Hey so I just received word that I have been waitlisted for the WUSTL class of 2020. I’ve looked into it and it seems that they have a notoriously large wait list that they often don’t use. Can anyone tell me around what % they’ll take off the waitlist in a given year? Also around what % of applicants make it onto the waitlist?
Lastly if you have any tips for getting off the wait list I’d appreciate that very much…
what are your stats?
I am waitlisted, too. Maybe because I don’t show any interest. No scholarship application, no visit or interview. Is demonstrating interest really that important to WashU?
@meowmeowwww Demonstrated interest is very important at WashU. My S had been there several times before he was in HS as his sister was there. He was in HS when he went for her graduation and we made sure he checked in at Admissions so they knew he had been there at least once while a high school student. Fall of senior year, we took him back and he had his own tour and interview. He also talked to the parent volunteers at our high school’s college fair junior year and attended the info session at our HS fall of senior year. I think this was all important, especially the senior year trip with interview as it clearly demonstrated S’s own interest in the school beyond just having a sibling who had been there.
My D did not have a sibling there when she was admitted. She had visited her junior year of HS and also showed interest at the high school college fair and attended the visit by the school rep senior year.
Like many top schools, WashU has more qualified applicants than they can admit. I think that due to their location and the lack of required supplemental essays, they do use demonstrated interest in making their decisions. They want students who really want to be there.
That being said, I have always told my kids that there is no one perfect school for anyone. You will find the right school for you. Best of luck with your college selection.
I showed no interest at all (no visits, interviews, emails, scholarship applications) but was accepted. So demonstrated interest isn’t absolutely necessary.
Last year there were 0 students admitted off the wait list per the CDS:
https://wustl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/wustl-cds-2014-2015.pdf
@Jackson9854 Same. I applied because I knew it was a good school, but mostly because they didn’t require any additional essays. I was the only one that got in, with lower scores, fewer ECs, and (minimally lower) GPA than the other people in my school that applied. They are as shocked as I am. Maybe it came down to the essay? Only thing I can think of.
I’m sure essays and recommendations are important as are the rigor of the classes one is taking. Another thought I had was the major one selects. I’m sure certain programs get more applicants than others. My S is a very strong math student but did not apply to traditional math type majors such as engineering or computer science and that might have made his application look different (in a good way). It is hard to know with any school exactly what they are looking for. I bet most if not all of the applicants to WashU are academically strong enough to do well there. So these other factors that can’t be pinpointed exactly come in to play. That includes, essays, recommendations, chosen major, demonstrated interest and geography. I’m sure there are others too.
So from reading this, it was probably demonstrated interest that got me.
Stats:
GPA: 4 weighted (moved country mid-sophomore year and had a slow start but a serious upwards trend and rigorous courseload)
ACT: 33 (English: 34 Math: 33 Reading: 33 Science: 33)
Extracurriculars: Pretty Solid
Reccomendations: Also Pretty Solid
Essay: Conseulor said it was fantastic (not sure if that means much though)
Also I require no financial aid and am a white international student which probably helped.
My daughter has ACT 34, GPA 4.5, 9 AP classes, top 5% her class, studied abroad last summer, visited twice and had many ECs. She wasn’t even wait listed.
@soccergirl15 I’m sorry to hear about your daughter. She clearly is qualified. I think most of the kids are but there are not enough spots. It is impossible to know exactly how each school makes their decisions. When my D got accepted several years ago, she got rejected from a similarly sized, similarly ranked school. There was certainly no academic or EC reason the results should have been different. I chalked it up to the fact that both were competitive schools, but they had different goals in filling the class such as proposed major and the geography of the class. Or maybe just the interpretation of D’s application by different individuals. I hope your D will find another wonderful school that will provide 4 great years of education, personal growth and fun.
@soccergirl15 and @PAO2008 I was waitlisted with a 3.9 and 4.9,ACT 35, top 3% of class, visited, athletic recruit/support and good ECs. A friend of mine that got into Stanford early action also was waitlisted. I heard that WashU tends to waitlist overqualified people because they don’t think that they will get in unless there is an extreme level of interest displayed.
At a school like WashU, there’s no way to be overqualified. Accept the fact that there were others who were equally if not more impressive and move on, instead of belittling the school to make yourself feel better.
