WUSTL is a top 20 USNWR college that is known for strongly favoring ED2 (CDS says demonstrated interest is important) and has historically blatantly favored wealthy applicants, with need aware policies. Given these factors, I’d be more surprised if HW did not have a very large number of kids attending WUSTL than if they did have many attending students.
At the time of the Chetty study (see Economic diversity and student outcomes at WashU - The New York Times ), Chetty flagged WUSTL as the college with the worst SES distribution in the United States, across ~2400 analyzed colleges. He found that more WUSTL students were from top 1% income than bottom 80% income, and the attending students had a median inflation adjusted family income of $307,000.
Since the time of the Chetty study (perhaps in response to the Chetty study), WUSTL has made some strides to address the poor SES imbalance. I believe their % Pell has increased from 5% to 14% over the past few years. However, they still appear to favor wealthy kids to some extent, and past history influences reputation and which students choose to apply.
Charles Murray wrote a book called Coming Apart, which describes how people isolate themselves in bubbles without realizing it, and the groupthink that occurs because of it. Written back in 2012, it is probably even more pertinent today given the division in the country. This would be an eye-opening book in a high school social studies curriculum, but I doubt that most private school teachers would ever read anything by Murray.
@mtmind, please treat the transgender athlete question as a rhetorical one. The point of the question was to illustrate that some topics are more complex than first appear.
One of my daughter’s favorite classes at UChicago was by Steven Levitt on economics of crime. While he stayed apolitical, the data in the class on Chicago crime showed just how counterproductive many of BLM’s prescriptions would be to the very people they are trying to help. I suspect that CRT will have the same effect.
Wash U has some newer dorms and some that are not, but they do have this area for the dorms that is like it’s own little cute “community” on campus. Another attraction for kids there is ED2. Our school has always had success with kids getting into Wash U both for ED and RD. Not as many applied there as in typical years and we are only sending 3 or 4 I think, but typically we only send 5 or so anyway. For some reason it isn’t a big draw for our Chicago area school. My husband and I loved it, my son absolutely hated it for some reason. He could never place his finger on why, but it was raining there and the dorms are quite a distance from the Engineering buildings so maybe that was part of it, although I know he would never admit it. Also, when you walk down by the athletic fields and football stadium you do get the sense you are at a high school stadium and for a sports fanatic I guess I can understand that being another nail in the coffin for the school. But, honestly, I really wish he had been more open minded. It would have been a great option and I know kids are really happy there. But he is happy with his choice. As for Chicago, none of my kids, who ironically are double legacies, had any interest whatsoever. I think for 2 of them having a teacher that went there (even though they loved her) talk a lot about the motto “where fun goes to die” was enough to write off the school. It’s too bad, because it’s a top notch school and gorgeous campus. But ultimately for the programs they were looking for, not the right fit anyway at this time. If they pursue graduate degrees, then maybe a different story.
Some students are Orthodox Jews, some are observant Muslims, some are conservative Christians, Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, etc. There are families are from various traditional African cultures. All live in Los Angeles, but student families come from cultures all over the World. Some families moved to Los Angeles from the Midwest. Some of these students are LGBTQ+ students and some aren’t. Politically, the students probably skew left, but there are conservatives, libertarians, and even Trump supporters. All are encouraged to treat each other with kindness, understanding, and respect.
Honestly, do you really think you know enough about the culture at HW to pronounce it a “echo chamber" where the kids “know no one who disagrees with their opinions?”
Perhaps they’d be more open to reading Amy Chua’s “Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations” which describes how not understanding the “other” can lead to huge mistakes - even foreign policy failures. A provocative thesis from someone who at least is in the same circles those who attend and run elite private schools.
Not any more. Amy Chua and her husband are in the process of being canceled. Someone quipped that this is a strange revolution; instead of devouring its children, the proponents are eating their parents.
It’s interesting - that’s what I thought. My nephew and I were discussing college placement a few years ago; he was attending Loyola Academy at the time. I believe that more attended NU while the other Jesuit School in the area - St. Ignatius - sees more at UChicago. Location might be a factor but I suspect that fit, school culture, athletic presence etc. are important considerations as well. My nephew said that his school dominated St. Ig at athletics but the opposite occurred for the academic competitions.
I suspect your school district is the same as or close proximity to ours when we lived in that area and there just wasn’t a UChicago undergrad presence at the time (this was awhile ago, however, and the College is a lot bigger now). Grad school - different story.
One thing often missing in the education of the young is respect for the quality that Plato described as “spiritedness.” Amy Chua has it. It is fine to be well-behaved, polite and courteous. Fine to have a good prose style and be an eager learner. Fine to appreciate the arts and have an open mind to what the world presents you with. Those are wonderful qualities that enhance a civilization. But nothing beats the bedrock of character. When the time comes to stand up, can you do it? Amy can.
