Candid Q&A about WUSTL

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>I know that a lot of other colleges have threads organized for prospective students/parents of prospectives to ask questions about everything from campus atmosphere to extracurriculars to classes, and I thought it might be a good idea to start one for WashU (not sure if this has been around in past years, but it's buried now anyway).</p>

<p>Just a little about me, I'm a freshman premed (for now at least!), major undecided. I may expand on that in later posts if it ever comes up, but I don't want to say too much =].</p>

<p>So feel free to ask away, if another current student doesn't beat me to it, I'll be happy to reply to anything!</p>

2

<p>This is a great idea, there was something kinda like this last year and I found it really helpful!</p>

<p>For my part, I am also a freshman, BME major who is thinking about med school but its not quite sure yet. I’ll be happy to answer any and all questions, or if I don’t know the answer, ask around until I find someone who does!</p>

3

<p>Well, I guess I’ll start off:</p>

<p>Since both of you guys are premed, you must have taken at least some kind of chemistry/ orgo classes, right? I’ve heard those are both weeder classes, so I was wondering how hard those courses actually were (in your opinion), and how competitive the classes are, in terms of how many As, Bs, Cs, Ds, Fs people get in the class.</p>

<p>I’m just asking becuase I would hate to know the material really well but do poorly in the class because they down curved it or something of the sort.</p>

<p>2) How much students usually study? (In science/premed/engineering kinds of majors)</p>

4

<p>FACT: Freshmen here complain about how hard Pre-med is at least twice as much as they actually study. And the average person (who puts in the work) still ends up with a B/B+.</p>

<p>(I can’t say anything about BME, as I’m not part of that)</p>

<p>What’s the grade distribution for pre-med classes?</p>

<p>The only real “premed” class I have taken in GenChem 111 (which people say is as hard as it gets outside of maybe orgo), and the average grade on the tests is somewhere around a 65%, which is a solid B. It’s pretty much a bell curve around there, so most people will be somewhere between a B- (55%) and an A- (75%), but I don’t exactly know where to find a precise distribution. </p>

<p>For Calc 2, we actually were emailed the distribution, which I personally thought was pretty ridiculous:</p>

<p>97-100 (A+) 12.4%
93-96.99 (A) 22.5%
90-92.99 (A-) 15.4%</p>

<p>85-89.99 (B+) 17.9%
80-84.99 (B) 12.3%
75-79.99 (B-) 9.2%</p>

<p>70-74.99 (C+) 4.3%
65-69.99 (C) 2.25%
60-64.99 (C-) 1.56%</p>

<p>50-59.99 (D) 1.56%</p>

<p>0-49.99 (F) 0.5%</p>

<p>How much do people study?</p>

<p>Well, lots of people will brag about sitting in the library for entire days before finals, but the truth is that they’re sleeping around half of the time.</p>

<p>On non-exam weeks, most people probably spend around 10 hours outside of class studying/writing papers. Add 4 for PLTL’s, and add around 8-10 hours for each exam before an exam week (most of which you’re probably putting on the weekend). Obviously it’ll be more if you aren’t efficient (lots of people) or favor all-nighters (which are completely unnecessary if you even do a little time-management).</p>

<p>For Chem at least, going to a 2-hr. PLTL (organized study) group each week, studying around 2 hours before a quiz (ie going through the problem set, reading notes), and maybe around 10 hours extra before each test is probably around average/sufficient. I personally went to help sessions once a week, they’re around 2 hours each and I found them very helpful.</p>

<p>Honestly, it’s not bad. If you actually try to learn the material, going to help sessions and whatnot, it’s completely manageable.</p>

5

<p>Well first off we’re both freshmen so we haven’t taken orgo yet (typically taken during sophomore year), but I at least have taken gen chem already. </p>

<p>Some people might call them weed out classes, and I won’t say that they aren’t, but they do not grade particularly harshly. For example, on the third midterm this semseter in gen chem (the most recent test I have this information for), the mean score was a 67, where a 75 is an A-. The median was even closer at 71, something most likely caused by some kids not trying very hard since you are allowed to drop one midterm out of the three. In my opinion, the class does require a fair bit of work, which will knock the kids who only kinda want to do premed out of contention. However, if you put in that work, it will be very easy to obtain a B or higher, as nitwitoddment said. You will not do poorly if you truly know the material.</p>

