Advice on admission chances for Washington U of St. Louis

My son is a rising senior and just visited Wash U. Prior number one choice was Notre Dame but now Wash U after our visit. He plans to apply ED. He has a 4.2 weighted GPA, 5 AP classes all with 4 or 5 scores to date, 1560 SAT(780L & 780M), interested in Bio and got 780 on bio subject test, 4 years of crew with 2years varsity. 1 internship, summer job, NHS and several community/service activities through our church

Visiting and showing interest is very important to WashU, so I think he is in great shape. Did he interview while there?

Thanks. We tried but interviews were not available that day. We live in PA so getting back to do so is not possible

Hopefully he will be offered an alumni interview – it just depends on where you live, and if there are alum close by. You do not need one as it is hard to reach everyone who applies. If possible, attend a college fair that WashU is attending. Good luck to your son!

Agree that Wash U has traditionally considered expression of interest. Applying ED is probably the best way to show interest, but having an alumni interview would be good too.

Is your son thinking premed? Lots of kids wanting premed apply to WashU–they can’t take them all, so it’s a competitive bucket to be in. Your son’s stats are outstanding, for sure. (My SIL was premed at WashU (Chem major), and also from Pennsylvania. Terrific premed program.)
Crew is only a Club program, so your son won’t be recruited. Still, varsity sports is a plus. Full-pay would be another plus.

Thanks. He is not interested on rowing in college. We can do full pay so hopefully a plus. He is going to reach out to see if there is an opportunity for an alumni interview locally.

Exciting! When did you visit Wash U and was it one of their special visit days where they highlight the major and go into more detail?

Not a special visit day. Originally wanted to but could not make it work. Everything was wonderful even though it was a rainy day with no students there. Gorgeous campus, amazing dorms, wonderful neighborhood especially Delmar Loop. The amount of support provided to students and the community feel discussed were impressive. I had never been to St.Louis and frankly had fairly low expectations which were totally changed. This was the last of our college visits and we have been on quite a few. This was a last minute add at recommendation from a friend and now is his number 1.

WashU is a special school – it has the same feeling now for my student as it did 30 years ago when I attended.

With those academic numbers plus demonstrated interest (visit + full pay/ED), admission chances are good.

Also check the following for interview options:

https://admissions.wustl.edu/visit_site/Pages/FAQs.aspx

^the link above no longer works-they made changes to the website.

New link for interview information:

https://admissions.wustl.edu/how-to-apply/interview/

My S was accepted and so excited. Congrats to all the new Bears!

Congratulations! I guess my prediction was correct.

Could you share scores and which department he god accepted

got accepted

Hmm, I didn’t know DI was such a big thing at WashU…I assume it’s way too late to do anything about that at this point, though? :neutral:

Demonstrated Interest is extremely important to acceptance. Many students with Ivy league scores and GPA’s are tuned down because Wash U does not want to be second choice. They favor students with slightly lower than Ivy stats with demonstrated interest over those who are coming only because they did not get into an IVy. Thats what make WAshU so special. The student population wants to be there. My D just finished her first semester. She loves it. The students are all goal oriented and very accomplished. For the most part, these are not entitled kids with an attitude. It’s a wonderful environment. This is my fourth and the experience has been vastly different from the other schools. It’s never too late to show that you are sure about WashU. Be persistent, interview with alumni, go visit and attend a class or two.

Thank you for all the Wash U information. Are admissions rates much lower for Olin than Arts & Sciences? My DD is writing her essay today (she was deferred from Wharton). She is interested in an undergrad business education, however, there are many majors in Wash U’s Arts and Sciences that interest her a great deal.