<p>HAHAHAHA Just kidding.
I knew some of you would be like "OMFG HE'S GOT TO BE JOKING."</p>
<p>But theres been so much negativity here on the WashU board!
What's all this talk about being over-qualified, or needing too much FA?</p>
<p>Is it true that they waitlist the overqualified and low-income?</p>
<p>It really makes my acceptance feel a lot less significant...</p>
<p>Well, WashU is NOT need blind. When my mom researched this last year, she found a statement on it from WashU that basically said they fill 90% of the freshman class without paying attention to the student’s ability to pay. But, usually the pot of financial aid money runs out at that point and the other 10% of the class is filled mostly with students who have the ability to pay tuition. </p>
<p>However, there are a number of students at WashU who do receive aid. And while many say WashU’s financial aid is lousy, it has not been in my case. The school was very generous and I know plenty of people who are thrilled with the aid they received. </p>
<p>Also, be proud of your acceptance! It is not an insignificant accomplishment to get into a school like WashU. Almost evey selective school will have to waitlist qualified applicants simply becausethere isn’t enough room for them, not because they are overqualified!</p>
<p>Yeah, the school isn’t need blind, but they’re really not stingy either — I got in with 40k+ in need, although that was last year, and that was totally covered. Not trying to single people out, but it is certainly not difficult to find posts on here that are literally trying to make “acceptance feel a lot less significant.” WashU admissions (like that of ANY college) picks the students that it feels will best fit the school. None of us has any way to say if ‘overqualification’ and need really factor into that decision, but the fact of the matter is that WashU gets a lot of highly qualified applicants, and it accepts 1,400 highly qualified applicants each year, as best as it can choose them. End of story. </p>
<p>No one is ‘overqualified’ to attend WashU, although it is possible that the school wait-lists people it believes to be using it as a ‘safety.’ Waitlisting low-income students, on the other hand, would not make any sense - making students pass the ‘interest test’ by staying on the waitlist doesn’t change the fact that they’re low-income students who will still need lots of aid. It would be better just to reject low-income students if that’s what they want. In reality, though, WashU is increasing financial aid this year despite everything, and so I really don’t think that financial need is the ‘culprit’ that all the waitlisted students are looking for. Sorry, WashU can’t admit every National Merit Scholar (etc) out there…</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptance, it’s a great school!</p>
<p>Okay thanks y’all.
That makes me feel a lot better.
There was just so much cynicism going on, especially with all the waitlisting that I’ve been seeing. </p>
<p>And I’m very happy about being accepted. and looking forward to multicultural weekend! :D</p>
<p>The negativity and cynicism will die down once people get over the initial shock that WashU did not choose them and felt other people were a better fit. Notice, I said better fit not necessarily better. Given the very high quality of the applicant pool, defining better is not an easy task. Once on campus and you have the opportunity to experience the fantastic quality of the next freshman class, you will be amazed. At that point it becomes obvious why WashU students love the school the way they do. At the same time, I am sure that many of the “now” dissapointed people will be very happy at their final choice.</p>
<p>I’m bumping this because I feel it’s important for people to read :P. (So don’t get mad)</p>