Washington University in St. Louis vs. Vanderbilt University

College Search & Selection
1

I’m a junior in high school, and as of right now, Washington University in St. Louis and Vanderbilt University are my top two colleges. I need help deciding which is better though.

Here are my scores.

PSAT: 1460 overall (and I am a National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalist)

  • 720 in Evidence Based Reading and Writing
  • 740 in Math

SAT: 1510 overall

  • 740 in Evidence Based Reading and Writing
  • 770 in Mathematics

ACT: 35 overall

  • 36 in English
  • 33 in Math
  • 34 in Reading
  • 35 in Science
  • 11 in writing

SAT Subject Tests (I thought wrong answers would cost you points and I left questions blank which affected these scores)

  • Math Level I: 730
  • World History: 680

AP Exams:

  • World History: 4
    (I’m taking seven more AP exams by the end of senior year)

GPA: 4.0

  • My high school does not have a weighted GPA system.
  • An A- counts as a 4.0. However, I only got one A- freshman/sophomore year. If all goes well junior year, I’ll have all As and perhaps one more A-.

I’m not going to reveal all of my extracurricular/specific classes, because I don’t want to give too much information away. I’ll only do so if it helps you all.

Here is how I evaluate each college in some key areas.

LOCATION: Washington University is about 20 minutes from where I live so I’m pretty familiar with the area. However, I am also interested in trying something new, and I love Nashville, which is only a few hours away from where I live right now.

CULTURE: I am relatively popular in my grade, but I am a lot more in sync with the music scene than the frat/preppy crowd. I think I could fit into both schools though.

SPORTS: I’m somewhat into sports, so obviously that puts Vanderbilt above Washington University.

ADMISSIONS: I have a better chance of getting into WashU than Vandy. It’s risky if I ED to Vanderbilt, because if I don’t get in, I’m unsure of whether I could get into WashU or not. However, if I ED to WashU, I feel like I have a pretty good chance of getting in.

COST: Vanderbilt is about $10,000 cheaper, but I also have to worry about travel expenses. Plus, WashU is offering me a scholarship for a few thousand dollars.

What do you all think?

2

I’m only going to bump this one time, but this is pretty important to me. I appreciate any help I can get! :slight_smile:

3

Sounds like you prefer Vanderbilt. FYI, next year WashU will have EDII so that will be an option if you don’t get a good outcome from going ED at Vandy.

4

ED1 Vanderbilt, ED2 WUSTL. I think it’s good for college students to get away from their hometown a little.

5

Vanderbilt is better recognized nationally and higher ranked! They were my top two as well. Wash u offered more money but Vandy won because they are more exciting and best fit for me. Play hard, work hard. Anchor down!

6

For SAT Subject Tests, wrong answers are indeed penalized, whereas they aren’t for the regular SAT and ACT tests. As for your choice of ED school, that’s going to be mostly a subjective decision, but be prepared to apply widely if you don’t get in ED.

7

What is your potential major? If it’s sone thing related to biology/BME then both schools are going to be roughly the same. If you’re thinking Humanities/Social Sciences I would give WashU the nod.

I would not send in those subject scores. They seem pretty mediocre to be honest. Plus you already have the ACT results.

I would ED WashU and ED2 Vandy. With your grades, the worst that would happen is that you will be deferred to RD by WashU.

8

I would recommend that you bump your subject test scores to a minimum of 750 each to be competitive in that aspect. I was able to speak with a former MIT admissions rep when I applied to colleges a few years ago and he told me that usually a 750 or above is considered really competitive.

Both Vandy and WashU are really good schools. You’re lucky to have the EDII option for WashU, which I wish I had when applying. I was also deeply interested in both schools when I submitted my apps, but I decided to attend WashU because of it’s pre-med program. To be honest, you should look more into each school’s strengths and see what you like most – based on your description, it seems that you really like Vandy, although you could avoid airfare and other complications if you stay local.

9

These two are close academic peers but they have different vibes: Vandy is more Greek and has the SEC sports scene, while WashU is known to be a bit more nerdy and lacks the huge sports scene. Academically, the biggest difference I can think of is that Wash U offers Business while Vandy does not. They’ll offer similar quality of teaching and support, probably.

If you prefer Vandy (over Wash U and all others), and you don’t need to be able to compare fin aid offers, go ahead and, as others have said, apply ED1 there and (if necessary) ED2 at Wash U.

Both are excellent and you’d be blessed to get into one of them.

If you like Wash U, you might also consider Emory.