WUSTL is known for (or at least that’s what I’ve read/heard) its emphasis on demonstrated interest. “Overqualified” or “strong” applicants are denied seemingly because of their lack of interest in the school. Would anyone like to offer up an opinion on this aspect of admissions?
I’m asking because I’ll be applying ED, but my test scores are sub-par; they’re in the bottom 25th percentile right now for admitted students. Everything else fits otherwise (solid ECs, 3.86 GPA, strong letter of recs.)
However, I’m still scared and debating whether or not if should just wait until the RD round so I don’t get rejected straight up.
I have shown a lot of interest though…
I attended their 3 day Discovery Weekend (flew from CA) and had an interview (went pretty well). I also email admissions on a semi-regular basis.
Thoughts/Comments/Insight would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
I would say to go ahead and apply ED if it is clearly your 1st choice. That shows them your level of interest and commitment to attend.
Did you get the Discovery fly in? I think that is a good sign.
Was your interview with admissions or with a student? Was it evaluative?
Do you need a lot of financial aid? WUSTL was known as a school that did not meet demonstrated need of low income kids and had a very low Pell grant student rate. My understanding is that they are trying to remedy this and repair their image on this issue.
@goingnutsmom Thank you! I’ve answered some of your questions below…
Hook: Part Hispanic
Discovery Weekend was not paid for. I had to petition my parents and raise money to go lol.
My interview was with a student. Overall, it was pretty casual, but she did ask me some questions that were pertinent to admissions (ECs, why WashU., etc.).
Yup, I’ll need about 40k in FA lol. I don’t know if this’ll be a detriment or a boon…
I’ll definitely apply for scholarships (assuming they don’t reject me straight up).
AHHH I’m just so nervous for decisions (and for October SAT scores lol)!
I would say to go ahead and apply ED and see what happens. When do ED accepted students get their financial aid packages? Sit down with your parents and go through this thoroughly. If WUSTL gaps you what are your plans? No school is worth getting into a lot of debt. Have finsncisl
@anonemuss I think you might be looking at a different year’s ED acceptance rate. In Wash. U’s 2014-2015 Common Data Set, it specifically notes that there were 1502 ED applicants and 637 of the ED applicants were accepted. You can find their latest released CDS (2014-2015) if you google “WUSTL Student Consumer Information.”
It is kind of weird (but awesome) how their Fall 2014 ED acceptance rate (42%) is 1.5 times higher than that of their Fall 2013 ED acceptance rate (27%).
@anonemuss To be honest, I think it’s a great thing because Wash. U is getting kids who absolutely want to be there! When I visited I definitely felt as if the majority, if not everybody, had this sense of happy belonging to the school. That sense of belonging makes a difference by contributing to such a positive atmosphere that contrasts those of the other schools I’ve visited (UCLA, UCB, UCSC, and Santa Clara).
Important to note that WashU is need aware so it will hurt you if you need lots of FA. Nonetheless, discovery weekend is big and hopefully you got a chance to talk to or make a good impression on the admissions counsellors while you were there.
Definitely apply ED! Your interest is a great sign and since you believe the rest of your application is strong, it will give you the best chance of acceptance. Just focus on getting those test scores up. I applied ED last year and was deferred due to a slightly low GPA, but then accepted RD. My demonstrated interest and ED status definitely put me above a lot of the RD pool. I also needed and received around $45,000 in FA per year
Fowardalways, Wash U is known for its “Yield protection” and extreme efforts to improve their US News ranking. A larger % taken from its ED protects the yield-as does placing very (too strong for Wash U to believe they want to come, I suppose) strong students on Wait Lists and waiting to see if they beg-both Wash U strategies.
Thank you everyone to who’s offered their insight! I’ve mulled it over by myself and with my parents and it looks like I’ll be applying RD. It makes me a little sad, but I think it’s for the best financially. WUSTL is definitely still my first choice though! I guess that just means more time to polish my application
I think that is a good strategy for financial reasons. With ED you don’t get to compare financial aid packages. Please let us know how it all works out!
@ForwardAlways do keep in mind that you are not bound to the ED contract if you cannot afford it, and as long as you keep an open stream of communication, WashU’s office of financial aid is very helpful
