@caty122333 ah no it doesn’t. thanks for the reply though! I guess I’ll still call, but it’s not looking like they’ve given it to me. But it makes sense, it’s not a crazy long drive for me and I’ve already visited.
@ars4978 I was encouraged to apply for various scholarships through emails from the school, if that’s what you’re asking (I always assumed that everyone received those emails). I honestly believe I was WL because I showed absolutely zero interest in the school. I pretty much added it to my common app for the heck of it.
@mattyhan I don’t believe showing interest would make the difference with acceptance. I really doubt it.
@FireBallsDJ - actually Wash U takes interest very seriously. Because all you have to do to apply is check a box, they want to see proof that you actually want to come. I was lucky enough to get in (after visiting and completing one merit scholarship application) but my two friends who had very similar stats were both flat-out rejected. Wash U says clearly at their info sessions that they EXPECT you to fill out merit scholarship apps if you are truly interested.
However when talking about other schools, you are right. For example, Duke says that they do not take interest/visiting into account because they feel that such is unfair–many families do not have the resources to have their student visit, so using whether or not a student visited as a part of the review process would give an advantage to more well-off families. But because Wash U doesn’t have any supplements, they need another way to assess how badly students truly want to attend.
ED admit here! Thought I’d just share the following things for clarity/transparency:
- I don't have the option on my pathway to go to Multicultural Weekend. I think this is because multiculti attendees are on travel grants and it's completely free. I'm hispanic/asian.
- I only have the option on my portal of scheduling a Spring Preview visit and it's NOT paid for by a travel grant.
- I visited in the Fall during Discovery Weekend. That wasn't paid for either and I'm from CA.
Even though I didn’t get a travel grant, I’m not too sad. It’s understandable that WashU pool it’s recruiting resources towards people who haven’t committed to the school yet. I don’t think it’s my financial situation either, I’m on 56k FA and they waived my enrollment deposit and housing application fee.
WashU is definitely generous, but in the end they have to be conscious of how much they spend per student. I think the travel grants/multicultural weekend invites were sent to students not committed to the school yet, haven’t visited, or have yet to receive some sort of “gift” from the university itself.
Hope this provides some help!
^ Are you saying that you got 56k in financial aid? Wow that’s great! I thought that your family was in the 140-160k income from another thread. Is that correct? WUSTL gives that much in fin aid to upper middle class families? I’m super curious now!
I wouldn’t think any school would provide free travel to ED admits. They don’t need to “recruit” you. But RD candidates who don’t have the travel grant should call admissions to find out if it’s an error.
@goingnutsmom I think its hard to assume what someone will get with FA just based on family income. If a student has other siblings in college at the same time than yes you can see big FA awards even with family incomes of 140-160K. We are still awaiting FA award sometime this week but are expecting FA because of multiple sibings in college at the same time.
agree with @desie1 I don’t believe ED admits would be offered the free ticket voucher unless they are one of the scholarship finalist.
I’m not sure anyone will definitively find out the “interest” question. The common data set indicates that they consider interest, but it’s not especially important. My DD visited and interviewed but did not send in scholarship applications (against my advice). She got in. Like all holistic admissions procedures, we don’t know. It’s frustrating, but that is the way it is! I know we’ll be similarly perplexed when she gets other results back.
@sodapop027 I was just speaking as someone who showed zero interest besides applying. Never visited, never interviewed, never applied for any scholarships. I got in, over the top 10 ranked people in our school with 2300+ SATs. I had no hooks either. So, either my essay was that strong (idk, I didnt let anyone else read it), or something…
@FireBallsDJ There could be other things that led to your admission in stead of others at your school. For example, if you chose a less popular major, they may have decided they need more students in that major compared to others in your high school.
@PAO2008 I applied for bio, so I guess there were lots of spots since it’s CAS?
I can think of many reasons son got waitlisted. For one, he didn’t show any interest, no visit, no interview, no show when adcom was in his school (he forgot about it) and no scholarship application. He has high GPA and ACT but only one AP with the exam score. Plus he wants to be an aerospace engineer in his essay but WUSL has no such program (he applied for ME). Maybe also he is a junior. We don’t know why but will move on.
@herewelearn Wow! From what you just wrote, it’s AMAZING he was waitlisted instead of rejected! (I don’t mean the only one AP part - I’m talking about the complete lack of interest shown and not meeting the admission officer because he “forgot” to attend as well as the interest in a major they don’t offer)
@herewelearn To be honest, they waitlisted a lot of highscoring candidates!
@desie1 11 kids from his HS applied for WUSL and 1 ED acceptance so far. Son’s stats are among the highest. We also didn’t send SAT II either, should have.
I hear alot of people saying they got waitlisted because they didn’t show interest, but what for those who did?
I visited, did merit scholarships, went to info sessions, and even sent an extra essay outside of what they asked for (a sort of Why WashU because there were specific programs that caught my eye and wanted adcoms to know that. I would think I’m on the higher part of the spectrum stat wise, and I would say my major isn’t super populous (or atleast not what they’re known for).
A little frustrating, but still hanging in there 
Has anybody received FA yet?
does everyone get a travel grant?
I was accepted RD but didn’t interview, visit, or apply for merit scholarships.
The only thing I did was email with a schedule change and attend the info session when a rep visited my school (although I’m not sure if the list of kids who attended was even given to WashU.)
I honestly applied because I didn’t want to write more supplements, and once I found out I’d missed the interview request date I was pretty sure I wasn’t getting in because of low demonstrated interest. Admissions can be somewhat random, I guess- they might have been looking for an Alaskan bassoon player.