Funny, after I hit reply on that, I was thinking the same thing about grad school. Different story. Loyola is pretty close to NU so they probably do get a lot of kids to Northwestern. My son plays tennis and the state meet is going on right now and he was telling me where some of the top players are going and a bunch are going to NU. I know where I work there are a bunch going to NU too all sports. I guess who can blame them when it’s a Big 10 school? Which actually may also be some of the draw with NU vs UC. Big 10 and sports, even though it’s the smallest big 10 school.
When UC opened Booth downtown I think they changed things for their MBA program making it more desirable for people who didn’t want to be in Hyde Park.
I think UC also doesn’t particularly like kids from our school. I remember one girl my daughters year applied and didn’t get in and people were shocked because she got into Yale which was her first choice. Our valedictorian from last year though is there for Econ so can’t really say they hate our school too much, lol. That kid I remember is something else and an all around nice kid. My oldest son had a kid in his class that went there to play baseball. Obviously had the stats to get in because you can’t go there otherwise. But I do think your’e right that there’s just the lack of presence and the type of student they like and perhaps even the essays and how well the kids write those. My kids are stem kids and honestly would not be able to think out of the box that well to answer the UC question(s). I think they sold themselves short by at least not looking at the school because it’s right here so why wouldn’t you look? But, no one is complaining about where they ended up, so I guess I won’t either, lol.
Ten years ago, the College had a relatively insignificant number of students from both the north shore Chicago suburbs and affluent private day schools. Northwestern, OTOH, dominated the local affluent public school matriculations from high achieving relatively affluent students in Chicagoland. Northwestern also had significant number of matriculants from private day schools all over the country particularly on the West Coast and Texas. Now UChicago does well with both groups. I can understand UChicago’s rise since the College is much more student friendly but I am confused about Northwestern’s drop at places like Harvard-Westlake and St. John’s School in Houston. NU used to be the go to school in those places from the group right below the very top students much like USC is today. I do not understand its fall since it appears to be if anything more prominent nationally now than a decade ago due to its prominent alumni in the entertainment industry
I think her public endorsement of Brett Kavanaugh made her persona non grata for a lot of folks. The selection of her daughter, Sophia, to be a Kavanaugh clerk shortly thereafter certainly struck many people as inappropriate even though Sophia had planned to clerk for Kavanaugh when he was a Circuit Court judge.
We have known a few who were admitted to the tippy top but not to UChicago! One graduated top of her class at Yale. This might have more to do with yield protection or perceived fit from the school’s standpoint. There’s no doubt any of these kids mentioned can do the work or would succeed at any of these schools.
Even before Gleacher was built, Booth’s program downtown - and Kellogg’s too - was a huge boon for working professionals. Those two schools dominated the part-time MBA program ranking for decades and probably still do (haven’t checked recently). We would send our financial analysts through and they’d complete their degrees in I believe three years all while earning a paycheck and getting their tuition subsidized. It was pretty nice! Now, the full-times still show up in Hyde Park (I think) but they all live in South Loop or somewhere else on the lake front. I don’t believe many actually live in HP anymore. Very different from my day, but then South Loop wasn’t then what it is now.
@JBStillFlying US News seems to prove your point. https://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/part-time-rankings. Even back in the dark ages when I attended what was then known as The Graduate School of Business, the “190” program was first rate among working professionals (although it was sometimes ridiculed by the business schools that did not offer a formal part-time program i.e. W, S and H.)
My ex husband didn’t live in HP when he went there but my current husband did. Part of that though was that my current husband is not from here, had no car, is 10 years older than me and his ex wife was also in UC at the time. Funny though that some restaurants are still there from his days.
They still dominate the rankings for top MBA programs. My brother did his JD/MBA at Kellogg/NU and while he could do without NU for law school, absolutely loved Kellogg. He was in the full time program there since he went right from undergrad into law school and then joined the combined program as a full-time student. No clue if they even have that combined program anymore since they prefer you work first which he didn’t. One of my bff’s did Booth while she worked and her company paid. Definitely can’t complain there either.
South Loop, West Loop, North Loop hah it’s all built up pretty nicely, although as you know, there are still some seedy areas that people have to watch out for, but South Loop has some really nice high rises making it really convenient these days to get to HP. Much more so than when my ex was there, but back then he lived in Presidential Towers, which was also pretty convenient considering. Traffic back then definitely wasn’t what it is today (well today, pre covid), although it is coming back
How shocking that a grad studen’t mentor would have drinks with them and that someone’s boss who got promoted brings her on board later on. What is the world coming to?
I seem to recall the “190” program so-named as it was located at 190 E Delaware(?) - or something like that. Building Gleacher has probably opened up all sorts of possibilties for the students - like taking a course at night even if a full-timer? Not sure. But the faculty are the same as on the full-time campus, and were back when we lived in the area. I know a former prof from Kellogg who would teach downtown all the time or teach weekends occasionally for their executive program.
You are right. 190 was named for the location on Delaware. As long as I can remember the faculty was the same for the part-time program as the full time in Hyde Park. Lots of my fellow students in 1970’s would take classes downtown just to get out of HP. In those days it was not hip community it is now but just one step away from the slums.
