<p>fontbonne university</p>
<p>As everyone else has said, BU, Emory, CMU are all wonderful schools with many of the same traits as WashU. This being said, I still think that your daughter should try for WashU, perhaps ED. It may be a reach, but if it would be a first choice then there is no reason she shouldn’t try. I am not an expert on WashU, but from what I have heard, WashU is much less selective in the early pool because it really focuses on who loves the school most and will contribute most to the community. I can not speak for all schools, but at my school WashU accepted 56% of all ED applicants compared to 18% of all RD applicants. The average GPA of accepted early applicants at my school is .26 lower than those accepted RD and the average ACT score is 2 pts lower for early applicants than regular applicants. This is not to say that early applicants at my school are less qualified, but that WashU is willing to admit a few people with lower GPAs because they not only applied ED, but also showed they really love WashU. In this case, having an older sibling there can really help. </p>
<p>Definitely getting to know your admissions officer can also help, but not only for admissions purposes. Though I had to withdraw my WashU application due to an ED at another school, WashU went from #6 on my list to #2 after talking with an admissions officer about everything that made WashU so special. We talked a lot about what we loved in a school, and what it meant to feel at home somewhere. From those discussions, I learned how much I would love to attend WashU, and she learned a lot about me as a person and how I hoped to contribute to the WashU community.</p>
<p>Also on top of floatingriver’s post, if you applied ED and got deferred like I did, the admissions will still know that WashU is your top choice if you continue to keep in contact and let them know despite the decision that was pulled on you. My processor took the e-mail I sent her stating that WashU is still my number one and attached it to my file. That’s what I did and I’m praying that I will be accepted. <em>fingers crossed</em></p>
<p>Mizzou - A 1 1/2 hr drive from WUSTL, and easier to get into. Yeah, it’s not small, but it’s cheap and close. Truman State, also @ 2 hrs from WUSTL would also be worth checking out, but not for engineering, it is a selective LAC, and small.</p>
<p>Wow, didn’t the op say she thinks WashU is a huge reach for her daughter? so then why would people on here mention Emory, Rice, or JHU (schools of similar selectivity)?</p>
<p>Tufts, nice campus, accessible to Boston, not quite as selective as WashU, but still quite selective</p>
<p>Not sure the foregoing is true since I know some Wash Uers who did not get into Tufts. However, Tufts and Wash U. are very similar, although I have heard tell that Wash U. students can be more academically zealous; however, that said, I know a few pre-meds at Tufts who are pretty zealous as well, but nice kids, nonetheless. Rice, Tufts, and Wash U. are all similar in terms of similarly-qualified students, are universities that have LAC qualities, and attentive and caring administrations.</p>
<p>I’ve also heard that JHU is more academic than collegiate–not a lot of kids outside, lolling about, on a lovely Spring day, whereas I think the kids at the above-mentioned universities (including Wash U.) are academic and collegiate (e.g. social).</p>
<p>Your kid should apply to Vanderbilt. Here’s why:</p>
<ol>
<li>It fits most of what you like about WU. </li>
<li><p>mid-size institution with a focus on undergraduates
-beautiful campus with rich campus life, but access to a city - VU’s campus is more beautiful than WU’s; I’ve seen both. And Nashville certainly stacks up vs. St. Louis.
-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></li>
<li><p>VU uses the common app and has no extra essay.</p></li>
<li><p>VU has amazing need based financial aid.</p></li>
<li><p>VU has merit based fin. aid- Cornelius Vanderbilt, Ingram, and Chancellor’s Scholarship Programs.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The first thing that comes to my mind is the University of Rochester.</p>
<p>@Mathematica314,</p>
<p>what are you talking about? The OP said in the original post, that she thinks WashU may be a huge reach for her daughter, because it is selective. Vanderbilt, Emory, Rice, and JHU are considered peer schools of WashU, in terms of selectivity, student bodies, etc.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is less selective than WashU.</p>
<p>25.3% acceptance rate at VU vs. 21.7% for Wash U for fall 2008.</p>
<p>Which means that VU accepts 17% more people than Wash U does.</p>
<p>Statisticaclly meaningful? Perhaps not.</p>
<p>[Best</a> Colleges - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/lowest-acceptance-rate]Best”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/lowest-acceptance-rate)</p>
<p>To the OP:</p>
<p>I just want to say that I hope your daughter still considers applying to WashU. Sometimes unpredictable things can happen in the college application process, like an acceptance from a school you thought you couldn’t get in.
