WashU Fall 2022 Admissions - Class of 2026

And once past the intro class, the class size has decreased.

Thanks for the info. When you say the class size has decreased what numbers are we talking about?

It really depends on the major, but any pre-med requirement class is going to be larger at WashU just because there are so many pre-med students there. My student is a double major within the business school & and A& S major and even as a freshman has had some very small (around 10 students) classes. They have also had professors (not TA’s) for some subsections. It is very easy, even within the large classes, to go to office hours and have direct interaction with profs. It does take initiative on the student’s part though. Even in entry business classes which are larger, the professors have been very receptive.

2 Likes

Again, just google WashU courses and you can see all course offerings and number of seats available in each course. Check out the first year programs/ampersand programs which are offered in many subject areas. If you enroll, in the summer they will send you a brochure discussing these offerings. My student did one of these that was approx 16 students in size and the cohort stayed together over 3 semesters with the same professor (who also happened to be the Dept Chair ) These will be smaller in size and will last 1-3 semesters. It was a great way to get personal interaction with a professor and provide a future opportunity for a LOR. There are also sophomore seminars which can be small as well.

1 Like

Thanks. Checked the google link and it was very helpful!

Not 100-150 kids in that lecture (at some bigger schools it can be 300+ students in one lecture and there can be many lecture times). The calc 3 class had about 100-150 in my students time slot but the math class being taken this semester is a higher level class so smaller class size. I do not remember the number of students in the class my student told me. It was a a bit of an adjustment for my student but a quick adjustment and having the recitations and the weekly PTLT also helped. Hope that helps.

Headed on April 15th - it’s the same admitted students’ offerings through admissions throughout April, correct? We have a friend of my older daughter who is class of 2024 so staying for the student theatre show on Friday night. Looking forward to visiting for the third time, this time admitted!

1 Like

Sorry for the follow up - do we have numbers on this year’s admission? I know they planned on around 60% of class from the two ES rounds. And I think I read overall it’s somewhere around 16% this year (might have been last year). Trying to figure out the acceptance in the RD round - total apps, accepted students.

1 Like

Washington University admitted 3,598 applicants to the Class of 2026, resulting in an acceptance rate of 10%.

This year’s acceptance rate, which factors in both early decision (ED) and regular decision (RD) rounds, is a record low for the University. Last year’s acceptance rate was 13%. Vice Provost of Admissions & Financial Aid RonnĂ© Turner said that the increased number of students who applied ED helped make this admissions cycle more competitive.

The percentages of Pell Grant-eligible and first-generation college students stayed roughly the same. Last year, 17% of accepted students were Pell-eligible and 12% were first-generation college students. This year, 16% are Pell-eligible and 13% are first-generation.

The percentages of students who identify as Black or African American and Hispanic increased. Last year 12% of students identified as Black or African American and 12% as Hispanic. This year, both of those numbers rose to 16%.

Turner said this application cycle was marked by two significant changes: need-blind admissions and a new application evaluation process called committee-based evaluations (CBE), under which two admissions officers read each application in order to reduce bias and increase efficiency.

Turner added that she has felt the impact of need-blind admissions this year.

“It’s wonderful to be able to look at an application, evaluate that student, make the decision, have the discussion on what that student has achieved and what that student has accomplished, without worrying about whether or not we’ve overspent our financial aid budget,” she said.

Turner also characterized many accepted students as “bridge-builders” who have experience building community.

“[Many students] took positive advantage during [the pandemic] by reaching out to their neighbors, holding summer camps for younger siblings, doing internships online, making masks, doing food drives,” she said. “There was just an impressive group of students who were so community oriented.”

The class of 2026 also carries strong academic credentials, with 94% reporting ranking in the top 10% of their high school class, up from 88% last year.

The University became more geographically diverse as well. 50 states and 50 countries are represented in the Class of 2026, up from 49 states and 20 countries last year. The top foreign countries represented this year are China, South Korea and India.

7% of students are from rural communities and 3% of students are eligible for the WashU pledge, a program created by Chancellor Andrew Martin that allows under-resourced students from rural Missouri and southern Illinois to attend the University at no-cost.

Admitted students are required to inform the University of their decision to attend by May 1. The university expects a class size of roughly 1,810 and around 1,000 applicants to accept a place on its active waitlist.

3 Likes

My son was accepted ED2. No interview, no video submission.

1 Like

if they’re at the top of your list and you think it’d be a good fit, definitely let them know! I don’t think the test scores will make a difference but a sincere letter of interest might :slight_smile:

So the way I’m calculating, based on the overall numbers of applications and WashU saying they take 60% in the two ED rounds, the RD round acceptance was around 4.2-4.3%. Do I have that right? That’s crazy time. And, maybe that was conservative and I’m glad there seems to be some waitlist movement, but still
! (Also, very glad I’m not applying to college now!)

1 Like

Maybe. My hunch is that they’ve reduced the ED acceptance list a bit from where they have been (1080 or so). It becomes difficult to meet enhanced diversity goals when 60% of the class is ED.

Before they expanded to ED2, they were admitting about 600-650 students in the single ED round. Then they expanded it and it grew to about 1080. Then Covid hit and they were likely conservative to meet the enrollment target. Then last year hit coming out of Covid maybe/maybe not when they weren’t sure what to make of it and they overenrolled. It wouldn’t surprise me if the ED target was reduced to 900-1000.

I didn’t see an announcement of how many students they accepted ED anywhere.

I think even if they reduced it, 60% would be in range if not low? In 2021, it was 86% according to this? With the two ED rounds now, I know it’s the majority of the class. Just trying to figure out who squeaked in that RD round.

This would also mean they were really conservative and worried about yield this year compared to last. 2021 was 4.374 admitted and 2022 was only 3,598. Would explain why they are (happily for many) going to their waitlist!

1 Like

That is total applications ED of 3754. eD apps / total accepted is not the right calc to figure out percentage enrolled who are ED.

Since they went to two ED rounds, in the two years prior, they admitted 1080 ED. That would have been about a 28.7% admit rate last year. The total class was about 1995 last year. So about 54% were ED. Normally it would be about 60% as they usually aim for a class of 1800.

What I’m left wondering is if they’ve decided to reduce the ED acceptances a bit from 1080. The only reason I’m wondering is because the school is trying to increase URM and economic diversity. At least to the point where it is middle of the road compared to other peer unis. It is close, but not quite there. The problem with ED is that the pool tends to skew less URM, less first generation and more wealthy. Relying too much on that pool undercuts that goal.

1 Like

Last year they ended up with a class of 1995 but had targeted 1795. They attributed 200 extra students to higher yield and those that had taken a gap year the year before. I posted those stats last year. If I can find them I will post again. There are quite a few who are joining the incoming class of 2026 having taken a gap year this last year. Not sure we have any way of knowing who was admitted ED1, ED 2 or RD is in the classes of 2025 and 2026 if they took a gap year.

1 Like

Hello, could I pm a current student to ask a few questions about the premed experience at Washu? Was accepted ED1 a while back but just started prepping for the upcoming semester.

Anyone have to take the Writing Placement Test?