It was always my plan to do Yale nonbinding single choice early action, and then after that apply to Wash U, Rice, and a bunch of other schools. I loved Yale on paper, and of course the name, and when I visited the campus, I kind of loved it only because I WANTED to love it. The campus was nice but I felt like it was so intermingled with the city that you couldn’t really tell what was the city and what wasn’t. It also felt really small - I know they didn’t show me everything, but still. I was hoping for it to be that the campus was it’s own thing, and then the city was around it, and that wasn’t what I got. Still, I said that I was completely in love with it, because a suboptimal (but still gorgeous) campus isn’t really a reason to not love Yale.
After visiting Wash U, I began to rethink that. I preferred the campus, I preferred St Louis to New Haven, and the school honestly seems like a better fit for me. My family has contacts there, so I’m more likely to get in (also because there’s a higher acceptance rate). My Dad started talking to me about applying there ED, which kinda threw me. The plan I had made sense, because Yale EA is nonbinding, so even if I apply there, I can still apply to Wash U RD. But if Wash U is a better fit for me and the best fit for me, I should apply ED, get in, and be done mid December.
So here’s my list:
Yale
Residential college system (I know wash U has it too, but it’s not quite the same). Old Campus, everyone is in a suite, all that stuff
Prestige, international name recognition
Higher ranked english program
Advanced dance groups without having to be a dance major
Tons of diversity, people from everywhere
Not huge on Greek life, and Yale seems to have less of an emphasis on that
I love that Harvard Yale rivalry. I want one of those sweatshirts that say harvard sucks
Wash U
I prefer the campus
Dance major
pre law as a track, allowing me to double major in English and Dance while still being pre-law
More writing based english program - at Yale you choose halfway through if you want to pursue the literature based track or the writing based track, and Wash U it seems like a lot of writing from the start
Seems like a bit less of a party school… i’m not uptight or anything, but I have a heart condition so I can’t drink a ton (I can drink, just not like every single weekend completely wasted), and I can’t smoke weed or do any drugs. I’m not judging anyone who does these things, but sometimes at parties even though no one pressures me, I’m a little bored/left out because everyone’s high and I’m just sitting there. I’ve heard that Wash U has less of a drug/alcohol culture than Yale?
St Louis > New Haven
They have this really cool dance major study abroad thing in France
Honestly… Wash U is pretty much a perfect fit for me. I know it is, but there’s still something about Yale that I’m really attached to and I honestly think it’s just the prestige and the rivalry. Wash U doesn’t seem big on sports or school spirit in general. I want that ivy league prestige but I’m most likely going to law school or grad school so I can always get that then? I know it’s dumb to pick a school based off of prestige and sweatshirts, but I feel like there’s something about saying “I got into Yale”. I heard college advice that says that if you’re stuck between 2 colleges, and there’s one you’re always saying in your mind you know has better things for you, you know it’s a better fit for you (and that’s Wash U for me), then that’s the school you SHOULDN’T go with, because it means you’re defending it in your head and the other school is what naturally feels right.
I’m mostly conflicted because if I apply to Wash U ed and get in, I won’t even get to know if I could get into Yale. But it would be soooo nice to be done with all of the college stuff two months from now.
If you have the stats to realistically be competitive for Yale, you will very likely get into WashU RD (but show interest, they don’t like to think they are your safety). You don’t give stats, so we can’t tell. As an aside, believe me… most Yale students are not sitting around getting high.
You don’t seem to have much focus on academics and intellectual life. That is where Yale is going to outstrip most other schools.
I agree with above; if you can get into Yale (and that’s a rather huge if) then it’s more than likely you will gain admission to WashU-- however I would not say the opposite is true. As for partying, I don’t think it’s anymore or less than WashU. By way of background, my daughter attends Y, I formerly held an appointment there, and one of my best friends there was a dean who lived in the colleges–what I’m saying is that I have had plenty of opportunity to see things up close.
@intparent I know that if I can get into Yale, I’ll probably get into Wash U, but it would be so nice to just be done in December (but that said, I have a friend who got into Harvard but not Wash U or Tufts last year, so you really never know). And I’ve got a 2180, 3.9ish unweighted GPA, lots of extracurriculars / leadership / community service. And I think I do have focus on academics… Yale does have a higher ranked english program, but Wash U’s is also in the top 10 and it’s more writing based, which is what I want. And Wash U has a dance major, plus pre-law is a track not a major so I can do english, dance and pre-law. And also Yale has you wait two years and then decide if you want to do a writing based or literature based track, while Wash U is more writing based from the start. So that’s the academic conflict, and it seems like even though Yale is higher ranked, Wash U might be a better fit for me? And it’s not like Wash U isn’t a prestigious school, anyway.
