Is getting into WashU a bad sign?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>So this might seem like a weird question, but I got into WashU yesterday and since then I've been reading CC threads about it. I keep seeing people saying that WashU doesn't admit the best applicants and instead places those people on a waitlist because said candidates don't show demonstrated interest and therefore WashU doesn't know if they are actually committed. Is this true? And if it is, does that mean I'm not a strong candidate for other universities? </p>

<p>Sorry if this question comes off as strange... I guess I'm now worried that my acceptance to WashU means my chances at all of the other schools I applied to are jeopardized. If it helps, I did not show any interest in WashU--haven't visited, called, emailed, or anything. I simply applied because I heard good things about it (and there was no supplement lol).</p>

<p>Thanks so much :)</p>

<p>ps I do KNOW that WashU is a great school, and I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten in.</p>

2

<p>I have the same feeling here, but I showed no interest at all and was accepted too…so I don’t know</p>

3

<p>Urban legend. Forget it.</p>

4

<p>It is a bit of a silly question. It would require the various schools to be colluding on admissions. A long time ago some Ivies used to exchange info on this kind of thing, but not for many years. There are TONS of cross admits between WUSTL and Ivies, Duke, Stanford, etc. </p>

5

<p>First of all, congratulations! Getting into WashU is something to be proud of. Don’t let anyone take that excitement away from you. A lot of people poured their hearts into their applications and worked hard for many years and were not accepted. Many try to come up with explanations for why they weren’t accepted while someone with lower stats, for example, was. Rejections/waitlists are awful, I speak from experience (just waitlisted at WashU). But in the end, WashU (like all other colleges) is looking for bright and diverse students that can contribute to their unique community. You were one of the people they decided would be a great fit for their school. There isn’t enough room for everyone, and many people are bound to be heartbroken. It’s unfortunate but common for people to be bitter when they don’t get in. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit bitter myself, but I am not the admissions committee and do not know what exactly they are looking for. The other people posting stuff like you mentioned don’t know either, so don’t believe any of it. WashU saw something amazing in you and though I can’t promise anything, I’m sure other schools will see that too! Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Congratulations! Not at all. I didn’t get into WashU myself (WL), but I definitely believe that getting in means you are competitive. After all, it’s a high tier school for a reason. You likely revealed something about yourself in your CApp essay that others didn’t and the readers probably loved it. </p>

<p>Once again, congratulations and good luck!</p>

7

<p>I have also heard this before. I got in, but somehow some of the best students at my school all got waitlisted.
However, I really don’t think it means that our acceptances to Wash U mean that we’re not strong candidates for other schools. All it means is that Wash U is smart with the people they waitlist because they want to have the biggest yield. People like you and I must have just had something that intrigued the admissions council - it’s not like they accepted us thinking “oh, these suckers won’t get in to a better school so let’s just let them in to ours.”
I wouldn’t worry too much about this. Even if you or I don’t get in anywhere else, hell we have an acceptance from Wash U which is pretty awesome.</p>

8

<p>There is a strong correlation of Wash U acceptance with that of Cornell, Northwestern and U of Chicago. And some extent to Duke and Brown and minimally to Columbia and U Penn. Good Luck Everyone !!!</p>

9

<p>OP I have seen WU accept students regardless of interest or not. I dont think showing or not showing any Interest weigh in heavily during their Decision process, they want students who fits into their program, their will be high stat, med stat and even low stat students who they think will be successful at WUSTL. Only think I did see is that they may be less interested if they cant offer a FA pkg which the student really need, so those ones might end up on the Waitlist. My S was wait listed too, great stats, his first choice and shown intrest by visiting but need a good FA pkg. But he has lots of other acceptance and waiting for more to come in next 3 weeks. </p>

<p>So dont worry and enjoy the WUSTL its a great school and great student body who seems to care… </p>

10

<p>I don’t mirror your sentiments, but I do wonder…</p>

<p>I feel completely unqualified, and was accepted to engineering… </p>

11

<p>No. Getting into WUSTL is an achievement. The university is constantly rated 6-7 in student selectivity, usually ONLY beat by HYPSM. The whole wait listing overqualified students is a way for students who are wait listed/rejected to bash the school for its admission process and vent their anger. The university has extremely high testing and 96% of incoming freshman are in the top 10% of their class. In addition they rank in the top 10 of National Merit Scholars in the United States.</p>

12

<p>I looked at the most recent Annual Report which listed where The National Merit Class of 2013 is currently attending.
<a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/annual_report.pdf”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/annual_report.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Harvard: 268 Scholars
Yale: 178 Scholars
MIT: 177 Scholars
Stanford: 176 Scholars
Duke: 139 Scholars
University of Pennsylvania: 121 Scholars
University of California, Berkeley: 109 Scholars
University of Chicago: 97 Scholars
Columbia: 85 Scholars
Brown: 71 Scholars
Cornell: 69 Scholars
Northwestern: 66 Scholars
Vanderbilt: 66 Scholars
Dartmouth: 60 Scholars
University of Michigan: 56 Scholars
WUSTL: 45 Scholars
…
JHU: 28 Scholars</p>

