<p>Hi, I found many posts talking about WUSTL being the most overrated school by USNews. I don't know whether this is the case but from what I've gathered, it seems not.
First, the say scores are absolutely on par with its peers such as NU and Duke with CR 690/760 and math 710/780 (Washington</a> University Admissions: SAT Scores, Financial Aid & More). And plus its even higher than Cornell or ND. That seems to justify its place on USNews Ranking, which correlates pretty well with students' scores.
Second, I've heard that WUSTL's student life quality is ranked on the very top and its meal is said to be among the best. Although these factors may not contribute to its 10ish ranking, they certainly make WUSTL less likely to be overrated (as opposed to a school that ranks high but has no student life may be overrated).
Last, its academics also seems to be strong. Olin is among the best business school and its premed is the 4th (if I remembered correctly) in the nation.
So why WUSTL is said to be overrated? Is it because WUSTL is taking off and people are not accustomed? Also, many poeple argues that it's advertising too heavily to boost its ranking. However, I think that doesn't count since the promotion brings more smart students who are truly satisfied of WUSTL. </p>
<p>Also, can anyone give comments about its science and engineering program (e.g. how do they compare with the overall academics quality of the school)?</p>
<p>WUSTL is by no means over-rated. 10 years ago, when WUSTL was ranked 9th in the nation by US news, surpassing many of the ivies, people were surprised and started calling WUSTL over-rated. Perception was unable to catch up with reality. WUSTL has top notch academics, with one of the nation’s best pre med programs and a truly welcoming and nurturing environment. WUSTL is a school that deserves the name recognition of schools like Duke and NU ( for undergrad educaton). It is a hidden gem and is underrated if anything. And yes, WUSTL markets itself so much in order to expand it’s reach and attract great students who may not be aware of the existence of this truly amazing university!</p>
<p>WashU has GREAT programs in the sciences, especially biology and neuroscience. The biomedical engineering program is in one of the best in the nation!</p>
<p>WashU has been accused of “yield protection” which might have helped its ranking. </p>
<p>At least in our local high school, which is very good, the data seems to somewhat support such accusation. Out of ~40 applicants in the last five years, ~30% accepted (typically for students with middle to upper-middle stats), ~10% rejected, and a whopping 60% wait-listed! Very strange admission pattern indeed. </p>
<p>Btw, I think WashU has great academics in general, particularly in biology related fields.</p>
<p>I think WUSTL leaves itself open and invites some of this criticism is because it is not as open and forthcoming as most top-ranked Universities. I think it is a top university, but it sure would be nice if the administration released the WUSTL Common Data Set every year.</p>
<p>I expect the data in that about.com page to be reliable. And you can find a lot of the common data set data on the collegedata.com site. You can’t find it all, but you can find a lot of it. It’s just strange to me that the common data in a standard format that almost every university publishes cannot found for WUSTL.</p>