Looking for a school just like WashU

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

<p>My D is a junior at WashU and we all think that WashU is just about the perfect University! My younger D is now looking at colleges but I'm afraid that WashU will be too big of a reach for her. Any suggestions of schools similar to WashU but a little easier to get into?</p>

<p>Here are the things we love about WashU:
- mid-size institution with a focus on undergraduates
-beautiful campus with rich campus life, but access to a city
-students know how to have fun but it is not a "party school"
-smart student body
-greek life present but doesn't dominate the social scene</p>

2

<p>Important question: What does your D want to major in?</p>

3

<p>She’s one of those “undecided” kids. However, she does lean more towards the humanities and social sciences. I would love to see her at a school with the type of flexibility that WashU has, so she can experiment and change her mind if she needs/wants to.</p>

4

<p>Maybe Boston U?
Does not have all the qualities you are looking for, but has some, and is much easier to get into (and more predictable)
CMU is similar to WUSTL in many ways, but it is also quite selective.</p>

5

<p>bu is much busier and doesn’t really have a campus if thats something shes looking for</p>

6

<p>No, CMU is very different in that students need to know what they’re majoring in when they apply, since they apply to a particular school (and lacks the flexibility to switch).</p>

<p>Rice is the closest I can think of – undergrad focused, serious students, flexibility to change majors, beautiful campus with access to a city, supportive environment, etc. However, it’s a very selective school.</p>

7

<p>Emory or Rhodes? My son liked both those schools.</p>

8

<p>Yes, Emory could be a good choice.
Rice is as selective as WUSTL, I think.
I am pretty sure that you can apply as “undecided” to CMU’s Arts&Sci school (or whatever the equivalent is called there). It is only hard to switch majors there if you are switching into Art, or CS, or possibly engineering.</p>

9

<p>For whatever it’s worth, Emory and Rice are both ranked the same (17). I’m not sure Emory is less selective than Rice.
Wash U is ranked 12.
Sorry for my ignorance but what is CMU?</p>

10

<p>CMU = Carnegie Mellon University</p>

<p>Take a look at Case Western Reserve University. CWRU assumes students will change majors. Lots of flexibility.</p>

11

<p>I’ll second Rhodes.</p>

<p>It’s actually how I ‘discovered’ WashU (they don’t have engineering, only a 3-2 dual degree program with WashU. It’s why I never applied to Rhodes, even though I loved everything else about it).</p>

<p>Compared to WashU, it’s very easy to get in, and they give a ton of merit aid.</p>

12

<p>The problem with CWRU is that it doesn’t have the beautiful campus setting. And it’s a good school, but not perhaps quite as rigorous as WashU. University Circle is a nice perk, but it really doesn’t hold a candle to Forest Park. (Sorry, Cleveland – I do love it here and would NOT want to live in St. Louis). It would be an easier admit, though.</p>

<p>Rhodes does have a BEAUTIFUL campus.</p>

13

<p>Think about University of Rochester - it has wonderful flexibility, smart kids, wide range of interests, good merit $$…only the climate is different…lots of snow. It’s a school that we were sure our son could have been happy at (now a freshman at WashU).</p>

14

<p>Emory is a really similar school to WashU, even my Fiske Guide said that :P</p>

<p>You could also have Johns Hopkins on the list.</p>

15

<p>Tufts, nice campus, accessible to Boston, not quite as selective as WashU, but still quite selective</p>

<p>American, has a real campus feel, yet accessible to DC, much less selective</p>

<p>I think both are similar in size to WashU, both have graduate schools, but I think more of an undergrad focus.</p>

16

<p>Great input everyone. Any other ideas? Also, I was surprised to see Carnegie Mellon mentioned because I always thought of it as a school where you are either a super techie/science/engineering person or a super artsy person and that it was not a place for a more mainstream basic humanities kid. Am I wrong about this?</p>

17

<p>Question seems to be - how much less selective than WashU is she looking for? Emory and Rice are great choices, but not that much less selective than WashU Case or Rochester are other good choices, but then again the selectivity factor may become an issue. She might still consider WashU, since sibling attendance is a consideration in admission. Question seems to be how close to potential WashU admission are her stats. Good luck with your search.</p>

18

<p>According to our school college counselor, schools like Rochester and Carnegie Mellon, are in her reasonable reach range, she was told that WashU was a much higher reach. Still waiting for SATs. Clearly, if she does very well, more schools will open up to her.</p>

19

<p>Hope she does well on her SATs. If so, then make sure you visit campus and talk to a person in admissions (preferably the admissions officer assigned to her and not a student) to explain her situation, especially the fact that she has a sister there (who hopefully has done well), and that with family there WashU is by far her first choice. have her examine her resume and be able to explain any weak areas of her reume. (not excuses but reasonable explanations). Remember that her admissions officer is her main advocate when it comes to decision time.</p>

20

<p>No, nervous, your’e not wrong about Carnegie Mellon. I’m an alum and I’ve done a lot of recruiting for them, and the kids who end up not being happy at CMU are the ones who don’t have a strong major that they’re committed to from the start. It’s not a good fit for an arts & sciences major who wants the ability to be flexible.</p>