Is WUSTL a bad school?

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

I know WUSTL is a very selective college. However it doesn’t seem to attract as many applicants(WHY??) as similar ranked schools; Duke, Stanford, etc. It also has a low yield rate of about 34% as compared to UCB(ranked lower in US News ranking) 40%.

Also if you take a look at the WUSTL forum page, a lot of people are asking about ways to get out of ED in case they are accepted.

Wustl is one of my top choices, but now am scared that it’s not up to par. Can anyone tell me about job placement statistics in tech companies? Life at WashU in general?

2

[quote]
However it doesn’t seem to attract as many applicants(WHY??) as similar ranked schools/quote Name recognition and location

The Ivies and the well-known elites such as Stanford and MIT attract the prestige hounds and have a lot more name recognition, and Duke is generally recognized as the best college in the South. Also, colleges draw heavily from their own regions, so students in the northeast and California tend to pay attention to colleges in their area. For example, only 14% of those scoring 700+ on the CR and/or math sections of the SAT in 2014 were from California, but California residents make up 40% of undergrads at Stanford. Colleges in “flyover states” are often overlooked by students on the east and west coasts.

(2) Underrated Reputation

Wash U is often seen, particularly by the older crowd, as a Johnny-come-lately among elite colleges, so it has had to work to establish its reputation as a strong research university. In particular, it has been frequently ridiculed on CC for its mailings. I personally find this rather baffling, given that Chicago leaves Wash U in the dust when it comes to aggressive, over the top marketing but has become by far one of the most popular colleges on CC.

(3) Underrated Academics

Academically, biology and medicine overshadow the other disciplines at Wash U in the public eye to such an extent that many high schoolers don’t know about the other strong programs there (e.g. art, dance, anthropology and archaeology, poli sci, languages, etc.).

(4) Placement

Finally, the big fields right now are computer science and econ/finance/business – you’ll notice that about 80% of the students on here are convinced those majors are perfect for them. Wash U isn’t one of the biggest feeder schools to Wall Street or to Silicon Valley, so it’s less appealing to a lot of students than, say, Stanford, MIT, or Penn/Wharton.

Apples and oranges. You can’t compare public and private universities, and even comparing private universities can be tricky unless you account for the percentage of students enrolled through Early Decision. For example, the University of Nebraska has a whopping 63% yield.

Popularity among high school students is hardly the best way to measure college quality. Wash U is a highly respected university.

3

I agree with @warblersrule. People who know colleges, know that Wash U is a top tier school. Its location in the Midwest however, doesn’t appeal to everyone.

4

OP, have you visited? I cannot imagine anyone who has would not feel privileged to attend WUSTL.

Don’t get hung up on reputations and what school is more “elite” than another. You will get a terrific education at any number of these fine schools, including WUSTL. I would be focusing more on fit, than prestige.

Good luck!

5

I would visit if I were you. I heard a presentation by a WU admissions person and she said interest is a factor in their decisions. My son visited his friend there a while back and he has mentioned a few times how nice it was. We are from the area and he wants to go out of state, otherwise he would probably apply. It is a very good school and worth your consideration! Good luck.

6

By and large, while academics are top notch, they miss a “sexy” factor. Much of that can be attributed to its locale and always being mentioned with the big boys, but often as consolation of sorts (hence the low yield).

7

WUSTL has always been a strong school, but like some of the other posters have said, it it often viewed a bit below some others. To that end. they are one of the schools that has tried to improve image by paying close attention to rankings and trying to improve them by making it easier to apply, dropping supplements etc, which then drives admit rates down, making rankings in some outlets go up

8

Another factor that has not been mentioned is DI Athletics. Don’t underestimate the marketing value of a good football or basketball team for name-recognition and popularity among high school students. Wash U is not on TV every week (or even once a year during March Madness), so many kids who aren’t from the region don’t know who they are. I work at a different top 20 school and a Wash U degree would certainly be highly valued by our graduate and professional schools. Lower yield just means that it’s a popular back-up school (not by any means a safety) for the kids who really want to go Ivy. I would note that Duke was often considered to be just an Ivy backup option until the last decade or two (which also coincided with its string of BB national championships). {NOT a dig at Duke – It was a great school before that – I’m just talking popularity and high school kid status symbol).

9

Are you aware at WashU there are over 29,000 applicants and only 1700 spots? In comparison, Notre Dame has @17,000 applicants! Good luck trying to get in. It’s obviously not easy. WashU is a great school. My D absolutely loves it and she doesn’t want to come home. :slight_smile:
https://admissions.wustl.edu/apply/Freshman-Student-Admission/Pages/Freshman-Class-Overview.aspx

10

Why don’t you call the school for job placement stats?

Have you applied ED already?

11

I visited Wash. U. and honestly it was the best college visit experience I’ve had. As someone from CA that has visited UCB and Stanford a couple times and has friends that go to both schools, I can honestly say that Wash. U. has comparable students. Personally, I enjoyed Wash. U more than UCB. The people on campus are so friendly and happy. It’s crazy.

I’m applying for their undergrad business school and it’s ranked #5 overall and #1 for being a feeder into top MBA programs.

There’s a bunch of reasons why Wash. U. is an amazing place. Don’t let prestige and rankings cloud your college application process. Choose a school that you’d be a great fit for!

Now, I just have to wait if Wash. U. thinks the same of me…LOL

12

yes, it’s #15 in the country because it’s a bad school

13

One of the top 15 schools… Unknown or not, you can take that to the bank!

14

Its an excellent, highly selective school. No worries.