Considering Washington as a Reach for my son. Weighted GPA is about 2% below their average but ACT is a 34 I believe that’s 75% percentile. So it’s a reach but probably no an insane one. So here the question, his grandfather earned a masters in engineering from this school back in the 60s. (I have to dig through some stuff for the exact date). Does that make my son a legacy and if so does it count for anything regarding his admission chances?
Generally legacy would be from the parents, but grandparents might count. It also depends on how active the grandparent was with WashU after graduating.
I’m glad that your son is considering WashU along with Vandy as potential schools. You may have figured out that from my reply to you in your Vandy thread, my kid is at WashU. Good luck!
Thanks. Looks like Wash U has a lot of the same traits we like about Vanderbilt in terms of campus, student life, and academic flexibility. How’s your kid like it? And do you have any concerns about safety given the location?
@TNSDad, my son loves the school. For someone whose UW GPA in high school could have been better, he has been thriving there (current cumulative GPA is ~3.8 after sophomore year).
The school is pretty flexible when it comes to multiple majors/minors. My son is a double major in Biology/History in the School of Arts and Sciences with a Computer Science minor in the Engineering School.
How someone can balance classes in Cell Biology and Physiology along with a History class comparing the French and Haitian Revolutions is hard for me to figure out. Plus he took 2 classes for his CompSci major last semester. We have plenty of interesting conversations at home.
WashU is reputed to have among the best dorms/food among major colleges and the school tries to keep everybody happy.
The school itself is not located in St. Louis proper, but Clayton, which is a pretty upscale suburb. It’s pretty safe even off-campus, but with any environment one needs to be aware.
St. Louis is actually very underrated when it comes to the cultural/food scene. There are a lot of museums within walking distance of the school located in Forest Park which charge no admission.
34 was 50th percentile for last years class (he is completely average). Graduate program legacy is generally considered not as important (like barely counts) and the fact it was grandfather means his legacy connection really isn’t that important. Furthermore, legacy connections tend to only be important when A) there is a lot of it B) the alumni family members are frequent donors.
Im really glad to hear that. Its nice to see a kid end up somewhere they can thrive. My sons primary interest is Biomedical Engineering but hes interested in minoring in history or linguistics of all things. I know what you mean about interesting conversations. Sounds like our boys would get along.
I finally broke down and called the admissions department of WashU. A Grandparent DOES indeed make you a legacy in their eyes. Although contrary to what ive seen on other threads being a legacy carries the same consideration both in ED and RD cycles.
Time for the boy and I to take a trip to the city of arches and see how he likes it before the really HOT weather sets in.
Personally I prefer my BBQ St Louis style anyway.
@TNSDad, good to hear that you are strongly considering WashU and that a geandparent counts as legacy.
Although legacy may not be a key factor, it does help. Demonstrated in WashU is also important.
At this point it seems like WashU and Vandy are at the top of the list. Choose wisely with the ED.
St. Louis BBQ is good. Salt and Smoke on the Delmar Loop is about 15 minutes walking distance from WashU. Pappy’s is another good place.
And I’m sure our kids would definitely get along. My son’s best friends at WashU are all from the Midwest (Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio). Rather odd for an Asian kid from California but he has somewhat of a Midwestern sensibility about him.
My kid does love his history and will combine discussions of science from his biology classes and try to correlate that to biochemical warfare topics that were discussed in his history classes. He goes on tangents at times but it’s amazing how much he has learned in 2 years there.
Next semester he will be taking 2 Biology classes along with a Modern German History and and Iraq War History class. Along with an Object Oriented Programming/Software Design Class. I suppose that WashU is one of the few places that allows their students to allow their students to explore. And a well grounded education is all about allowing students to find themselves.
