<p>I have nothing to apologize for.</p>
<p>(For the WUStL grammatically-correct police: I have nothing for which to apologize.)</p>
<p>Okay, guys, seems like case is closed. The majority of posters on this thread seem to agree on one thing: </p>
<p>Verdict- Washington University is one of the most, if not THE MOST, amazing academic institution that exists in the country of America. We’re talking about the quality of academics and the student life here. And because of the prestige culture here on College Confidential, I guess it is relevant to add that- yes, WashU is ranked #12; it used to be #9, and it probably should be ranked even higher due to its verifiable quality. Check out the thread “The School That Has It All” and “101 Reasons to Attend WashU.” </p>
<p>Lastly, if you feel like you are entitled to attend WashU, Brown, Cornell, Yale, Duke, Stanford, and whichever other ‘prestigious’ university is out there, then you need to check the facts on college admissions these days. For example, this year, Washington University in St. Louis received 25,000 applications. Its peer institutions probably also received increases in application numbers. And all the top students in the country tend to vie for spots at these schools. So what does this mean? Getting a spot at WashU is highly competitive.</p>
<p>Once you are accepted and matriculate though, be prepared to enjoy four years with students of the same caliber as you are. While WashU is a great school itself, it’s the talented, cream-of-the-crop student body that really pushes WashU to the zenith of undergraduate academia. Congratulations again to the acceptees.</p>
<p>Well, Fangirl, I know I’ve been a little harsh. To me, people like jamaica-mahn are an affront to the accomplishment of the students who just had their hard work justified. I have said it many times before and will again - the waitlist is not a negative reflection on your work, it reflects the nature of scarcity in these top universities. If they want to have a grudge against WashU for being waitlisted, that’s fine - but don’t belittle the accomplishments of your peers on the board. You wouldn’t like it if I were to do the same to you. </p>
<p>Also let the record show that while I do hang around admissions and have talked a lot with the officers, my “knowledge” is in no way authoritative. I am not a representative of WashU or the admissions office. I just share the knowledge that I have. </p>
<p>Now… Greenturtle. Let’s just say I think it’s absolutely hilarious that you saying you have nothing to apologize for is a grammatically correct sentence. Then, in an effort to appease me (I assume) you decided to overly stilt your language (which is a no-no in writing). I’m very glad you got into Yale. I am glad your friend did too. As I have said to many people in many posts (and even more PMs) a Waitlist is not a “measure of worth.” And yes, I guess saying “sorry you didn’t get into the college that you really wanted to and paid fifty dollars to try to get in” is really condescending. I know that you’re right and every time I’ve ever said “good luck” I really mean “haha I’m better than you, I hope you die.” Maybe you can answer the question jamaica couldn’t - how does WashU yield stay low if we don’t accept Ivy Applicants. </p>
<p>By the way, I wish you the best in all your future endeavors (and this time I do really mean sod off!)</p>
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<p>I didn’t say that. Quite the contrary, I implied that it isn’t.</p>
<p>BTW, the correct grammatical usage is “YOUR,” not “you.” The possessive pronoun should be paired with the gerund (e.g. “saying”). This is a common mistake.</p>
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<p>It’d be even lower if you did.</p>
<p>@Masra-- I don’t think you’ve been any harsher than was called for based on the general climate of the discussion… didn’t mean to preach, just felt like someone should butt in…</p>
<p>@jamaica,</p>
<p>I am terribly sorry that I offended you. That was not my intention. As a parent (and a minority myself but that’s irrelevant), I would never belittle anyone’s kids. It’s true that I saw your post in the African American forum, but I would never, as you said, “assume that all URM in Ivy Leagues are average students”. The fact that you assumed I did is a little sad, and says a lot about yourself. I actually work in one of the Ivy schools. I am well aware of the accomplishments of URM students (as well as URM faculty members).</p>
<p>Best wishes!</p>
<p>You’re right. I made a mistake and there are plenty more I’m sure you can find. It was a typo. Thanks for pointing it out. 
I don’t present myself as perfect.</p>
<p>And yeah I get that it’d be lower or whatever if we did… but I’m looking for an answer on how it got low. So if we’re only accepting students who show interest and are apparently under qualified to get into the Ivies, who is turning away the WashU spots? It seems like if the admitted students are low end people who only got in because they showed tons of interest that they would a) take the blessing of getting into a school ranked out of their league and b) enjoy going to their first choice school that they were so interested in.</p>
<p><em>sigh</em> The world of prestigious college admissions. What’s new?
