DS – Waitlisted
35 ACT / 1540 SAT
3.95 uw
4’s and 5’s on APs
Varsity captain (2 sports); some awards for music
No demonstrated interest
Another person from his school applied who had a much stronger application in every aspect, and that person was denied.
DS promptly declined so he’s not taking up a spot 
@collegemom9 i knew that…
FYI…my son was denied with appropriate stats 1500+ 4.0 UW loads of APs etc with the full support of a coach.
Tired of seeing posts about athletes lumped in as taking spots they weren’t qualified for. At WashU this does not appear to be the case…
We were floored when portal showed denied after visits and meetings with Coach all seemed so positive and they talked about staying on top of admissions.
After reading this thread and seeing how many extremely qualified students were denied to this school it makes me sick. I won’t allow my next several children to apply to schools like this as they approach college. It’s a joke and I will certainly suggest they live life in HS and decrease their pressure to check all the right boxes. Turns out it’s all just picking names out of a hat with admissions!
Congrats to all accepted! Son was waitlisted. 4.0uw, first in class, 35 ACT (single sitting, with 36 STEM and 11w), 770+ SAT2s, etc. plus multiple regional/state/national awards, tons of leadership, substantial service, All State in both sports and music, super strong rec letters, outstanding/impactful essays (as judged by others), showed interest, etc. Really disappointing, but we are full need, so from what others have posted it sounds like it might not have been a viable option anyway.
@homerdog I always appreciate seeing your posts, because it’s clear that you care deeply about things and have a big heart. Your disappointment on behalf of your son’s friends is a great example of that. Based on our experience with our older son, I can add to what others have mentioned about financial aid. Our EFC is nearly zero, but the amount of aid offered by the “meets full needs” schools varied tremendously. His final costs for those schools ranged from only double digits to nearly $15K/year, with everything in between. We couldn’t figure out why the aid offers were so different when they all supposedly met full demonstrated need and the NPCs were all about the same. So, unless the family has not applied for aid at all, most really should wait and see what the actual offer is.
I’m going to add something. @homerdog It is possible that the admissions officer changed for your territory. And that the new person did not know as much about your school.
Also I think Naviance can trick you, sometimes. All the info on there is generally self-reported so sometimes kids don’t put their declines, just their acceptances. I am a parent but I’m also a counselor so I’ve seen my students put all kind of stuff down. And generally, I think Naviance is most helpful just over the last three years or so. When I log on as a parent, I see all the high school data in the scattergram going back about 8 years. But as a counselor, I can fine tune it to a shorter range.
And generally I honestly believe that there’s not much statistical difference in the stats of a 34, 35, 36, or anyone 1500+. That’s enough to get you in the closer look pile. Then there’s a lot of subtlety beyond there. At the end, you are making hard choices about a group of kids, anyone of whom would be successful at the school. There just aren’t enough spaces.
EDIT: Also one thing I want to add, and it’s something that I tell my kids’ friends, is that you make think you know your classmates but sometimes you have no idea. My son puts in hundreds of hours into a non school sponsored activity. So many of his classmates have zero idea of that and I think they’d say he’s a nice kid but maybe not a superstar. There often are outside activities or circumstances that no one knows about but that the applicant is able to convey to the admissions team.
@piesquared I’m not sure about the AO for our school. We are in the Chicago area and our school is very well known. I wouldn’t think a new AO would affect decisions. I will say, though, and maybe I mentioned it above, that things change sometimes. We used to have 15-18 kids accepted to Northwestern in RD each year and then, two years ago, it abruptly stopped. In 2017, only six kids got in and five of them were ED. Our counselors were told after the fact that NU was going a different direction on local kids and really prioritizing the ED kids. I have a feeling that may have happened with Wash U this year.
The info I see on Naviance is just for three years. And, supposedly, the kids are all called into their counselor’s office during the last week of school and sit with them to enter their decisions into Naviance. I guess the info can’t be 100% on the chart but I think it’s pretty close.
@homerdog Could just be an off year.
In general I’m not a huge fan of ED and I decry the pressure on kids to do it. Senior year is a year of a lot of growth and what kids think they want in September may be different in April.
