<p>true dat … uguys should see interesting guys threads… he has it out for wash u … i mean if u dont like a school then why bother ■■■■■■■■ everywhere!</p>
<p>w/e</p>
<p>Now watch, he will even comment on CollegeAccept’s last post. LOL. Not like we don’t know the answer anyway.</p>
<p>[Rankings</a> - Chemistry - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-chemistry-schools/rankings/page+2]Rankings”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-chemistry-schools/rankings/page+2)</p>
<p>[Rankings</a> - Physics - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-physics-schools/rankings/page+3]Rankings”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-physics-schools/rankings/page+3)</p>
<p>[Rankings</a> - Math - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-mathematics-programs/rankings/page+2]Rankings”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-mathematics-programs/rankings/page+2)</p>
<p>InterestingGuy, why aren’t you posting this on Dartmouth’s board? They are ranked even lower than WashU in Math Graduate programs. Maybe instead of spending your time bashing WashU and Duke you should find yourself a good therapist!</p>
<p>^ Dartmouth has essentially LAC-like qualities and have no pretensions about trying to be an elite research university, unlike WUSTL which tries but fails miserably.</p>
<p>nervous1-you really just have to ignore this guy. He just seeks attention, for whatever reason. For example, notice how he leaves out that Wash U is ranked tied for 3rd in Medical research and 7th in biology. However, none of it matters since this board is concerned with undergraduate education and these are grad school rankings. Apples and oranges. I got my undergrad at a school with an only moderately active graduate program in chemistry, then went to a top 5 grad school. I saw first hand the quality of undergrad education at that latter school, and I thought it was definitely inferior to what I experienced. Huge classes the first 2 years, profs only interested in getting grants and prizes, undergrad teaching was a necessary evil to them and they foisted as much of it off on grad students as possible. Oh, and zero possibility of doing research before your senior year, and even then it was a long shot. Whereas in my undergrad school the prof I was working with let me follow up on an idea I came up with that was only peripherally related to his research and it actually worked out. Turns out I was right for all the wrong reasons, but hey, that is what research is for. I got 2 papers published in the leading ACS journals for it. My point is that never would have happened if I had been an undergrad where I went to grad school. But the research and brain power for grad students at the grad school was first rate. As usual, IG doesn’t have a clue what he is talking about with these irrelevant citations.</p>
<p>Also, btw, neither of these schools was Wash U, although Wash U is a lot more like my undergrad school than my grad school.</p>
<p>I know this will provoke a response from him, but oh well. We all know he has some issues, which hopefully he can come to grips with someday.</p>
<p>Well said FallenChemist.</p>
<p>But why did you have to point out the obvious like that? It’s been a rough P.R… year for my alma mater – Illinois at Champaign-Urbana – and I was enjoying the thought that as good as I thought Illinois is, it was now unquestionably superior to Yale. After all, in these irrefutable rankings linked by InterestingGuy for Chemistry, Physics, and Math, USNWR pegs Illinois at 7, 8, and 18, while Yale trails my proud State flagship with ranks of 15, 11, and 7.</p>
<p>Back to planet Earth for a moment – I hope students and parents alike heed FallenChemist’s words. We’re talking UNDERGRADUATE education here people, and NOT narrowly focused GRADUATE study. With all due respect, anyone who confuses the two (a) has clearly never been through both, or (b) is perhaps intentionally obfuscating the distinction for their own sad purposes. You use certain criteria to select an appropriate undergraduate institution for your style and interests; you use other criteria to select an appropriate graduate school. And USNWR rankings has but minor relevance for both. It’s far from my argument, but it’s for reasons like this that there are many students, parents, and educators who will often argue that the hallowed Harvard University for instance, for all of its endowment, resources, and award winning faculty, is far from “the BEST” place for MOST elite students to receive an UNDERGRADUATE education (while often being simply an incredible place for graduate school and research purposes).</p>
