<p>this is my first choice college. </p>
<p>can any current student or well informed person tell me what they are looking for in the app exactly? im def med so that might narrow the details a bit.</p>
<p>I don't know how much I can tell you - I was admitted off the wait list and will be attending this fall. Wash U was my first choice as well, and as for what they look for in the app, I don't really know; like every other selective school they want the high SATs, stellar transcript, meaningful extracurriculars, etc etc. But I do know that Wash U is HUGE on interest - write an additional essay expressing why you want to go there and give specific reasons (like I talked about the neuroscience research some professor there was doing and how it sounded really cool). And of course visiting the campus is good, as well as the interview - I think they note these in your file. Wash U doesn't want to be anybody's safety - so make sure you tell them you really do want to go there and put in the extra effort. I think applying ED does help too if you know for sure Wash U's your first choice and money isn't an issue. Anyway, Wash U is big on using the waitlist - almost everyone I know who applied got waitlisted. So if this happens to you, just keep on telling them how interested you are, how much you would contribute to the school - write them letters, call the admissions office, do something creative (atleast that's what I did, and I got in). Anyway, I hope that helps some. Good luck though, wash u is such an amazing place!</p>