<p>My son chose WashU over other top schools because of a great scholarship (H and Y = $0 in help). Four of the top kids from his private prep school (school that sends a fair bit to Ivy’s) were heavily recruited to WashU. Three of the top 4 were offered admission and 2 of these (valedictorian [my son] and a dual enrolled highschool/college kid with a 2400 SAT) are current freshmen at WashU. </p>
<p>My son loves the atmosphere, gorgeous dorms and park like environment with stately stone buildings, plus the fabulous food. He is quickly realizing that he is now not top dog as most of his classmates were also top of their class. Its been an adjustment. But he is honored to be at a school with the best of the best. The kids that go there know that they are the top of the heap, but it fosters healthy cooperation and not cutthroat competition. </p>
<p>WashU has a reputation for outstanding research opportunities for undergrads, even more so than the ivys in the running. S will be heading to grad school and a PhD and he felt a strong research school positions him better for grad school than an ivy. If he were thinking of law school, he may have thought different about ivys, but he’s a science kid.</p>