Washington University in St. Louis Class of 2021 RD Discussion Thread

Pretty sure that mail is for counselors since none of us seem to have got it

thanks @ktbktb

50% less on waitlist means more acceptances and more emphasis on demonstrated interest in order to fill up the class i guess

Everyone relax… if you read the email it clearly is not intended for students. It’s an email they sent to Counselors.

As a parent seeing all the anxiety on this thread, just want to say good luck and if you have the stats to apply to this school, you are going to be fine where ever you end up. I can’t stress enough that it is not the school that makes or breaks you. I have friends with MBA’s from top schools who are still struggling midlife in there careers to “make it”. Others, that went to so called mid level schools that have done amazing things with their lives. So, this won’t define you! I’d love for my D to get in but also would be more then happy for her to go to a less prestigious school where she can really rise to the top and get scholarship money. Best of luck!

My college counselor received an email from WashU this morning saying decisions are finalized and will be released this afternoon!!

My counselor didn’t receive one. Does that mean anything?

Yup it is…I read the first paragraph and was so excited that I didnt read the rest!! Just realised it was meant to be confidential, I must’ve been added to the mailing list by mistake.

4 more hours, get hyped!!!

last year they were released at 5:37 EST. So about four hours from now :-SS

Do you guys think it’s true that WashU will reject or waitlist applicants that they think are overqualified, or that will go elsewhere (like an Ivy)?

When my son was accepted to Northeastern 2 years ago, his guidance counselor was kind enough to forward to me the letter she received from them that day saying decisions were coming. It also had stats of the accepted class with it. If someone is very comfortable with their counselor, perhaps you can ask if they received such an email from Wash U like @ktbktb 's letter, and maybe they will email it to you (or your parent). Also, does Wash U make any phone calls to accepted applicants on the day decisions are released? If they do, some of you may get calls starting right when school lets out. My son missed a call from a school because it came shortly before he was dismissed from school. Not all schools do this though.

@Harvardgirl21 Surely they will as otherwise their yield would drop further. Unfortunately with students applying to more and more schools this is becoming an increased issue as it affects rankings. I suspect this is why WashU uses demonstrated interest as a measure of true interest in attending.

@Harvardgirl21 i think WUSTL would want to admit kids that want to go there, and do well there, rather than primarily how qualified they are. There are plenty of kids who got in ED with stats lower than their average, and plenty who didn’t get in ED who had stats above average. One thing my counselor spoke a lot about (as did a few of my friends who go there and love it), is that WUSTL cares so much about fit. If they think that you are someone who isn’t interested in going there, I doubt they’d admit just because you have scores/grades above their normal ranges. That said, what do I know

just my best guess

@Harvardgirl21 , I think it’s possible, but that is one of the things that you can’t worry about with admissions because their strategy is out of your control. If Wash U is focusing on yield, as some have said previously with their reason for not having any supplemental essays on their application, I think it could be a possibility. I know that my son was offered a guaranteed transfer to a school which was a surprise to us. That could be another possibilities. His scores and gpa were above the norm for the school that offered it to him. Not sure if Wash U offers those.

Silly question, but why does a school offer guaranteed transfer?

@AnArcticMonkey I think it’s so they can admit a student but not include their stats in their averages for incoming freshmen.

@melodicvitamins then what is their incentive to admit the student?

Our opinion was that it was all about their yield numbers. If they don’t actually accept you (because they think you will go somewhere else because of your higher gpa and stats), then the GT offer doesn’t affect their yield. The student may accept the GT offer which is really transferring in after freshman year somewhere else. They can get you, but not have the risk of the student declining the offer. My opinion any way. I am sure there are other ways to look at it. Like perhaps the student didn’t make the cut but they had the GT offer to give? Another possibility. But I think they like the student who gets the GT offer because they could just deny them admission out right.