I know Wash U has a very high ranking on US News and its ranking has risen tremendously over the last 20 or so years. It has been said that the school really marketed itself to get more applicants to apply which they can then reject, making its acceptance rate lower and now the school is seen as very selective and competitive to get into. And I do believe that with this selectivity, it has attracted some top applicants with very high grades, scores, etc… I visited the campus and really liked it, but my question is - - is the quality of education at Wash U really as excellent as they want you to think and its ranking tends to indicate? or is the ranking manufactured and the quality of education really the same as a school ranked much lower - - like in the 30’s on the US News ranking list. In other words, does Wash U just want us to drink its cool aid or is there real quality of education behind it all?
It’s an excellent school.
Do you also obsess over the relative quality of a golf shirts with different logos on them?
It was just a question. If you have nothing nice to say, then please don’t respond to the question.
You’ll know WashU by its friends:
I think for undergrad, Washington U’s peers are Rice, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Emory, and Carnegie Mellon. These are outstanding schools.
Thank you @prezbucky. That is helpful.