<p>We just got back from dropping off my oldest at WASHU. It was the most reassuring experience. We met many professors who had had contact with my S before and they were wonderful, nurturing, inspiring, enthusiastic people who I know will be great with my S. As this seemed the true closure of the college seacrh that began for us 2 years ago, I felt the need to post. My S got a very generous scholarship there, but if we had had our pick of any school and limitless funds, my H and I agreed that knowing what we know now, we would have chosen WASHU for our S. A truly wonderful feeling!</p>
<p>Congrat's. </p>
<p>If I might ask, on what basis was the scholarship awarded? How did you go about obtaining it? What facts did your S have that caused the school to offer the money?</p>
<p>TIA.</p>
<p>It's great to hear about your S's experience. My S is a senior who's considering applying there. I would very much like to hear more about Wash U from your family's perspective, and I'd like to hear what other colleges your S considered, what he's planning on studying in college, and I'd like to hear about his merit aid, including how he obtained it.</p>
<p>He is considered an Honorary Scholar at Washu. He had to fill out a separate app that included essays for consideration. He is a National Merit Finalist. He had a 1580 SAT (2 sittings) 3 800s on subject matter (I think writing, chemistry and math), ACT-36. He did not have tons of ECs and leadership. What he had was a couple of areas of intense interest. He had tutored multilingual kids for 2 1/2 years. He attended local state univer (thru post secondary) and has 60 quarter credit hours in Japanese before starting washu (for 4 years of college Japanese credit). He is also interested and has read extensively in an area in Psych (having established a relationship in email with a prof at Harvard and Washu regarding this interest). He writes and interviews well with very good recommendations.</p>
<p>He sent in the app and then was asked to come for a 4 day weekend in April for socializing and interviews as a semi-finalist. 2 days after he got home he was called with the offer.</p>
<p>Go to this URL for what WASHU says are their requirements:</p>
<p>You should go visit and talk to as many people as possible. Good Luck! I'd be glad to help if you have further questions.</p>
<p>Northstarmom-</p>
<p>He also considered UChicago, Umich, Rice, Harvard, McGill. Accepted to all but Harvard.</p>
<p>We felt the environment was much more nurturing for undergrads then we had previously known. A woman in line at Subway spoke to me asking if I was there with a freshman. When I said yes, she shared info with me regarding the college's philosphy regarding their students. She said the relationships with students is taken extremely seriously there and stressed in ALL departments. Poor treatment is not tolerated.</p>
<p>There are so many opportunities for students to meet with someone. They have a "Dean for the day" program. Each day there is a Dean available all day for discussion (for whatever a kid might need to discuss). </p>
<p>The students have an adviser that is a 4 year adviser. Freshman year they also have a peer adviser also. When they declare a major, they add a subject matter adviser. Double majors add another adviser. Kids who are considering study-abroad (that is highly encouraged) are in the beginning led by their advisers to get all the classes they will need in to graduate in 4 years kind of penciled in. Study abroad independent study will be put together also based on unique interests.</p>
<p>Many times the money parents are paying was mentioned. The comments from the uni people was always that "you are paying alot of money and have sacrificed for your kids to be here and we are very cognizant of that. You deserve the best and we will do our best to help your student in any way we can and offer the best educational opportunities we can". </p>
<p>Very stressed that these kids are the future leaders and the goal is for these kids to find their passion and engage in it. There are job counselors that meet with the kids (way before senior year) where they discuss the kid's interests and possible jobs in that area. </p>
<p>Across the street is the biggest park I have ever driven thru. In it are the St Louis Art Museum, Science Center, ST Louis Zoo (all free). A place to rent boats, bikes/running paths thruout etc..</p>
<p>(sorry ... just kind of rambling with my impressions)</p>
<p>kdos,
Thanks so much for the great info!
