<p>melanieeek: The student I mentioned was only offered $1,000 per year (she was accepted at WashU, but ended up attending University of Maryland).
This was 2-3 years ago, so the amount might have gone up. Also, I don't know if she listed WashU as her first or second choice.</p>
<p>My daughter and my nephew are both seniors and NMSF, and are both interested in WashU (they live in different states). My sister and I were interested in what the NM scholarship amount was since WashU is listed on the information our kids received with their semifinalist info.</p>
<p>This school is not competitive at all unless you are pre-med. One reason I chose this place was to escape the cutthroat nature of a lot of the New England schools. I'm not regretting my decision the least bit. WashU is awesome in this respect. Every other night I work with several of my dormmates on physics. We help each other out with econ homework, or help explain things when others are in need of help. The best way to describe WashU would be cooperative, not competitive.</p>
<p>"I chose this place was to escape the cutthroat nature of a lot of the New England schools."</p>
<p>Exactly. I couldn't agree more</p>
<p>Thanks for all the insights -- it's much appreciated!</p>
<p>I am curious. Did anyone really want to go here instead of a better school??</p>
<p>A better school? What does that even mean?</p>
<p>Well, some science classes at WashU are competitive in terms of curving. My siblings attended WashU, and both are premed. They told me that in many classes, such as Organic Chemistry, taking tests were a struggle to be on top of the curve.</p>
<p>melanieeek:</p>
<p>Ignore Smartguy. He's been going around CC posting the same kind of negative message in different schools' forums (Duke, Tufts, Wesleyan, etc.).</p>
<p>I am sorry. I meant a school with a better reputation. I am thinking about applying here and wanted to get some feedback from students.</p>
<p>Actually, now that you've clarified, I know where you're coming from. I agree that WashU isn't widely recognized, especially relative to its difficulty, but this shouldn't dissuade anyone from coming. The people in your life that will matter--your first boss, your grad school admissions committee, whatever--will have heard of WashU and will respect a WashU degree. You don't need to go to Harvard to gain the respect of those around you. In fact, I'd recommend that you didn't.</p>
<p>Recruiting: Most cmpanies have yet to realize its a top school, and the "elite" firms don't recruit heavily compared to WashUs peers</p>
<p>Grad Placement: WashU still hasn't cme close to the placement of its competitors, but some of this might be due to weaker students until a couple years ago</p>
<p>Well, my friend's sister chose Washington U over Brown.</p>
<p>WashU's grad school placement will improve steadily...the quality of the students here has improved pretty dramatically in the past few years, and the freshman class this year is perhaps their most talented class ever.</p>