<p>Oh, and I live in St. Louis and I don't really have much to say about Wash U because I've only been there once (and that was just to take that SAT subject tests). It is a VERY beautiful campus in Forest Park which is amazing and St. Louis IS a great city. My mom reminisces about how she always used to hang out there and is very fond of it.</p>
<h2>jazzymom: "WashU seems to strive for a balance of male-female enrollment that is close to 50-50. Men have a higher admit rate than women. (I think I got that from collegenavigator.ed.gov/) "</h2>
<p>I looked it up and you're correct that men have a higher admit rate than women. However, it doesn't imply that they necessarily have lowered the standards for men. It could be that the men's pool is more self-selective--(slightly) fewer men apply but the ones that do are more qualified on average than the women. This theory has been used to explain why the female admit rate at CalTech is so much higher than the male admit rate despite the fact that CalTech does not practice affirmative action. </p>
<p>I don't know what is going on at WashU without more information. However, I figured out how many men and women they admitted--and in 2006 they admitted about 140 more men than women. If they lowered the standards for men to attain gender balance, then why did they continue to take more men after they had already achieved gender balance? Unless they are just outright discriminating against women for no reason, the extra 140 men in the class leads me to believe that WashU is not favoring males in the admissions process.</p>
<p>does submitting your application early, like weeks before the deadline, increase your chances of being accepted?</p>
<p>WashU has rolling admission for transfer student I think so having your app complete when they start to read is a HUGE help</p>
<p>I do believe it helps your chances if you apply when there are more spots available, but the people I called denied this saying every applicant has equal chances of admission. I think what they meant to say is that they apply the same criteria to everyone, so they won't lower their standards for an early applicant. However, if there are a bunch of highly qualified people applying right by the deadline and many openings are already gone, those people will face stiffer competition for the limited number of spots available.</p>
<p>Btw, my app was listed as complete on Oct. 19, and I heard back on Nov. 7th. Transfer applicants could apply as early as Sept. 15 and as late as Nov. 15.</p>
<p>Re: post 25</p>
<p>but then again, they still do turn away highly qualified applicants early on, so it's kinda hard to predict what exactly they're looking for.</p>
<p>I'm just curious what your stats look like?</p>
<p>PM sent :)</p>
<p>I visited WashU the day before Thanksgiving and fell in love with it (see submitted report) even though I visited on a gloomy day. I'm in love with NU as well though (still waiting for decision). It's too bad I can't visit Rice in time (enrollment deadline is really soon), because from what I gather, it's really really nice.</p>
<p>I found out I got into Emory today!!! I'm so so happy :) So far, I have WashU, Rice, and Emory to choose from. Still waiting from Cornell and Northwestern.</p>
<p>Congrats! But I have a question -- can one apply to two schools ED or are these EA non-binding?</p>
<p>Thanks, the results I'm reporting are for transfer admissions. See post 8. In any case, ED/EA decisions for these schools aren't out yet.</p>
<p>I got my acceptance packet from Rice today and financial aid packages for both schools. Both are accepting all my credits. Rice is offering 1,250/semester in loans and WashU 2,250. The rest are grants/work-study. The final deadlines for both schools are Dec. 3 and Dec. 4, respectively. I haven't received my packet from Emory yet.</p>
<p>I'd steer you towards Rice, but then, I'm a little ;) biased!!!!</p>
<p>I'd pick Rice, too, but most of all, wonderful for you.
So many smart people can't be wrong about another smart person!</p>
<p>Whoops, upon careful examination of my financial aid award from Rice, my family actually has to pay $2,000 per semester in addition to the loans. Money-wise, WashU is winning. I'll found out Monday if I got into Northwestern.</p>
<p>It's really too bad that I can't visit Rice. I really loved my visit to WashU, so it has that advantage.</p>
<p>*I'll find out...</p>
<p>Regarding Rice vs. Wash U- I have visited both campuses with my d. We also live in Houston, and my d takes violin lessons at Rice. From a campus beauty standpoint, Wash U beats Rice in every way. In addition, the food at Wash U is much better. </p>
<p>That being said, Rice is literally across the street from the Texas Medical center, so if anything medical is of interest to you, Rice has it hands down. Rice is strong in math, science and music. Much weaker in the humanities. </p>
<p>Consider weather as well- Houston is oppressively hot 8-9 months per year, which makes outdoor activity a challenge. Wash U will have 4 seasons and be a lot more temperate in the hot months. </p>
<p>Finally, I though the admissions people and faculty at Wash U were far and above more hospitable than at Rice.</p>
<p>Pipmom - have you eaten at the South or North Serveries (not Lovett or SidRich - but the major serveries? I'm wondering if you've just sampled the food for purchase at the Student Center (okay, but not stellar) or the food in the two main serveries. I would beg to differ about the "oppressively hot 8-9 months of the year" and I don't see it making outdoor activity a challenge for the Rice kids. Very hot for July-late September- yes, but they run around in it anyway - and lovely and temperate the rest of the time, though a tad on the rainy side at times. My parents lived for years not far from Wash U. in Missouri Cold and yucky in the winter. To each his own.
Sanjen - sounds like you have lots of great choices. Enjoy your riches! ;)</p>