What area of psych is your S interested in? My S is very interested in psych, too. He also likes hard sciences, and I'm encouraging him to combine his interests as so much of psychology now depends upon knowledge of chemistry and neurology.</p>
<p>S wants a college that has caring profs, small classes, diversity and a collaborative, not highly competitive environment. S's main EC is community service, something he does from the heart. </p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you'd be willing to share more personal info about your S's experiences and background.</p>
<p>Thanks kdos, WashU is on Ds list as a REACH school.</p>
<p>Congrats to kdos! My S has just returned as a junior at Wash U, and he purely loves it--his friends, his classes, St. Louis, his fraternity--the whole shebang.</p>
<p>Unlike your son, who is clearly at the top of the heap, this was our son's reach school and it was at first difficult for him to reconcile that while in high school he had been in the top 5% at a challenging private school, at Wash U, his stats put him just about in the middle of the heap.</p>
<p>Academically, he has worked hard and his grades have improved every semester--he made Dean's List for the first time last semester, and we were thrilled. He is a history major, with a minor in business and will be spending spring semester this year in London.</p>
<p>We are paying (nearly) full freight, and we feel like we are getting our money's worth.</p>
<p>dg,
Thanks for the post! Why'd your S pick Wash U, and what has he most enjoyed about his experience? What makes you feel that the high price is worth it?</p>
<p>Congrats kdos. What a star your son is! Wowza. No WONDER he was recruited for that scholarship.</p>
<p>Washu is a great school for academics, especially scientists. They treat the staff as well as they treat the current parents. That translates into an amazing intellectual energy.</p>
<p>kdos, just wondering if that would be the Danforth Scholarship. Many people do not know about this scholarship when considering Washu, and I think its the best part! My friend went to Washu this year as a Danforth Scholar and it makes the amazing washu experience just that much better. They get a very very nice dorm/special camp ahead of time to meet other Danforth Scholars/and a very nice sum of money. There is also a special Danforth weekend before the admit weekend where you meet the president of the university and many key/important people in each department!. If you are considering Washu you should look into this scholarship! However, it is pretty competitive!</p>
<p>Good luck Tutu!</p>
<p>dg5052--wonderful! Glad to hear he likes it so much. Going to London, huh. Has he ever been there before? </p>
<p>Cheers-I cannot imagine the profs get treated as well as that. WOW! Honestly, we had a great time and my H wanted to stay and attend. Wouldn't my S LOVE that!!</p>
<p>shrek-I sent you a PM</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info re: WUSTL. My S and husband will be visiting and doing an overnight next week. My S is interested in (at least today) a medium sized univeristy (5-7,000 students) in or near a city.
Anyone know about the music program at WUSTL? Thanks.</p>
<p>I don't know anything about the music program, but I too dropped my S off at Wash U this weekend. If I had any doubts about this being the place for him they were soon assuaged. It took him about 5 minutes to get acclimated, make friends and be ready to have us depart. Now of course we took full advantage of the offered 3 day parent orientation to spend more time with him, but our purpose for him was to make numerous runs to Target, WalMart etc...Suffice it to say that by Saturday he was ready to be left on his own. He met his advisor this weekend, pronounced her "cool", and said he really liked his peer advisor too. SInce he's having a little trouble getting his class schedule settled they both put him at ease and told him not to worry. They'd help him get it straightened out. Since he's far from a detail guy, that made me feel really good.
