Legacy at WashU

<p>Both my grandpa and uncle attended Washington university. One for undergrad the other for law school. I'm not sure if either donates money. How much do you think this will help me?</p>

<p>You’re already in bro…Legacy is like a walk in</p>

<p>You think the fact that they are my more extended relatives will have any effect on it?</p>

<p>Obviously, if you’re completely unqualified if won’t get you in. But if you have decent grades I’d imagine legacy would be a big boost. My floormate absolutely doesn’t belong here (two weeks in she started sleeping through classes… all of them… then dropped as many as she could because she was too busy watching movies all day to do her homework and was failing everything, but I digress). She had decent grades in HS and had one extra curricular (did tech for the play… once, I think). Both parents are legacy and they donated $40k before she applied. So that’ll go a long way. But if you’re relying heavily on legacy to get in, you should also consider that it won’t make you successful once you’re in, so regardless, if you come here plan to work. WashU isn’t one of those “hard to get in, easy to stay” type schools (especially if you’re pre-med). Anyway, it never hurts to apply, and you should ALWAYS have a safety school if you’re applying to schools like this, even if you’re the most qualified kid in the world. Best of luck!! Hope it all works out! :)</p>

<p>EmilyRS thanks! I have a 31 ACT and 4.0 unweighted as well as a ton of ec. I was hoping to use legacy more to put me over the top then to rely on it. Also how do you like it there?</p>

<p>Sounds like you have a good shot then! And yeah, when you get into these types of schools it can be a crap shoot, since there’s so little differentiating one very qualified applicant from another very qualified applicant, so having that is definitely a good thing.</p>

<p>I absolutely love it! The girl I mentioned earlier is absolutely the exception— most people here are very bright, motivated, and engaging and it’s nice to be around people like that. Also my professors so far have all been amazing. Those are going to be true at any good school, though. I think what sets WashU apart (besides the food and dorms, which are both amazing) is how much the school cares about its students. They make sure you have every resource you need not only to be successful, but also to be happy, healthy, and transition well to college. You’ll definitely be well taken care of here. At least, that’s how my experiences have been.</p>

<p>Thanks! How do you like Saint Louis? I’ve always been intrigued by washu but my parents are opposed to it and don’t say why.</p>

<p>Are they worried about the safety here? If so, tell them don’t. Campus is really safe, and since everyone is so worried about safety, you probably will see a police car at every corner of the street during night time. Just be a little more cautious, and don’t wander around the street at 3 in the morning. Even if you do, like I did couple of times last semester, you will see there are more police on the street than regular pedestrians. But seriously though, don’t do that. </p>

<p>Otherwise, St. Louis is a really nice city. Forest park right across the street with tons of museums. Loop, which have lots of nice restaurants and bars, is within a walking distance. Since you will have a Upass, you can get to lots of places through metro for free. Public transportation isn’t that well compared to bigger cities, but it’s good enough.</p>

<p>I’m also a current undergrad at WashU and see a lot of people that have legacy. Both my roommate and my two best friends are legacy. With your grades you should be able to get in. Make sure that you still show a lot of interest though!</p>

<p>Personally I love St. Louis. Being safe here is 99% common sense. You’ll likely get the safety talk several times during orientation, but it’s pretty straightforward: don’t go to the loop alone late at night and be very aware of your surroundings if you go downtown. I feel safe going to the grocery store, being on the loop, and taking the metro alone during the day, but I don’t leave campus alone at night.</p>

<p>In terms of fun stuff today, St. Louis isn’t necessarily going to be as fun as Chicago or NYC or maybe Nashville, but any big tour (music, etc.) will make a stop here and there’s plenty of fun stuff to do (City Museum is my favorite, also many free museums, the zoo, events in Forest Park, etc.) Freshman floors and res colleges will take you to a lot of these for free. Obviously you’ll spend most of your time on campus, which is VERY safe (and you can get rides from WUPD if you need to get somewhere late at night), but I haven’t been disappointed by STL at all. Also, there are plenty of opportunities for community service, etc. that you might not be able to find in a smaller city or town.</p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>