My D was accepted but with a $1500 student job all they could offer in financial assistance - will not be attending. Had really hoped for some kind of break off that crazy high tuition. I guess if people are lined up out the door on a waitlist, they don’t have to discount the cost. Sigh.
@filbierto Actually you should probably look at the decision threads for the past years. Many people who were overqualified didn’t get in. It’s just because there are certain things WashU looks for more than others. Every school is unique. That’s their right. Don’t hate on @vrhou98 for telling the truth. Also, please don’t follow his advice of accepting that others were better than you. Its 1 school that didn’t think you fit in. If it was a top choice, I’m sorry its just the way it is nowadays. But just because this school waitlisted you doesn’t mean you are inferior. Be confident and ignore people like filbierto.
@mileabovethesky Again there is no such thing as “overqualified” when it comes to elite schools like WashU. Just because you get rejected/wait listed despite your scores and grades falling into line with averages at a school does not mean you were too qualified to get in. Sorry but that’s just an excuse to make you feel better. Now that’s not say that @vrhou98 wasn’t “qualified”, let’s face it - admission is a subjective process and many many people with similar levels of achievement may not be admitted, and that is unfortunate but not a knock on those individuals. But to think that a single member of the admissions committee read through @vrhou98 's application and thought to themselves “Wow, this student is simply too “overqualified” to be admitted into our meager freshman class!” is completely laughable. There are no shortage of qualified applicants to schools like WashU, and I guarentee that there are no students who are too good to be admitted. Stop kidding yourself.
there is a thing about being overqualified. Many people get waitlisted when they’re overqualified because they didn’t show any interest. Again, I’m not hating on this. I think its perfectly ok for WashU to do this. It’s THEIR school and THEIR decision.
And the committee probably read @vrhou98 's application and probably saw that there was a lack of interest. They would have probably thought: would this guy really want to go here?
I know plenty of people, including myself, who got in and didn’t show any interest whatsoever. Although it may be considered, interest is completely overblown. Just face it, there are tons of 34-36 act 3.8+ GPA students who apply to WashU. Not all of them can get in. It’s the other parts of the application that differentiate applicants. They are definitely not rejecting kids because they are “too qualified”. It’s not a complicated concept to understand.
I was also put on the waitlist and wondering if it is worth it to accept my place on it. The chances don’t look so good for waitlisted students actually getting accepted 
@shadyconcepts I don’t think you have anything to loose by putting yourself on the waitlist and also communicating to your regional rep your continued high interest in Wash Univ.(if that is true) and your good fit for their creative writing program. You sound amazing with your creative writing and stats you posted on another thread. The only thing I would say is to start psychologically moving on and start loving a school that loves you back so you are not in limbo with wt list especially because Wash univ didn’t need to take anyone off there wt list last year. If you get off than great, if you don’t than you can be happy and succeed at another school.
@filbierto congrats on your acceptance. My S also got in RD. Wash university is def. a school that cares about demonstrated interest. I don’t think that is overblown. Sure people like yourself got in without it and sure many many students who show demonstrated interest don’t get in but for the majority you need to show BOTH-demonstrated interest and also be super qualified(great stats, gpa, extracurr) for a school like Washington university. I also saw on other threads people saying they got in and said they showed no dem. interest but than said things like I applied ED without dem interest (well ED is the epitome of dem interest) and others saying they didn’t show dem interest and got in but did go to meet their regional reps at HS visits (which is also showing dem. interest). I also saw posts of students getting in who claimed no dem interest and some with lower stats, but they had other big pos. in the admission process like “hooks” (URM or geographically diverse). I don’t think necessarily they are rejecting or wt listing kids who are “too qualified”, but I do believe many students who are super qualified who didn’t show any dem. interest and had NO hooks got wt listed or rejected. that’s just the facts. I don’t think its helpful to future applicants to say dem. interest doesn’t matter or is overblown. If you love Wash univ and think you have the stats to get in than SHOW DEM. INTEREST. it doesn’t have to be flying out to see the school. Wash univ visits HS, you can also do an alumni interview in your area, Wash univ also does many hotel info sessions across the country and finally you can communicate by email with your regional rep(don’t be annoying just a few emails).