Washington University Admission
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The Facts

Washington University is a medium-sized, private, and prestigious research institution located in the city of St. Louis, Missouri.  The university is home to over 6,000 undergraduate students and approximately 5,832 graduate students.  The school is perhaps best known for attracting some of the best and brightest pre-med students in the country, as their medical school and hospital are ranked among the best in the nation.  The university itself is divided into five smaller undergraduate colleges including schools of arts and sciences, engineering and applied science, business, art, and architecture.  The university does offer students over 80 undergraduate majors, however, some of the most popular with students include majors in biology/ pre-med, business and finance, engineering, English, and psychology. 

Washington U has fiercely competitive admissions standards, and each batch of applicants bring new challenges to the table.  Last year, over 21,000 students applied for admission and only about 4,080 of those were accepted.  Eventually however, only 1,367 of those admitted actually enrolled for the coming Fall semester.  The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1320 to an impressive 1480, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 29 to 33.  Over 98% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of 3.9.

Washington U has a great student to faculty ratio of 7:1, and students say that even their introductory classes are of manageable size.  Other students gripe that the academics are far too intense, and the small class sizes make everyone all the more competitive.  To compound this complaint, many professors are too wrapped up in their own careers and research to have any real time to give to their students.  A plus however, is that students are offered a multitude of professional research internships from their professors, and are able to network with future potential employers.

The Social Scene

The city of St. Louis is fantastic, and students can’t seem to say enough about the excitement it offers.  There are world-class performing and fine arts, plenty of bars and clubs, and many many cafes and restaurants for the foodies.  The campus itself is simply beautiful, and the green spaces are plentiful, with flower-lined pathways leading to the neo-Gothic and Colonial buildings.  The school also boasts a fantastic research library and several theaters throughout campus.

There is definitely a Greek scene at Washington U, and most students love nothing more than to head over to Greek Row for a rowdy night of party hopping.  However, this is not the only way to have a good time; students also love to hang out in smaller groups both on and off campus, and many students also spend their weekends studying long and hard.

The dating scene is fantastic at Washington U; if you are a tried and true geek, you will definitely find love, and if you are a strapping jock, you too will get lucky.

What's Good

“The school is a real community; it is large enough so it feels like a university, but it is small enough that a lot of people know each other.”

“The classes are incredible, and the teachers are professionals, so they have a lot of great knowledge to share.”

“The housing is surprisingly nice; the rooms actually have some roaming space and the food isn’t too shabby either.”

What's Bad

“The competition can really get ridiculous sometimes, and it ends up feeling a bit like pre-med “Survivor” or something.”

“I don’t really get any sleep because our workload is so incredibly intense here.”

“The party scene can get really distracting from work.  It can be hard to focus sometimes.”

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