Also a lot of parents are unsophisticated about merit vs need.
ED2 seems to be: hey, we know you didn’t get your top choice ED1, let’s capitalize on your anxiety and try to lock you in when you feel vulnerable.
In reality, though, anyone who applies to more than one school is going to turn down offers from every school - except for the one they choose to attend. So - is it so very different to decide “I’m not going to x school, in favor of y school”. That isn’t taking anything away from others who didnt get in - it’s just how it works, isn’t it? Otherwise we’d all just apply to one school.
@MarcoRed I don’t know if your comment is for me but these kids were all NMF, 1550+ SAT, high rigor and high GPA kids. All top five percent of class. I just think they probably should have applied ED this year.
hahaha yes. Our S19 is at a school where they all know each other’s stats. And these are his best friends. Let’s drop it. Not relevant to this thread.
One thing that WashU is huge on in the admissions process is personality fit (and before you protest this as hearsay, I have heard this from the mouths of admissions people). This seems ambiguous, but as a current WashU student, it’s pretty clear to me that it’s not. WashU students are outstandingly nice and collaborative, and the campus has a Midwestern family feel to it.
If you did not come across as someone who plays well with others (key words: COME ACROSS AS), and indeed, as someone who knows that you must lean on others to succeed, then there is a decent chance that that contributed to a rejection/waitlist decision. Nearly all students at WashU collaborate with each other on assignments and extracurriculars, and if your essay was about singlehandedly saving the world (versus teamwork or conflict resolution) then the admissions panel may have decided that, no matter your perfect test scores and GPA, you weren’t a great fit for the school.
Please note that I am not saying you are a mean person if you didn’t get in, or that the admissions committee thinks you’re a bad person. WashU simply has a very specific culture, and if it is not glaringly obvious that you fit the culture, they may have been less willing to take a chance on you. Also, applications are essentially pieces of paper and splotches of ink. It’s impossible to truly get to know someone this way, and judging something like fit in 500 words is very hard.
Congratulations to all who were admitted, and I sincerely apologize to those who weren’t. The process is tough, and it may seem random at times, but remember that the admissions committee is doing their absolute best to make the right decisions.
wow. I was waitlisted at WashU last night but just got into Hopkins and then got a likely letter from Cornell Engineering? this process is honestly so random. to everyone who didn’t hear the news they were hoping for, don’t sweat it! stay positive!
@melb004 I have to disagree with your comment about picking names out of a hat for admissions. While I am sure that there are many talented and qualified students who did not get accepted, I believe that a school of Wash U’s caliber looked at each candidate carefully and objectively to make their determination. Beyond any other factor, they are most likely looking for particular students who fit their needs. With ED1 and ED2 in the mix, that narrowed the field tremendously. Wash U is one of the finest institutions in the country and our family’s experience working them (including the financial aid office), has been top notch. My son had 1570 SAT, SAT II 800 in math and 790 in chemistry, 17 AP’s, all A’s, lots of leadership, service and a medical fellowship. He demonstrated a ton of interest. He was accepted and I don’t believe his name was picked out of a hat.
I agree. Most perceived randomness is a result of different schools having different priorities, imo
@cskjaxn if you are looking for the accepted students chat, join the facebook group “Official Washington University in St. Louis Class of 2023” and you will find the link, it is a discord chat
Decision : Denied
W GPA : 4.46
SAT 1540 ( 800 M )
Subject SAT Math 800 , Physics 800 , Bio 800
Good recommendation letters
No demonstrated interest
Are there any stats for how many people get off the waitlist each year?
@minniemouse143 congrats to your son but I stand by my comment. Too many denials here that make no sense. There is definitely randomness involved. Too many similar student profiles to be able to make legit decisions in all cases. My son will chose Hopkins RD and in the end all will work out for him.
@sparklyp01 yes, check earlier in this thread (<2 pages back)
@melb004 college admissions isn’t random, but it’s definitely subjective. With so many high stats kids, admission is bound to vary by which admission officers are reading your app and even their mood.
That being said, congrats on Hopkins! I’m sure he’ll love it there!
Did legacy candidate got a different acceptance letter