admissions committee is entirely motivated by increasing the number of applicants received. The lack of additional supplements levels the playing field for students of various economic backgrounds. Some wealthier students can afford to use services that edit (or even write) their essays, thus reducing the inherit value these supplements provide for the admission process.
I understand that this theory is not absolute given that Washu still receives the main common app essay, and has optional scholarship essays. However, I believe that while the scholarship essays may help show some demonstrated interest, they play a minimal role in swaying the admissions committee in accepting a student. I believe they are mostly used for the advertised purpose of granting scholarships to students that show compatibility with the given ‘theme’ of the scholarship. While only an anecdote, many of my peers here (myself included) didn’t actually submit any of the additional essays while applying; we were all too busy with our senior year of high-school! I think the importance of demonstrated interest (specifically with regards to the optional essays) is significantly overplayed on college confidential. I (as well as many other students here) didn’t show any interest in the university while applying apart from my interview (I didn’t even visit campus).
For those of you who didn’t get accepted, I know rejection isn’t a pleasant experience. In my senior year of highschool, WashU was not my top choice; I applied ED to another university that I had fallen for. I was rejected. This devastated me. I was often told that I’d end up where I was meant to be, but I never believed this or I thought that it applied to me. However, I was fortunate enough to get accepted to WashU (a school which at the time was not high on my list), visited the campus, talked to students, explored the curriculum and ultimately fell in love. So far, my time here has been incredible, and I genuinely don’t know if I could have had some of the insane opportunities I’ve had elsewhere. This is not because WashU is better than other universities, its because WashU is truly a fit for me and my passions. I think it is very rare to truly know whether you fit in at a university before attending it. However, admissions departments have a deep understanding of their universities, and thus know what kind of student would prosper. Getting rejected does not mean that the university doesn’t like you, or that they surmised that you aren’t intelligent or worthy. Rather, it often means that they concluded you would fit in better elsewhere. Ultimately, fit determines both how enjoyable and how successful your college experience will be. Essentially, what I am trying to say is that while getting rejected sucks, it can be gift. It certainly was for me.
Good luck to all of you in these emotional weeks ahead!
@CheekyNandos Umm… I’m not sure exactly. They are paying for all the expenses so I’m just guessing that its NOT an open offer without any limitations
@wustlEngineer thanks for your insight. And I do defer to those of you that know the school best. One thing for sure, Wash U is a great place and the more I hear about it and its students, the more I have grown to like it. We are from the east coast and while Wash U has been on my radar for some time, there are many people aiming high that don’t know much about the school.
As I have stated before, my daughter withdrew her app because she got into a top choice during EA and wanted to specifically help a boy in her class that really wanted Wash U. Good news is, he got in (visited twice by the way, lol!) and now they are both going to top choices! I have to admit, part of me wishes she saw it through and if she got in had the chance to consider it…but we are happy for he friend nonetheless. I’m glad to hear how much you love it and happy for all of you that have been accepted!
@wustlEngineer - can you comment about the workload at WashU? Also, what are class sizes typically like? My D is interested in CS. We sat in on a few classes when we visited. I was a little unhappy to hear about the intro to CS classes not having lectures, and that instead you watch videos and just have labs. We also sat in on Intro to Machine Learning, which seems to be a 400-level class. It had 200 people in the class, which was held in a big lecture hall. The size of that surprised me a bit.
Thanks!
@econmomto3 how is your daughter already admitted to Emory? thanks
Has anyone received the package from wustl yet? Is it just an acceptance packet?
@BabyJesustakeme Yep, it’s your acceptance letter plus a few handouts with important dates and instructions on how to commit and such.
@BabyJesustakeme There’s also a paper crown that’s fun to wear lol
Or to make your pets wear
reason why I enroll… haha
Can anyone tell me what the Eliot scholarship is? A classmate of my D’s claims to have gotten 70k a year fromWashu via this award?
@Cubanmom3 From my knowledge, I believe it is need and merit based scholarship given to students that don’t have the ability to pay full tuition.
@cubanmom, it is a need based scolarship. It says it right on the award letter.
Hi Everyone
I’m a mom posting. Congrats to all accepted. I’ve gathered as much info as I can to help figure what happened in our family in that our child not accepted. Here’s what I’ve seen & hope it helps others next year. (from our unique experience)
- Your rep is so important. If you have doubts that he or she is not advocating on your behalf - especially if you are from a small private school - find a way to make that happen if at all possible. Make sure they know how good your school is. Don’t stop advocating for yourself. Hindsight, wish our child had gone back to the admissions office in person and requested another interview with Head of Admissions if at all possible since our rep didn’t know our school or child very well. (after early decision deferral) Trust your gut. Don’t just listen to others.
