A nearby private California high school sends about 10-12 kids to Wash U per year. I get the impression that Wash U draws heavily from competitive private schools, especially through ED. Wash U used to have the reputation of going after kids who could afford to be full pay (according to the Chetty study, WashU had the highest median family income of any elite college) but I think it has made strides to try to be more inclusive of less-wealthy families. But it wouldn’t surprise me if WashU was still more well known among generally wealthier private school families.
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@curiocity915 just wanted to thank you for post - such great things to read. I’m going to share with my daughter. I think that’s definitely the vibe we’ve felt from WashU - it’s about pursuing what you want to study, across disciplines, no matter the subject. I really think that’s inherent in their culture without the focus on calling it an “open curriculum” or cross curriculum, etc. it’s about what you want to learn. The whole PNP major (not my daughter’s thing but I think Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology major is so cool and representative of the WashU interdisciplinary mindset!) I think that very much influenced her thought about the school! She wants to study Computer Science - Chemistry - Political Science - focusing on not only CS and STEM but how it’s equitably offered to our society and not to only those who easily get access to science and technology - and they said come and do it! We’ll see where she ends up, but she’s excited about the possibilities. But I love what you’ve added about wanting to be service oriented - or making a difference with what you study and how you go forth into a world in your professional endeavors. Thx for sharing!
PS to @catmom94 we live less than a mile from Hopkins (which is where I got my masters (pregnant with both daughters, actually) and why we live here - I walked to my classes and we still 20 years later) - maybe that’s why folks around here know about WashU! Going to college less than a mile away was a “no go” for my daughter!
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This thread title makes me cringe. WashU was well-known at my Long Island, NY high school in the 80s and very smart kids attended. This year I know two students who committed, one of them had two parents who attended Harvard. If you don’t know something that is well-known it says more about you…
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John’s Hopkins is definitely better than WashU but I agree with WashU being peers with Rice, Norte Dame etc.
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I agree. Ive been to St Louis multiple times on business trips and it’s one of my least favorite cities.
The city is kind of drab and just not very dynamic. Parts of St Louis is extremely dangerous and the weather is super hot in the summer and prone to ice storms in the winter.
The airport is a microcosm of the city - kind of run down and old.
Im sure the school is amazing but I really dislike St Louis and Ive traveled to 45 states and most major metro areas.
This is just my personal opinion and I’m sure there are people who love St Louis.
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We were pleasantly surprised by Saint Louis. Tons of great restaurants, Forest Park (bigger than Cental Park), free zoo and art museum, the iconic arch, revitalized theater district, professional baseball and soccer teams…. We also found the people to be warm and welcoming. There are definitely scary areas but plenty of very nice ones. Saint Louis ended up being a big pro for my D22.
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I’m not sure I would use “definitely” stronger – certainly not across the board. Hopkins is the slightly bigger name and they trump everyone in pre-med/med-related fields and almost everyone in IR – and Hopkins has a strong English program – but WashU is very strong in some areas too. Overall the two are probably comparable academically.
But you mentioned Rice and ND – I too have them in the same very close peer group with WashU. Mine also has CMU, Georgetown, Emory, and Vanderbilt.
With the exception of Notre Dame, six outstanding private schools that are top dog in a major city.
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The thing about St Louis is that the areas most people associate with being “where the action is” in most cities is rather sleepy in St Louis. Downtown is extremely lacking for example. The strength of the city is in many of its historic neighborhoods: areas around Tower Grove Park, Lafayette Square, Soulard, CWE, the Loop, the Grove. It’s definitely hit an inflection point wrt investment and developing a critical mass of desirable neighborhoods.
Crime is quite high but it’s really a function of where city boundaries are drawn. The worst parts of St Louis are far worse than the worst parts of most cities in the country. But if you’re looking at the neighborhood level in the rest of the city, it’s pretty average.
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Well to be fair for nursing and public health Emory is actually just as good as Hopkins. And All of those schools are better at Business. But overall Hopkins is still a bit better than the WashU, Emory, Rice group.
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Among the T20, WashU is the least well-known… it’s a tribute to the school and alumni that its brand and reputation are so highly regarded
Name recognition is outstanding everywhere including in big companies and grad schools alike. D graduated with a BA and 3.4’ish grades and was accepted into a top 15 law school. Graduating this year and going to work in big law.
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Apologies if I did not understand your comment. I also compare WashU to Emory, Rice, Vandy, UChicago, etc… but WashU is ranking better in Business nowadays (note that UChicago does not have an undergrad business school, so the degree will be Economics, which UChicago is a very strong for that)
I Chicago doesn’t need an undergrad business school, as it’s better than the other schools you listed.
It has nothing to do with being “better” than any of those schools, although I’d argue that overall it is the top school on that list. UChicago doesn’t have an undergrad business program because of philosophical preferences with respect to curriculum. They have a a core curriculum, liberal arts foundation and their econ department can perform the functions of an undergrad b-school finance degree. It doesn’t make sense to have and undergrad b-school.
At the same time, the undergrads who do pursue business after graduation tend to stick to econ/finance/quant or strategy-related roles that are econ/finance/quant heavy.
There is absolutely nothing obscure about WUSTL. The fact that many posters may not have heard of it simply tells me that they are wearing ivy-green colored glasses. BTW, for those who don’t think it gets any attention, it was the entire - and I mean entire - focus of the Masters of Sex series on Showtime, which was all about Masters and Johnson.