<p>Again, I can’t speak for orgo, but if you hear that orgo is going to be too hard for you, it is always possible to take it at a school closer to home over the summer, where it will likely be much easier.</p>

<p>As for the amount of time that is spent studying, it really depends on the major and what classes you take. BME 140 (Intro to BME) is an absolute nightmare in terms of how long you have to spend on the problem sets for about 90% of the students. It is certainly not an intro class you take to decide if you are possibly interested in majoring in BME. But other than that, I don’t think I ever spent more than 15 hours studying on a given week throughout the semester. </p>

<p>However, in hindsight I would recommend spending more time throughout the semester studying and really learning the material, as it will make midterms much less stressful, and also you wont have to learn the entire second half of the semester of Calc III in 2 days like I had to!</p>

<p>In conclusion, gen chem is not the nightmare that everyone makes it out to be. With the slightest sense of time management and planning ahead, you should be able to do well and still go out 3 nights a week. </p>

<p>(Let me know if BME is something you’re interested in, and I can tell you more about that specifically.)</p>

6

<p>As a premed in Art&Sci, I guess I will put some of my own input into thsi thread.
I cannot really say for other people, but I generally study for ~12 hrs/wk (not just procrastinating and seeming to be studying) on non-exam days, and maybe ~15-18 hrs/wk on exam days. As the posters have said above, definitely try to learn your material really well, especially for classes such as gen chem that really emphasizes complete understanding of the material. All-nighters are just stupid, especially right before exams. I have not pulled them in high school, and I will not do them now. If you are one of those people that do this, try to change your habits for university. It will only hurt you if you maintain this habit. Manage your time well, maybe put up a little schedule for youself. That way, you have a goal to reach every day, and try to stick to this schedule to the best of your ability. Try to work ahead even if you have accomplished your daily objective. (still working on that :wink: )</p>

<p>For certain classes like gen chem lab (Yes, it is a separate class from gen chem that covers quite different materials; tbh, it is more like the actual chem class while gen chem is more like a quantum mechanics physics course), I cannot stress this enough. FINISH YOUR LAB REPORT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AHEAD OF TIME. Get a friend or two to work with you. (this does not count as collusion, or at least the TAs don’t seem to care, unless you share actual lab results) That way, you can have discussions with your friends if you disagree on the pre-lab portion, calculations, or conceptual questions for the entire lab report. You not only have a much higher chance of getting a better lab score (since it’s much rarer that both or three of you got the same wrong answer), but also learn the material better through insightful discussions. 70% of the lab report can be done ahead of time, and you will also save a lot of time within the lab. (since if you don’t finish ahead of time, you will spend quite a bit of time during the lab to finish it, which can be really rushed) I know people who could have gotten perfect on the gen chem lab final (yes there is a midterm and final as well; this class is a lot more work than a 2-credit course -.-‘’) and still would not have pulled off a bare A-, and people (much rarer :P) who could have literally pulled less than a 50% on the final and still gotten a solid A.</p>

<p>The reason I focused on this course so much is because it is such an archetypal example of a class that doesn’t stress on how intelligent you are, but how well you prepare ahead of time. (and what type of friends you hang out with :smiley: )</p>

7

<p>This is an awesome idea! And very helpful! :)</p>

<p>What do you guys think of the dorms there? Did you choose modern or traditional? Could you list some pros/cons of each? And what you might say is the “best” or most popular in each category?</p>

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<p>How good is the engineering there? </p>

<p>Is the campus considered conservative or liberal?</p>

<p>Is this school considered a party school like Duke, USC? Or more studious school such as Rice?</p>

9

<p>Dusty: First off, from what I have heard of other school’s dorms and what I have seen from friends that I have visited at other schools, WashU truly has some amazing dorms. Regardless of modern/traditional, the rooms are much bigger than anywhere else I have seen, the stuff here is nicer (especially in the modern dorms), and the atmosphere provided by having all of the underclass dorms in one place (the South 40) is awesome. </p>

<p>I live in a modern double (suite style) in Dardick House. I really enjoy living in modern housing, since I don’t like having to carry my stuff to the bathroom (what is in the traditional housing), which I guess you would just get used to. Modern doubles are definitely the most popular choice among freshman, but one drawback is that they can sometime be less social than traditionals. I don’t know that this is entirely true, because I have heard from friends in other dorms that my floor is one of the most social floors out of all the freshman. There are always people hanging out in the common room, working in the study rooms, and just generally out and willing to talk/hang out. </p>

