Washington University in St. Louis 2023 ED

When’s the supplemental essay going to come out?

What was the process like for your child in terms of applying ED?

There was no supplemental essay or ED2 last year so I can’t comment on that. My daughter was deferred during ED and then admitted during RD. Just a few more weeks and she’ll be heading to St Louis. If anyone has any questions I’d be happy to answer any I can.

@JemmaSimmons Thank you!! How do you like BME overall so far? My dd going in to freshman year this fall and is thinking about switching to BME if possible. TIA!

@sunshinestateg I love the work I’m doing and can’t imagine doing anything else! It’s a struggle for pretty much everyone, but I find it so rewarding. I happened to take a bunch of GenEds last year and my BME classes were still my favorite.

Is your daughter in the engineering school right now? If not, try and see if she can request to take writing 1 second semester. That will give her time to switch to the engineering school and therefore the time to see if she can test out of the requirement, a privilege only engineers are afforded. Additionally, don’t let her get demoralized by BME 140. They purposely make it overly difficult to make sure there are only dedicated students left in the major by the end of the year, but it gets better and you can get through it! They curve the class at the end of the year for the kids who make it, haha. Also, definitely definitely definitely make sure she knows to join a PST group if she decides to take 140.

The one thing I will say about being premed and BME is that it’s not the best major to emerge with a spectacular GPA. That said, tons of people are premed and BME at WashU and she would be in good company.

If I applied ED 1 what’s the last date I can submit subject tests ( I know they’re not required)

Also what’s the supplemental question? I went to an info session and they said there would be one for the class of 2023

@rollstangs2019

As of now, even though the Common App refreshed, they still haven’t released their supplemental essay question. Hopefully they’ll release it soon. The wait is killing me! My guess is that it will be similar to the “Why Northwestern” question. Many people apply to Washu because it’s a very easy application. They’re hoping to attract more serious applicants by adding this supplement.

@rollstangs2019

October is the latest testing date for early decision. I think they should get the scores on time, but if not, you can rush it to them. Also, you can just self report your scores. They don’t actually require you to send them official score reports; you only need to if you get accepted.

The supplemental prompt is available on the Wash U blog. Note the instructions in the link. You can get to the prompt in the Common App once you answer some questions.

https://360.wustl.edu/2018/07/supplemental-essay/

Can someone advice - Wash U v. JHu. which one is better chocie for pre med kids

@dragon1128 the best pre-med school is one that is affordable and enables you to have a high GPA. You do not want to take on massive debt as an undergraduate and you need to maintain a high GPA in the BCMP classes.

Both WashU and Hopkins will prepare you for pre-med, although both schools have weed out classes.

Hey all. I’m not applying ED but still applying RD this cycle so I thought I would stop in. I live in a suburb not far from WashU so that could be a potential disadvantage for me. Still going to try my luck!

@dragon1128 The pre-med courses at WashU are brutal. All of them - chem, orgo, bio, and physics. Someone may have a WashU degree but getting a 3.0 in overall and science GPA (or less is very possible at the school) will keeping you from going to medical school. Caribbean is likely destination.

Good luck to all applicants. DD loves everything about the school. She’s enjoyed her time at WashU so far.

Unrelated to this thread (although I do plan on applying ED1) but some of the weighted GPAs on here are way high. I’m just curious how other schools’ GPA calculation works. At my school it’s a 4-3-2-1 for non-AP classes and a 5-4-3-1 for AP classes (that being A-B-C-D or less). My unweighted is a 3.96 and weighted is a 4.18, with "A"s in 5 APs, 18 non-APs, and one B in eighth-grade Geometry (I know). Even assuming I get straight "A"s in my 6 APs and 2 non-APs my senior year, I’ll come out of high school with only about a 4.3. Is everyone here really just taking and getting "A"s in almost all AP classes? Or is my school’s GPA calculation system different from y’all’s?

@dragon1128 my father was an undergrad at Hopkins (History major) in the late '80s and said the environment was intensely competitive and pretty miserable, not at all like a regular college experience. He found a good group of friends and is glad he went there because otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten into Harvard grad school, but doesn’t want my brother or I applying. Of course, schools change in thirty years, but if you wanted an alumnus perspective there you go!

@ads000 High schools use many different GPA weighting methodologies, specifics are explained in each high school’s profile. College AOs use this document to understand the various systems.

Some high schools have courses with weightings in the 5s or 6s, e.g., AP classes and/or the highest honors courses (some schools have multiple levels of honors courses). Some colleges will recalculate each applicant’s GPA to an unweighted GPA, or do their own unique calculation, like the UCs, to make cross comparison more straightforward.

Weighting usually doesn’t matter as grades will be converted to an unweighted 4.0 scale.

WashU is a place where you will work hard, but will be rewarded if you put in the effort. My son told Mom and Dad after his first visit that WashU was his first choice and so far it’s been a great experience, even if he can’t decide between Biology/Pre-Med or History/Pre-Law. And now he wants to do a CompSci minor.

Hey, I was going to delete the thread but decided not to because 1) I don’t know how to and 2) it’s still very active. I still plan on applying to WashU but no longer early decision! Harvard has always been my dream school but moving to a different school with very competitive classmates people very getting to me. So, I’m applying regular decision because WashU is still an amazing school. Visiting Harvard it was clear that I belong there: but who knows the application pool is very competitive and so is WashU’s. I would say before applying and committing to a school VISIT the campus. I’m saving $75 dollars because I was planning on applying to Columbia but during my visit, the school wouldn’t have been a good fit for me. During my Harvard visit, I was very discouraged because of what my classmate said–“he’s not smart enough” or “if he gets it in it’s because he’s black and lower income” but meeting current students I LOVE IT THERE. I’m saying this to say don’t apply to a school as a backup plan follow your heart.