<p>The USNWR rankings, undergraduate or specific graduate program, should be used as the starting point for your own investigation and discussion. Unless you happen to be the USNWR magazine itself and have a vested interest in your cash-cow and selling your rankings year after year to paranoid students and parents, you view the rankings for what they are – one attempt to quantify the essentially subjective – and you go on from there. One size does not fit all when you are seeking “the best” as it applies to a given student. For instance, the country’s top undergraduate engineering students are rarely looking at HYP, although they look closely at Stanford, MIT, CalTech, as well as UC-Berkeley, Illinois, and Michigan.</p>
<p>Dude, my friend…ROFLMAO!! Superb post.</p>
<p>Illinois has been one of the top PhD chem programs for decades, btw. (Not where I went though). I think there were 5 profs at my undergrad school that got their PhD at Illinois. Also, I served on a committee once (something about the future of technology and all that) that had the guy from Illinois that was one of the primary inventors of the internet on it, Al Gore’s claims notwithstanding. It truly is a top top research university in many areas. I am not in the least surprised it ranks ahead of Yale. Yale chem is not really that strong, or at least it wasn’t. Haven’t kept up last few years.</p>
<p>US News “Science Specialties” = Yale’s main weaknesses, WUSTL’s main strengths</p>
<p>Biological Sciences: Yale #7, WUSTL #7
Chemistry: Yale #15, WUSTL #43
Computer Science: Yale #20, WUSTL #39
Earth Sciences: Yale #11, WUSTL #25
Mathematics: Yale #7, WUSTL #40
Physics: Yale #11, WUSTL #48</p>
<p>Yale’s weaknesses >>> WUSTL’s strengths</p>
<p>[Best</a> Science Schools - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools)</p>
<p>Ummm, we were comparing Yale to Illinois in grad schools, and that was a total aside. We already dealt with the fact that this is about undergrad. Along with all the other serious issues, IG’s reading comprehension is severely lacking.</p>
<p>por favor, can we talk about washu and why u would want to go there again? lol</p>
<p>and do u guys think i could get in?
GPA 100.22 weighted top 10%, ACT 33 math 34 eng 36 read 33 sci 30
10-12 debate, 9-12 chess club, 10-12 fundraiser i started myself
voluntter at hospital one summer, tufts course one summer, shadowed doctors one summer some other random EC’s
Essays are great (ppl reviews) and good recommendations
Indian , can speak telegu (subcontinent of asia)</p>
<p>AND I DID ED… thanksss</p>
<p>I came here in search of why people want to go to WashU and its attractiveness only to get a bunch of rankings debates. Would be good if current students or alums can comment on why WashU’s great instead of engaging in arguments on useless rankings.</p>
<p>Hmmm shall I get us back on topic? :P</p>
<p>I haven’t visited the school, unfortunately (I live quite far away), but I still have many reasons as to why I would love to go there.</p>
<p>-Pre-med, of course. I’ve heard there are many, many opportunities for undergrads to get experience in the medical field.</p>
<p>-Philosophy-neuroscience-psychology major and the mind-brain-behavior 2-year sequence. PNP matches my academic interests perfectly.</p>
<p>-Everyone I’ve met who goes there is incredibly nice and friendly. I’ve heard from every one of them that while people are smart and academically focused, they aren’t looking to eat each other. There’s more cooperation than competition.</p>
<p>-Academic flexibility. I have very wide-ranging interests, and if I go to Wash U, I’m sure I’d be able to balance them.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are more, but I can’t think of them right now.</p>
<p>Ruby_x3:</p>
<p>Thank you for getting this thread back on track!! I think the general reasons why a good many students choose Wash U are, and why I chose to come here, are:
-collaboration, not competition
-academic flexibility… seriously, everyone has a double major