<p>Modern Pros/Cons:
+Nicer rooms in general
+Share a bathroom between a suite of 4
+Nicer common rooms

  • Apparently less social, but not in my experience
  • Not as centrally located as the 3 freshman traditional dorms</p>

<p>Traditional Pros/Cons:
+Central Location on the 40. Especially Ruby, which is as close to the dining facility as you can get without being in SoFoHo itself
+Definitely force residents to be more social with the entire floor
-Old
-Community bathrooms</p>

<p>Thats all I can think of right now, if I forgot something just ask it specifically and I will answer it as soon as I can.</p>

10

<p>ArtDad-
Even though I am an engineer, since I am a freshman I have only taken one engineering course and I won’t take another until next year. Hopefully one of the older posters who is an engineer will come along and help you with this question.</p>

<p>That being said, I have heard nothing but good things about my program, Biomedical Engineering. All of the guest lecturers we had in the intro class seemed very interested in their work, and very happy to be part of the faculty at WashU. Also, the Engineering Student Services office is wonderful! The advisors are extremely helpful, and they have a good record at placing their graduates, whether it be to grad school or into the job market.</p>

<p>Second, from what I have seen, WashU is definitely a liberal campus, just like most colleges in the US. However, this is not to say that if you consider yourself a conservative that you will be shunned. People here are very accepting of all different viewpoints, even the “I really don’t care too much about politics,” although that stance is not very common among the student body.</p>

<p>Finally, in my experience last semester, more people at WashU party than I would have thought. But by no means is it a majority. I think that the statistic is that about a third of the campus drinks regularly, and even that depends on your definition of regularly. But don’t take that fact to mean that a third of the campus cares more about partying. Sammy (Sigma Alpha Mu), the off-campus frat best known for its “blackout wednesdays” had the highest GPA of all the fraternities on campus (at least in 2009, the latest I have data for). So for those who do “party” at WashU, I would say it is certainly a work hard, play hard mentality.</p>

11

<p>WashU is generally considered much more studious, compared to the other unis that are known for partying.
I live in a traditional dorm; I have to say it is very social (a bit too much actually…), and some of the people on my floor do tend to attend frat parties almost every week, though this is only like half of the people, so you will not feel peer pressured. You tend to know your floormates really well since you share a communal bathroom and lack a suite, which usually encourages mostly interaction among suitemates. (a suite btw, if you did not know, is usually like 2 doubles or 4 singles sharing one bathroom in modern housing) Of course, this is not the case for every dorm, as clearly seen from the Dardick example above. Both modern and traditional housing are great and really it is preference and money (traditionals cost around $1000 less) than anything else.</p>

12

<p>Thanks. This helps.</p>

13

<p>Is WashU an ideal choice if one is not planning to go pre-med? Or would it make more sense for me to look into a university that is specifically strong in the field I am interested in. I have heard undergrad doesn’t matter THAT much, and I have not visited WashU yet but it appeals to me. I am leaning towards Visual Arts / Business so is WashU still a good choice for me to look into? And also, I do want to consider fit and the social aspects, but I don’t want to sacrifice possible connections and potential job offers in the future either very much. Do WashU grads in all majors seem to easily get stable or above average jobs after graduating?</p>

14

<p>Just because a large number of students begin freshmen year as “premed” does not mean this school is bad if you aren’t going to med school. From the about half who enter as premed, about 10% end up going to med school on a given year. </p>

<p>You can’t deny that much of WashU’s strength is in the sciences, but there are many other excellent fields of study to pursue at WashU. </p>

<p>You mentioned business and visual design, so here are a few numbers for the B-School and Sam Fox (art/architecture) . The executive MBA program was ranked 2nd in the world by the Wall Street Journal. The undergraduate program was ranked 13th by Business week, and US News and World Report ranked the full- and part-time MBA program as 19th and 10th respectively. Various disciplines in the graduate art school are ranked in the top 20 by USNWR. As you can see, every school within WashU is near or at the top of its field.</p>

<p>Also, a quick search for placement statistics turned up a career center document stating that, of responding students, nearly 90% of them had either job offers or graduate school acceptances by the time of graduation in 2009. The numbers pretty clearly speak for themselves; if you come to WashU and do well, you will not have trouble finding work with employers such as Microsoft, Google, Lockheed Martin and many more.</p>

15

<p>What do you guys think of the dorms there? Did you choose modern or traditional? </p>