I think the reputation of Yale and WashU speak for themselves. However, if we were just to peruse a NYT bestseller list of recent times, two Y authors are high in the list: Marine Keegan (opposite of Lonliness) and Jeffs Hobbs (Short Tragic Life of Robert Peace). While anecdotal they come in the pogiant legacy of Y writers from David McCullogh to Calvin Trillin to Gary Trudeau. What I’m saying is the totality of education at Y, prepares one for most anything they choose to do in life, and in many instances, to do it with panache.
2180 isn’t much above the 25th percentile at Yale. If you aren’t hooked, your chances are probably lower than the overall 6% admission rate. You sound fairly confident that WashU is a great fit, and your reasons for applying to Yale seem to mostly be about prestige. If the net price calculator looks good for WashU and you are confident it is the best fit, go ahead and ED to WashU.
I agree with intparent. Name recognition isn’t everything, and this is the college you’ll be attending for four years, so the most important thing is the fit. Also, law schools and grad schools will definitely be familiar with Wash U. I’m currently a sophomore at Wash U, and I’m pre-law, so if you have any specific questions, you can send me a PM. I applied ED to Wash U and had the stats (2320 SAT, 4.0 GPA, focused ECs) to apply to more highly ranked schools, but I just had a gut feeling that Wash U was a place where I could grow as a person and be happy.
I personally think this is a no brainer. Wash U is not a sure thing either so definitely have some other viable options. As you probably know, Wash u loves demonstrated interest so if there are other opportunities before the ED deadline, make sure you make the most of them!
Haven’t you answered your own question? Look past the Ivy League prestige of Yale- the best school is not necessarily the best school for you. Wash U is an INCREDIBLE school, and if you think you’ll thrive there, that’s so much more beneficial than going to a school just for a bumper sticker or sweatshirt. It sounds cliché, but follow your heart! It seems clear from your writing that your heart says Wash U.
This does not make sense. Applying ED is the ultimate indication of interest. WashU needs no other indication that you are interested. You are obligated to attend if accepted, so why do they care if you visited or emailed? I do agree that for RD it is important.
2180 SAT puts you about at the 25th percentile for WUSTL, not just Yale, so ED is probably your best chance at getting admitted to either. I don’t think it is safe for you to focus on just those 2 schools.
Based on this, it seems to me the answer is WUSTL and it’s not even close.
You’re so locked in on the “prestige bump” of Yale (and yes, I put that in quotes because maybe while you’re on your morning jog there’s significant, and meaningful prestige bump that the Yale sweater has over WUSTL but I guarantee that if you do well at WUSTL and do well on the LSAT that you’ll be just as successful at getting into law school as a Yale student) that you can’t even see what you already know: you genuinely like WUSTL more. I mean your chief concern isn’t even that you’d be locked into WUSTL and couldn’t attend Yale, it’s that you won’t be able to say “I got into Yale.”
You’re “defending” WUSTL because in your mind, WUSTL will never be able to top Yale’s prestige, and you’ve made it clear that that aspect is receiving the highest weight of all, and part of you knows that’s not the best way to go. In my opinion, not applying ED to WUSTL is turning down what feels naturally right to pursue what you think should be the right choice based on things that don’t really matter in the long run. You even said yourself that you didn’t actually love Yale when you were there, you just told yourself you did because you loved it before you got there.
Perhaps @rjkofnovi was just commenting on the trend here of students apparently feeling like they must apply ED somewhere, even if they are not fully committed to any school as their top (realistic) choice, with no need to compare financial aid offers (i.e. all of the “what school should I apply ED to?” threads). Of course, the schools that fill much of their classes in the ED round contribute to this type of thing by making it apparently more difficult to get in applying in the RD round.
I think from your post that you are a better fit for WUSTL. That being said, I also think that you may not want to admit that to yourself. And I really wonder if you don’t apply SCEA to Yale, you will always wonder if you could have gotten in. ED truly is for the no regrets kids. The ED school should be the clear top choice. I don’t know your complete stats and profile but what advantage is SCEA? If you are a white female with SAT scores in the 25th % then I would look at the CDS and try to gage your chances from the stats provided. Of course, Yale does holistic admissions and we don’t know your complete profile and essays.