<p>From speaking to many students, it seems like most WashU students chose the school over schools like Northwestern, Hopkins, etc., but I don't think I've heard someone say that they chose WashU over an Ivy or MIT or something.</p>
<p>I'm sure that the level of the student at WashU is comparable to those at such schools, but do they ever choose WashU over those schools? Do most kids at WashU wish that they got into a different school?</p>
<p>I have got into ivy league schools, and other top caliber schools. Wash.U. is one of my top choices right now mainly because it offers me an amazing financial aid and is an academically top-notch institution, especially for Pre-Med.</p>
<p>I chose WashU over UPenn even though Penn also invited me to an honors scholars program. Even though I’m headed to Harvard next year for my graduate work, I am sooo happy I did not go there for my undergrad.</p>
<p>I am choosing WashU over UPenn. You seem to have a bit of a bias towards the Ivy Leagues, and no worries I used to, too, but I think you have to realize that rankings wont’ factor in THAT much, and that any school in the top 20’s will be pretty impressive, prestige-wise. Are you choosing between schools? </p>
<p>When I was at WashU, several people told me that they love WashU, because everyone ther seemed to CHOOSe WashU. They aren’t complaining about not getting into, say, Harvard or Yale; they WANT to be at WashU, and I think that’s one aspect that makes WashU’s community so friendly and welcoming.</p>
<p>washU over UCLA and Hopkins.</p>
<p>Wash U over _____</p>
<p>Columbia, Brown, Vanderbilt, Amherst, Ohio, Michigan.</p>
<p>I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL THE FALL!! </p>
<p>Wash U has many similar aspects of other top-tier schools, but is a little more well-rounded and not as easy to stereotype. I LOVE that about Wash U. If you had to stereotype Wash U in one way, I think “balance” would probably be that word. It’s not a school that focuses on a few specialized areas like MIT; not as elitist as Princeton, for example. Wash U always struck me as a balance between a small liberal arts school with an ivy-league academic quality. The same quality of students as the Ivies, with a very friendly and involved student body and a great community like a small LAC.</p>
<p>Wash U is like:
Duke without the sports culture
Nortwestern without the gloomy campus (gloomy in my opinion)
Yale without the elitism
Brown, but not as hippy
Rice, but larger student body
Vanderbilt, but not as southern</p>
<p>i agree, northwestern’s campus is pretty gloomy and dull.</p>
<p>Many people choose WashU over ivies. I will be transferring to WashU for Fall and in the facebook group, there are 8 people who are transferring including someone from Penn and someone from Columbia. WashU offers amazing academics without the pretentious atmospheres present at many ivies. WashU may not have the name recognition of the ivies, but academically it is just about equal. You shouldn’t base your decision on what schools other people turned down or the perceived prestige. As a transfer student I can tell you that “fit” is THE most important quality in selecting a college. Once you get to school, the name really isn’t going to be that big a deal. Go where you feel you can succeed.</p>
<p>I realize that prestige isn’t everything, and name recognition matters very little in the grand scheme of things. The 34% yield is disconcerting, though.</p>
<p>what do u mean by yield?</p>
<p>thats just because WashU is still an up-and-coming school when it comes to the top 15 schools in the country… many, many people get hung up on the Ivy League label and go there just because they think if they get into an Ivy they should. I suspect it to go down a little as the years progress and WashU becomes more well known around the country.</p>
<p>I chose WashU over _______</p>
<p>nothing.</p>
<p>WashU was the only school I applied to (ED). I always knew I wanted to go to WashU, and I couldn’t be happier with the way things have turned out.</p>
<p>Edit: Wait a minute no it wasn’t. I forgot I applied to Saint Louis University. Had I not gotten into WashU I would have applied to about 5 or 6 more schools for regular admission.</p>
<p>Yield is the percentage of students that accept their offer of admission. Acceptance rate is what percentage of people applying they make offers to. So if a school get 10,000 apps and makes offers to 2,000, they have a 20% acceptance rate. If 1,000 of those people matriculate, they have a 50% yield.</p>
<p>I don’t know why 34% would alarm anyone. Of course Havard et. al. have higher yields, but they also have lower acceptance rate. They know from history that people getting into Harvard are likely to accept. It is not something you should be focused on at all, and it is another reason among many that the USNWR rankings are flawed.</p>
<p>I chose WashU over University of Oklahoma, ASU, Bradley University, University of Illinois, and offers from a couple others. </p>
<p>I know a girl from my school who chose it over Harvard, and she’s not regretted it at all.</p>
<p>At Multicultural Weekend, I met a couple who decided they would choose it over Northwestern, as well as a girl who would have chosen it over UPenn (however, her parents I guess are stuck up on the prestige, which is too bad, since she didn’t like UPenn).</p>
<p>I just chose WashU over Brown, Brandeis, Tufts, UM, and UF (I’m from Florida).
It just seemed like it was “right” for me, as corny as that may sound.</p>
<p>Albo - are you kidding? There couldn’t be anything less corny. That is exactly what it is all about.</p>
<p>Thanks fallen…guess it isn’t so strange.
Some of my friends laughed when I told them that I was going to WashU over Brown because of that reason (most people I know don’t know much about it). I think I’m already becoming a native student- I had a strong urge to smack them and defend the school.</p>
<p>Albo - ROFLMAO. But instead of smacking them, just smile knowingly and give them the feeling you are indulging their ignorance. BTW, I now know 4 people (including you I mean) that are turning down Brown for Wash U. And I would normally hardly be in such a position, so I think that might be an indication. Brown can be great (I live in RI after all), but the atmosphere is very different, you are so right about that.</p>
<p>lol, that’s awesome 
i’d have to say i wasn’t really too confident about WashU being a “fit” for me until a few months after I got here. Loving it now though.</p>
<p>grats!</p>
<p>haha I visited in March and I was SURE it was where I wanted to be I now adamantly defend the school in every “overrated” thread I come across on CC (although arguing with CCers is pretty much useless…) lol.</p>
<p>Congrats! It’s certainly a mature decision to turn down a prestigious name for a school that you feel comfortable at.</p>