- Qualifying, Participating & excelling in High School Scholars program in summer not given as much emphasis as they led us to believe. (That demonstrated a ton of interest, but not given as much weight.)
- They give more weight to SAT/ACT score than they do to High School curriculum or they don’t dig enough. (Probably a reflection of the rep not overall admissions.) What I mean by this if several students applying from same school, they are going with the highest test scores likely even though students are equivalent on GPA & one or two (not accepted) attended the High School Scholars Program. The SAT/ACT score given more attention. High School Scholars Program excellent to help student figure out if they want to attend the University, but doesn’t carry as much weight in the application process as we thought. *keep in mind my child had very good test score, High Achieving IB Curriculum, attended High School Scholars Program & excelled in class taken, well balanced student with extra sports, etc. * We had a several apply from our small private school.
- University also coming across more “need blind” than I’ve seen in the past. By this I mean, they appear to be accepting a lot of students that will end up declining because they cannot afford to attend the school in that they were not offered scholarship money they applied for. (Not how we thought Wash U did it.) As far as I know, they do not claim to be need blind, but it appears more so this year. If a university is need blind like Vanderbilt for example, they likely will guaranteed need. If you get in - they will help you with $$ significantly if need is proven. This will contribute to their low yields. High percentage of applicants posting here that got accepted, but cannot attend because of $$ ----this is not helping those that told the school they needed no aid hoping that would increase their chances of acceptance.
- Don’t think they are giving as much weight to the early decision pool that got deferred. If you read Fiske college guide for example, they mention that their acceptances come from Early Decision and/or Early Decision deferred. Not what we have observed with several qualified students this year that were not accepted.
Another note that is just fyi… this is just a hmmm!
Saw where one student got into Stanford, but not Wash U.
Saw another get info Wash U, but not Northeastern.
Saw another get into Wash U, but not Case Western.
Saw student get accepted with full scholarship to Vanderbilt, attended Wash U High School Scholars program, but did not get accepted to Wash U. (Think about that one.)
This post is not meant to take away from those that got accepted. A sincere congrats to all those students. These are just observations by us that we wish we had known to help prepare us.
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@enlightenedmom Thanks for taking the time to write that insightful post. I agree with a lot of what you said. I do think Wash U weights scores more than some schools, but let’s face it, they really do matter more than some schools like to admit. I think once you make the first cut, they may not matter anymore and they start to look at things more holistically, but to make it to the point to be reviewed holistically, you might need to have a certain score. I could be wrong and I’m sure people will argue with this point, but overall that is my feeling.
To Wash U’s credit I do think their reps do value personal relationships with schools/applicants. The little bit of interaction my daughter had with her Wash U rep was very positive and we found her very responsive. In fact, my daughter went out of her way to contact her rep when she withdrew her application, and the rep wrote back the loveliest note and left a very positive impression with us of the school.
Okay, I’m a mom and I just wanted to add my 2 cents about our experience. My son got in. ACT: 32 superscored(33), 4.0 UW, 4.4 W. 10 AP’s. Average (actually mostly low income) public school, although we are not low-income. Debate, Tennis, Eagle Scout, Community Service. I do agree demonstrated interest is important, but my son did not do several of the things that people think are important. He did the Moog scholarship application but didn’t get it. I believe submitting one of those applications is CRITICAL to demonstrated interest. We visited the campus, met with one faculty member and he interviewed with a student from the admissions office. He DID NOT write a thank you note to the student but wrote a short one to the faculty member. He never contacted his rep except when he sent a short email indicating that he had won an academic award and was still on track for valedictorian. He did not get a response from his “rep.”
I went to a top 5 school and interview for it. Students rarely get accepted to my alma mater. The process is often random and doesn’t make sense. I told my kids that by having the right test scores and GPA you would be considered for top 20 list, but that is all. With acceptance rates that are 16% and often as low as 8% or 5%, there often is no rhyme or reason as to why one kid gets accepted and one does not. Someone once said to me that the admissions process is like putting together trail mix. You may be an awesome peanut or M&M but they already have too many of them. At my alma mater, they have accepted one student that I interviewed, in the past 5 years. He was initially waitlisted and the admission rep told me that they eventually let him in because they needed a another physics major.
Just my 2 cents. Take it for what it’s worth. My daughter is a sophomore at a school in the top 10 in the US News & World report ranking. I’ve been though this twice. Glad it’s over:)