-enormous research opportunities for undergrads
-friendly midwestern location yet national reach
-PASSION of students in student groups, leadership, and extracurriculars
-St Louis… not too big, not too small, something for everyone
-amazing dorms, beautiful campus, best college food i’ve ever had</p>
<p>there are surely other nuanced reasons that vary from person to person. I really think that Wash U is the kind of place where you find something for everyone, and find world-class resources for those opportunities. </p>
<p>I’m going to copy and paste a portion of the “101 Reasons to Attend WU” thread here that was posted a while back:</p>
<ol>
<li>The architecture of the buildings is classically gothic and beautiful.</li>
<li>Big university resources, smaller LAC-style attention to students (and AN EXTREMELY SMALL % OF CLASSES TAUGHT BY TAs - and when they are taught by TAs/Grad students this seems to be a good thing - e.g., the Writing 1 class).</li>
<li>Academic Flexibility – Easy to switch schools within WashU and to double major/minor.</li>
<li>Amazing pre-professional programs and resources, especially for pre-meds through the renowned WUSTL medical center</li>
<li>The quality of your peers</li>
<li>Some of the best dorms in the country</li>
<li>Some of the best food for a university</li>
<li>Genuine Midwestern friendliness and helpfulness</li>
<li>Lack of cut-throat competitiveness amongst students, more collaboration</li>
<li>Easy access to metro and busing (FREE!)</li>
<li>2nd best DIII sports school in the United States</li>
<li>Professors are more undergrad-focused than other top research universities</li>
<li>Undergrads have limitless research opportunities.</li>
<li>Beautiful campus (where students are playing ultimate frisbee, football, or in hammocks on the quads).</li>
<li>Forest park across the street (HUGE park with free museums and such).</li>
<li>The Loop (great food and shopping) within walking distance of the university.</li>
<li>Humongous shopping complexes not too far away (by car, Clayton area?)</li>
<li>3 large hospitals within the area.</li>
<li>Exceptional academic advising</li>
<li>Amazing diversity of the student body</li>
<li>Abundance of outstanding prearranged extracurricular activities available to student body (tutoring h.s. students, hospital volunteering, etc.)</li>
<li>Amazing merit scholarship opportunities not found at any school of WashU’s caliber.</li>
<li>Central United States location that allows for relatively easy access from both the East and West Coast.</li>
<li>Hammocks all over campus. 'Nuff said.</li>
<li>Loads of brand new buildings and a strong commitment to construction and development…</li>
<li>St. Louis’s fabulous music scene.</li>
<li>Crazy huge endowment that allows for lots of free trips to campus and subsidized FOCUS excursions and everything a student could want.</li>
<li>Summer excursions like ArtSci Weekends and FSAP that allow students to get acclimated to campus before Orientation.</li>
<li>Awesome Pre-O’s!</li>
<li>Residential colleges that allow freshman to have connections to sophmores.</li>
<li>Really nice programs for frosh like FOCUS and Freshman Seminars and MBB, Text and Tradition, Medicine in Society…</li>
<li>They send you a lot of mail and you feel really good, especially when it’s priority and you’re like “OMG they spend $4.95 on ME!”</li>
<li>Outstanding Financial Aid</li>
<li>St. Louis has some fabulous food. The Hill, Ted Drewes, Tin Cup. Also the amazing Missouri Bakery with the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten.</li>
<li>Involved and caring students (hirako, don_quixote, johnson181, balancedhelium, etc.) and parents/others (midwest parent; st2, fallenchemist; palmalk, etc.)</li>
<li>WILD (Kid Cudi and the Black Keys in a few weeks!)</li>
<li>Award winning and AMAZING a capella groups</li>
<li>The best dressed university chancellor in the country who has a bowling alley in his house!</li>
<li>The Bunny. Enough said.</li>
<li>Thurtene Carnival, largest in St. Louis, tons of food, games, rides. Greek life also plays a big role in the carnival.</li>
<li>The Holi Festival. Students gather on the Swamp for the school’s largest water balloon fight. Everyone gets wet, muddy, and most importantly, everyone has fun.</li>
<li>The Gargoyle</li>
</ol>