For WashU, it is definitely worth a try. </p>
<p>How about Northwestern? (just a thought, I don’t know too much about it besides that it is also a great school)</p>
<p>Mathematica314</p>
<p>I agree with everything you said about Vanderbilt, but those numbers are two years old. Vanderbilt just keeps getting more popular. It really is on the move. </p>
<p>Last year’s acceptance rate was 18.9% putting it in the top 20 schools for selectivity and this year they had another huge increase in applications…up 13%. That should put them in the 16% or so range. It could very well be more selective than Wash U at this point.</p>
<p>Don’t just look at admit rates, which can be misleading. You need to look at the quality of the students who were admitted and who enrolled. Irrespective of admit rates (so-called “selectivity”), I do not believe for a second that Vanderbilt (a great and beautiful school) is truly more selective - i.e., harder to get into - than Wash U (which, for my money, is as beautiful and even greater).
As for Wash U vs Tufts - discussed above at #26 - at least in our (highly competitive) public school district, Tufts has proven to be harder to get into than Wash U (and much, much harder than Vanderbilt), although I do not know one way or another how our experience compares to those of other school districts.</p>
<br>
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<p>WCAS makes a valid point. In these parts, on one of the most impacted states for “supplying” students to Tufts, I know some (3) pretty shocked 2350-2400ers on the SAT and 4.0+ GPAers who did not get into either EDs (I or II) (thus invalidating the "Tufts Syndrome insistence). Tufts’ mean SAT has now surpassed that of Brown and Penn, not that I think that makes for a better or more talented student–just saying. It may be, now, that Tufts has gotten every bit as “Tuft” to get into as Wash U. and company.</p>
<p>And while I know Vanderbilt to be a very good school, up and coming with its reputation, kids, in these parts, use Vanderbilt as a “safety” alternative to Emory, and get in.</p>
<p>(and one of these days I’m going to learn how to quote the poster I am referencing)</p>
<p>Georgetown
NYU
U of Chicago
USC
BU</p>
<p>Yes, I think it’s pretty fair to say that from the Northeast, Tufts is more difficult to get into than WashU. I believe it’s a geographical issue. Norhteastereners love the idea of going to school near Boston and therefore Tufts overdraws applicants from the area. It is much more difficult to get Northeasterners to go out to school in St. Louis, particularly when there are so many great schools within driving distance.</p>
<p>University of Rochester and Lehigh are other schools that you might want to consider, although Rochester is a little bit easier to get into than Lehigh. Both are great schools .</p>
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<p>True enough, and Tufts has become a misery to apply to from California because it is the 3rd most “applied-from” state after MA and NY. Tufts’ hyper-popularity among California high-schoolers has become a significant problem for the California applicant who really wants to got to Tufts.</p>
<p><<university of=“” rochester=“” and=“” lehigh=“” are=“” other=“” schools=“” that=“” you=“” might=“” want=“” to=“” consider=“”>></university></p>
<p>I hear really impressive things about Rochester.</p>
<p>I can see Rochester and Lehigh, but don’t see how NYU or BU fit the “WashU-like” bill. NYU and BU are true city schools with virtually no campuses. Student life revolves around the cities in these schools, there’s minimal “campus life”. D wants a real campus experience for college and feels there is plenty of time in life for city living. Is there something I’m missing here soze?</p>
<p>How about Syracuse?</p>