The atmosphere at move-in was really comfortable, even with the rain...and monsoon might be a more apt description. While he was moving in kids kept popping in and out and before long he had plans for dinner and beyond. He set up his electronics and let his Dad and me unpack him and set up all other necessities of life. I think he knew it made me feel better..or maybe he really didn't care what drawer his t-shirts were in! Anyway, we left Sunday morning feeling really good about his choice. It's a beautiful place with limitless opportunity and lots of friendly, caring people. What more could we want?</p>
<p>Another Mom here with a very happy WashU sophomore. She is really pleased with all the attention and care she gets from Profs. She is also a Honorary Scholar (but with stats not so stellar as kdos but some excellent ECs and Essays.) interested in, at that time, Psych. Interests have changed some since then and the advising is as good as described above. D had mostly LAC's on her list, WashU and massive State U. After the visit, she came home with a clear first choice. No regrets. Says the students are all very friendly and accepting. The size is just perfect, with enough small classes and personal attention, but with some larger classes such as Chem, Bio, etc.</p>
<p>NSMom, WashU has a major called PNP-Psychology, Neuroscience, Philosophy that D thought would be great. Is your son interested in pre-med? D feels that IS competitive, but I wonder if that isn't the case for all premed programs. Seems like the other programs are much more laid back.</p>
<p>3boysnjmom, I think Lizshup might have a musically inclined (or music major) son who's a Junior. You could do a search for her.</p>
<p>outwestmom, thanks for your informative post.</p>
<p>S is considering premed or working on a doctorate in psych or the hard sciences after college. He has expressed some interest in the PNP program, as he also likes philosophy. </p>
<p>How big are your D's chem and bio classes?</p>
<p>NSMom, I'll ask, but if I recall correctly, freshman year, 1st semester, lecture of approx. 300. and with labs obviously smaller, 15 or so and also smaller discussion groups. 2nd semester and this year (will be) much reduced. They offer many different ways of getting help, from student tutors hired by the school who live in the dorms and have regular office hours for questions and regularly scheduled study sessions with upperclassmen. They really want you to be successful and offer a lot of help, but you have to be willing to take advantage of it. It seems some kids are rather competitive in those classes, but no one is sabotaging others.</p>
<p>Yep, my son is a junior at Wash U and is very involved in the music program but is not a music major. He is in an acapella group, in the choir last year ( doesn't have time to participate this year or freshman year),and taking voice lessons since freshman year. I'm a big fan of John Stewart, the music director and so is my son. My son also sang in the Opera his freshman year. We have found the music program to be unexpectedly good - his voice has really matured in the last two years- don't know if it is age or the quality of the program-probably both.</p>
<p>Parent Orientation and Convocation is great - it does make you feel it's worth every penny, at least until you pay the next tuition bill. My son didn't apply for the full tuition scholarships because of poor communication with the admissions office - it's a huge regret because he was very well qualified. He did apply for and receive the Nemerov writing scholarship and an honorary scholarship (all in all totals what we would have received based on EFC) And this past year he was invited to apply for a fellowship - he was nominated and received money for that as well, which was hugely encouraging for him and a bonus for us. He's a PHP major -interdisciplinary study of the Humanities with an emphasis on history and language. I do have to add a cautionary note that reading about scholarships at Wash U on CC can be misleading- I think maybe two or three of those full tuition scholar's parents post here. There was a mom who posted here a few years ago who had a son who applied for the full tuition scholarships, did not receive one and consequently could not attend. He was a National Merit Finalist, had above 1500 on SAT's and was a good writer. </p>
<p>The attitude that many of you have described about the administration towards parents is very apt. My son's freshman year academic advisor was pretty ineffective and not very responsive - I kept bugging him all year to request a change - he didn't think it was important because he would soon have a major advisor. I e-mailed several people , a freshman dean and McCloud at one point and then handed it off to my son to follow through. He tried to set up appointments and they didn't follow through and he in turn let it slide. So at the beginning of sophomore year I e-mailed the new sophomore dean explaining the situation and asking once again that they get the ball moving. My son had been trying, but my last e-mail to a different person seemed to finally do the trick- it kind of bothered him that he wasn't able to take care of it all by himself but I reassured him that he shouldn't take it personally - that we all need someone to help us at times. It was one of the moments where I just wasn't sure if I was too involved or should have let him deal with it, good or bad. Obviously I decided to get involved but mainly because good advising is one of the reasons we were willing to sacrifice to pay for a private college. In the end my son was thankful for my persistence because his new advisor is a great fit - much more personal and involved - he was if I remember correctly the one that recommended my son to apply for the fellowship.</p>
<p>It seems every year has brought something new, but this year seems to have brought the most obvious signs of maturity,independence and confidence - a huge relief for a mom who sacrificed a career to stay at home and is now trying to get back on track - one more to go, but she is a whole nuther child!</p>
<p>If any of you go to parents week-end, my biased recommendation is to see the acapella concert in Graham Chapel. Most or all of the acapella groups participate as well as the main choir. It's long, but fun.</p>
<p>3boysnjmom
My D just started graduate studies in musicology at Wash U.PM me if you'd like to know about what we now know about the music department.She, and we were pleasantly surprised.</p>
<p>Thanks, cathymee. I just sent you a PM.</p>