CollegeSoteria. I see your point. When I posted this I was unaware that Washington University super scores the ACT. Based on other posts in this forum it would appear that they count a super score the same as they count a single sitting score. My son is retaking the ACT next month with a focus on the one or two areas he could pick up a few points. We aiming for a better composite but even a small gain would boost his Superscore. He will also be taking the SAT2 subject tests in Aug. I wouldn’t be sweating this too much if his GPA were .1 higher. But since he is weak there we need to do what we can to compensate And hope that his essays extracurriculars and test scores help compensate for the lower GPA.
@TNSDad your son’s extracurriculars are perfectly fine from what I saw in your Vandy post. It sounds like he’s pretty active in the community and dedicated.
My kid had just Boy Scouts and National History Bowl as his 2 major ECs. But he was pretty dedicated to them. And it’s better to be dedicated to a few ECs than having multiple ECs without any real dedication.
If your son rocks the SAT Subject Tests that will definitely help.
Thanks. Do you know where I can find the gpa and ACT stats for the class of 2023 ED?
Here are the stats for Class of 2023 accepted students (stats for matriculants will probably be lower)…1500-1560 Mid 50% SAT, 33-35 Mid 50% ACT. https://admissions.wustl.edu/apply_site/Pages/Profile.aspx
To my knowledge, Washu does not calculate an average GPA for the class on a 4 point scale. On 2018/19 CDS (includes only matriculated students), average GPA is 4.15 (C12), which is basically meaningless. There is some GPA range detail in C11. https://wustl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/wustl-cds-2018-2019.pdf
Thanks. Always nice to have data.
Final update on this Thread
I had decided to stay off the forums for a while and concentrate on helping my son with his applications.
Stats
Weighted GPA 4.05
ACT 35
SAT II Math2 780
SAT II Chem 780
Extra Cirriculars
Vocal music (schools audition only Acapella group)
Theatre (10 productions)
3rd degree Junior Black Belt in Karate (10 years training)
Leadership Posiition in Church Youth Group
Camp CIT (1 year)
Following Schools Applied to
Reaches
Wash U
Vanderbilt
Carnegie Melon
Notre Dame
Swarthmore
Matches
Bucknell
Layfayette
Rensellaer Polytech
Safties
Michigan State University
Miami of Ohio
We got an early start and had our first 10 applications done last by the beginning of December He hit a real groove with the essay writing so it went really smoothly
We had decided to throw some “Hail Marys” at the last moment and apply to
Cornell
Brown
Just for the hell of it
If this process has taught us ANYTHIN its that admissions can be arbitrary. There is no set formula for sucess. The schools are “building a class” and they want a variety of students.
The tough decision was where to apply ED.
As we all know ED can increase your chances at certain schools
His two favorites were Vanderbilt and Wash U. Not surprsing since the schools are very similar. We liked Nashville better than St Louis but the schools were interchangeable as far as he was concerned. Based on that he decided to apply ED to Wash U since it has a slighly higer acceptance rate and he really hit it off with the student that interviewed him ther and the admissions conselor that came to his high school
Last night we got he email to check the Wash U student portal and found that he had been admitted to the class of 2024.
Hes thrilled but my wife may divorce me for sending her baby boy to a school 8hours from home
End of the day results
Wash U Accepted
Michigan State Accepted
All other applications cancelled per ED agreement
@TNSDad Congratulations! WashU is a wonderful school to explore various interests and your son will enjoy it.
I guess I was correct about your son being a good fit for the school. Admissions saw something beyond just GPA.
@TNSDad Congrats!
@carpoolingma knows that I do a pretty decent job of predicting WashU acceptance outcomes.
I know that my California kid loves the school and it’s only a 3 1/2 hour fight away. Mom wanted Berkeley and USC, but there was no way I would have my kid go to either school. Hate Berkeley for its location and politics and USC has a fundamental issue with corruption.
WashU is also pretty strong with its a capella music groups. An activity that should be continued by @TNSDad’s son while there.
congrats tnsdad!
anyone know if washu makes a distinction between mere attendance vs completed graduation in their definition of a legacy? i attended washu for a year then left for cali. my d is really interested in washu.