13

<p>You are forgetting all the school sponsored ones. All are recognized by the NMS Committee as scholars. All are selected as scholars yet some are offered scholarships from their respective universities. The numbers you have above are the NMS receiving money from the committee itself and not by the institution. Yet regardless from the source of income, ALL are national merit scholars. Some just decide to receive the money from the institution as opposed to the committee.
Page 32-34.
<a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/annual_report.pdf”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/annual_report.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Also read the bullet points on this link:
<a href=“Career Center - Students”>Career Center - Students;

14

<p>nyctophiliac, from where you sit today your question is quite understandable. From where I sit, as a parent of a Wash U student, I think you have no idea how fortunate you are to have received the honor of an offer of admission into Wash U.</p>

<p>From the moment our son was accepted into Wash U, we have been thoroughly impressed with nearly all aspects of this school:</p>

<p>a) the management of the school is superb. From Mark Wrighton on down, the leadership is absolutely top notch.
b) the quality of the student body is invigorating. Whether you are interested in Liberal Arts, Engineering, Sam Fox, or Business, you will find a highly diversified and capable student body.
c) Wash U lacks the brand name of your other favorites - thus, they TRY HARDER (and it shows).
d) You can switch among schools very easily if you have the desire.
e) Being a parent, I can’t comment on the social scene other than to say that our son has had a massive amount of serious fun during his time at Wash U and made an incredible new group of friends. Beyond that, what happens at Wash U stays at Wash U in our household.
f) The dorms and food are as advertised - very good.
g) St Louis, considered by us a neutral at best, has been a solid positive (the Loop, Forest Park, Central West End, easy access to downtown, shopping, Clayton, airport) with no safety issues at all.
h) Classes are small (beyond some of the early pre-req’s) and challenging - not a good school if you want to coast. You will be taught by very qualified professors.
i) Approximately 60% of our son’s classes have been outstanding, 25% pretty good, and 15% not so great (2 were awful). Ask around and see how that honestly compares with your favorite schools.
j) From a parent’s point of view, the administration is highly helpful on the few times we have had questions.
k) With regards to internships, network, and employment, the Wash U brand has been very good. Those that need to know Wash U, know very well how exceptional it is.</p>

<p>Just to reinforce my perspective, here’s a bit of my/our background:</p>

<p>a) My wife and I have five degrees from Ivy League schools, including some from HYP.<br>
b) We have lived in NYC, the West Coast, and the Midwest.
c) We have been so impressed by Wash U, it has caused us to re-think what an undergraduate education really can aspire to. We have redirected much of our annual giving from our alma maters to Wash U - we feel like the money will be better put to use.</p>

<p>So, I hope things work out for you wherever you end up. As I said at the start, I totally understand your perspective. Take mine for what it’s worth!</p>

<p>Congratulations!</p>

15

<p>I don’t understand how someone who is smart enough to get accepted a Wash U can think that this implies that he has less chance of being accepted at other schools.</p>

16

<p>I am not sure what this means, but I got likely letters to Yale, Penn, Columbia, and Stanford, and got accepted to Duke, but recently found out I was waitlisted from WashU. I guess WashU looks for something kind of unique in their students, as all my friends that attend WashU are incredibly brilliant kids (one of whom actually turned down Princeton for WashU). </p>

17

<p>Um, I got a likely letter for an ivy and I got into WashU…</p>

18

<p>WashUDad- I concur with all your above points except I totally disagree with f- the dorms and food are not very good- they are awesome! To those who wonder, my son is a freshman at WUSTL, and he loves it there. His circle of friends hardly ever go to the Delmar Loop because they honestly love the dorm food that much. Now that’s a first! :)) </p>

19

<p>@SoCalDad2 she** :slight_smile: and yeah, I realize now that I’m being pretty irrational… It’s just that college decisions seem so subjective and contingent on a lot of random factors (many out of my control), which stresses me out.</p>

<p>To everyone else, thank you for the replies, kind words, and advice! I feel incredibly grateful that WashU accepted me, and I wish you all luck on your journeys through this tedious and frustrating (but amazing) process.</p>

20

<p>@HereForTheLinks, </p>

<p>“You are forgetting all the school sponsored ones. All are recognized by the NMS Committee as scholars…”</p>

<p>I definitely did not forget or ignore the college sponsored National Scholars. It was to be a comparison of apples to apples. If the figures for college sponsored ones were mentioned for the likes of Harvard and Stanford, I would have done so.</p>

<p>The latest Times World University Reputation rankings.
<a href=“World Reputation Rankings 2014 | Times Higher Education (THE)”>http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2014/reputation-ranking/range/71-80&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;