<p>Agreeing with previous posters, the dorms are very nice; I’m in traditional and I love it, overall it depends more on your floor (the people) than anything else.</p>

<p>Is the campus considered conservative or liberal?</p>

<p>As others have said, WashU definitely leans liberal (see the Student Life pre-election spread), but overall, people are very uninvolved in politics. It’s actually somewhat startling how small a percentage of students voted in this past election; I would definitely suggest registering in Missouri (almost no one actually remembers absentee ballots)</p>

<p>Is this school considered a party school like Duke, USC? Or more studious school such as Rice? </p>

<p>No, definitely not like Duke or USC. But people definitely get drunk (often) pre-gaming at floor parties, and then they tend to migrate to the frats. Most of these people didn’t party in high school, and it’s certainly a very open, non-pressured social scene. Alternatively, I know many people who spend their Saturday nights having Disney movie marathons. But you will be hard-pressed to find someone studying at 10 on a Friday or Saturday night.</p>

<p>Is WashU a good choice for non-premed (ie Art/Business)?</p>

<p>Definitely. WashU has variety of strong programs, and I think what really sets us apart is how easy it is to transfer/get degrees between schools after getting accepted to the University. Although I haven’t had the greatest experience with the Sam Fox School (just one rather useless teacher), it’s fairly reputable, and Olin is certainly pretty good. </p>

<p>How’s job placement?</p>

<p>If you actively look for a job after graduation, you should definitely be able to find something reasonable.</p>

16

<p>Thanks for the replies. That’s awesome to hear! This is more of a general fin aid question but if I would apply ED, do I get to see my fin aid package before the ED acceptance or rejection or would I be stuck attending even if my fin aid package isn’t satisfactory.</p>

<p>Also, is there any simple formula to figure out how much a student will receive in fin aid at WashU? I just mean in general, like is it the EFC subtracted from COA because that is what I’ve heard, but I find this confusing because then it makes it sound as if every student has the rest of the cost covered by the college and I’m sure that’s not the case.</p>

<p>Is there any accurate calculator that suits WashU’s criteria so I can figure out or see what I may be receiving need-wise? (I’m only a junior in high school)</p>

<p>Also, are the merit based scholarships very difficult to obtain? I know it’s no cake-walk, and I’ve read the descriptions of them but I see it as the freshman class size is approx. 1500 so there’s a somewhat fair chance of receiving merit? (Also, the full ride general scholarships seem to focus towards minorities with extraordinary service, from what I’ve read of the program descriptions. Is it hard to win a full/half ride if you are not a minority and haven’t done anything AMAZING in your area?)</p>

17

<p>Regarding job placement, I came across this on the Econ department webpage</p>

<p>[Undergraduate</a> Home | Department of Economics](<a href=“http://economics.wustl.edu/undergraduate]Undergraduate”>Undergraduate | Department of Economics)

</p>

18

<p>You do not see your fin aid before you are accepted into ED. However, if the aid you receive you think is definitely unaffordable (now here is a difference between what WashU thinks you can pay and what your family thinks you can pay), if something dramatically changed during the time you applied for aid, or if there is something else that the fin aid office have not considered, you can appeal to the financial aid office for more money. Many people on this forum have gave their testimonies before and quite a few have had success.</p>

<p>And yes, merit scholarships are very hard to obtain. You don’t need to be URM, but I guess it would help since quite a few of those scholarships are targeted for those groups.</p>

19

<p>What is the biggest adjustment you made when you became students at WUSTL? I was thinking about the adjustments students need to make, be it adjusting to new roommates, or study schedule etc? It looks to me it will be tough adjustments. And so my question!</p>

20

<p>For me, actually having to put effort into my academics was the most difficult thing. I honestly put more time into studying during the 10 days I was studying for and taking finals than I did my entire high school career. I think a lot of kids who come to WashU have never really been challenged in their academic career, and having multiple classes that requires substantial effort outside of simply attending lecture can be daunting initially.</p>

<p>In regards to roommates, most people seem to be able to work something out. The only 2 instances I have seen of people having to switch rooms have been people who must have lied on their room and board survey. One of the roommates was very focused on their academics and almost never went out, while the other was often having people over to the room during the day or coming in late at night. Its very important to not lie on those surveys; while they are not very detailed, they do ask you to give your preference on many important things such as sleep schedules, expectations for studying etc.</p>