Going to have to agree with zenith602 here:</p>
<p>"Okay, guys, seems like case is closed. The majority of posters on this thread seem to agree on one thing: </p>
<p>Verdict- Washington University is one of the most, if not THE MOST, amazing academic institution that exists in the country of America. We’re talking about the quality of academics and the student life here. And because of the prestige culture here on College Confidential, I guess it is relevant to add that- yes, WashU is ranked #12; it used to be #9, and it probably should be ranked even higher due to its verifiable quality. Check out the thread “The School That Has It All” and “101 Reasons to Attend WashU.” </p>
<p>Lastly, if you feel like you are entitled to attend WashU, Brown, Cornell, Yale, Duke, Stanford, and whichever other ‘prestigious’ university is out there, then you need to check the facts on college admissions these days. For example, this year, Washington University in St. Louis received 25,000 applications. Its peer institutions probably also received increases in application numbers. And all the top students in the country tend to vie for spots at these schools. So what does this mean? Getting a spot at WashU is highly competitive.</p>
<p>Once you are accepted and matriculate though, be prepared to enjoy four years with students of the same caliber as you are. While WashU is a great school itself, it’s the talented, cream-of-the-crop student body that really pushes WashU to the zenith of undergraduate academia. Congratulations again to the acceptees. "</p>
<p>I’m from good old CA and I have to agree with the title of this thread. Washington University in St. Louis IS considered hotter than some of the Ivy Leagues around here, especially for the future Asian scientists and premedical students. But seriously, WUSTL and the Ivies are all great schools, so what’s there to argue about? I agree with zenith. Case closed.</p>
<p>Here it is in the proverbial nutshell - nobody has ever heard of Washington University. Go down the list of the top 100 US News National Universities. Wash U. has less name recognition than any other school on the list. You don’t want to be interviewing with someone who is saying to themselves “I never heard of this school”.</p>
<p>This may be suspicious of me, but it seems like some of the particularly negative people on this thread are very new to the site (like, this month). This is usually a sign of ■■■■■■■■, although for the life of me I can’t figure out what the endgame is.</p>
<p>Objective, </p>
<p>The people who matter have heard of the school. I can’t say for everyone, but my family is in academia and WashU is definitely a hot place. </p>
<p>In California, at least in the region I am in, Washington University in St. Louis IS considered hotter than some of the Ivy Leagues around here, especially for the future Asian scientists and premedical students. But seriously, WUSTL and the Ivies are all great schools, so what’s there to argue about? I agree with zenith. Case closed.</p>
<p>inatiga- I agree with you. I’ve been reading posts all over CC and it seems like people always lash out when they are rejected or waitlisted by a prestigious college. I really hope these students will grow up, and that in the future I would not have to attend college with them!</p>
<p>Wash U is aiming for the top – the very top – and so are the kids who go there. From what I can tell, it’s right up there with Princeton as a place that offers close, LAC-style attention (academic and lifestyle) to a fairly large body of undergraduates (6,500) and yet also offers access to world-class research. In fact, it’s better than that, because there are top professional schools at WUSTL as well. I know a lot about the Ivies – having attended one, sent a kid to another and lectured at them all – and WUSTL is right there with them. But so are Duke, NU, Chicago (not to mention Stanford, MIT and CalTech of course). Because Wash U has the temerity to get up in the grill of the Ivies as it competes for students, it provokes a love/loathe reaction from some applicants and spectators. So be it.</p>
<p>Good point, dadwhocares!</p>
<p>just out of curiosity, are you paid to cheerlead this site?</p>
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<p>But no one has problems with the admissions (waitlist) policies of “Duke, NU, Chicago (not to mention Stanford, MIT and CalTech of course).” They are much bigger threats to the Ivies than WUStL. Duke, NU and Chicago are just as good as the non-HYP Ivies; Stanford, MIT and Caltech are better.</p>
<p>I find no fault in Wash U’s practices. Sure it’s a bit tedious, but it’s necessary. The reality is, most applicants would rather go to an ivy over wash u for one reason or another, and they use Wash U as a backup school as a result. If you’re Wash U, do you really want your incoming class to consist of a bunch of dejected and sad ivy-league rejects? Hell no! Who would want to go to a school filled with people like that? I sure wouldn’t. So Wash U looks for kids who WANT to go to Wash U. They want students that are going to be excited to go to Wash U rather than those who mope about being rejected from an ivy. I guess I’m a bit bias because I am a student who probably got into wash u because I showed them they were high on my list. I only applied to one ivy and am not too sure I find the school much more attractive than wash u anyway. The bottom line, wash u wants students who are going to be happy at their school and those who will take pride in their alma mater because in the end, it’s an awesome school.</p>
<p>As I said elsewhere, kids who apply to Wash U as a backup don’t deserve any pity when they are wait-listed.</p>
<p>Years ago I attended Vanderbilt–it was littered with northeastern private school Ivy-league rejects who were, yes, pretty bitter. I can see WashU wanting to escape that.</p>
<p>i think my school went 0/4 with WUSTL decisions (3 WL’ed, 1 rejected i wanna say), although i’m not 100%. one reason i didn’t apply to WUSTL was the whole waitlist thing. it really turned me off. i’m not saying they WL overqualified applicants, per se, because i don’t know, but it just is unappealing that they WL so many people!</p>
<p>^ And at least 4 students from S’s school were accepted, including him. More may have applied and/or been accepted, but we only know about these 4. At least one of them hasn’t even visited WashU and has also applied to two Ivies, Georgetown, and Johns Hopkins. S has also applied to one Ivy, Rice, Swarthmore, etc. I’m only saying this to show that whatever criteria WashU uses to waitlist applicants can’t be so black & white as some try to make it sound.</p>