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What can people tell me about Washington University in St. Louis? It's ranked 14th by US News but I've never heard of it. Is this ranking legitimate? Is this really an undiscovered gem?

By calliope on Friday, August 16, 2002 - 03:11 pm: Edit

It is definitely legitimate. My sister is a junior there and is amazed every day by how smart her fellow students are. Wash U is often refered to as a "Hidden Ivy", but it is likely not to remain hidden for long as more and more kids apply each year, and acceptance rates rapidly shrink. I believe Wash U accepts roughly one third of its applicants. It is, as many currents students will undoubtedly attest, an excellent school, offering an ivy-competitive education with generous financial aid.

By Goldmember on Saturday, August 17, 2002 - 08:32 pm: Edit

Be careful - Wash U is notorious for waitlisting "overqualified" applicants in order to improve its yield. (They figure the best applicants are using them as a safety for the Ivies, I guess)

By Dave Berry on Sunday, August 18, 2002 - 09:46 am: Edit

That's exactly right, Goldmember. My advice to all you highly qualified applicants who are serious about WUSTL is to make sure that they know you're serious. That includes a campus visit, an interview (asking intelligent questions), and some reasonably regular contact with your regional admissions rep. If you do these things, you'll probably get in, even if you're also accepted by some Ivies.

By uncertainty on Monday, August 19, 2002 - 03:20 am: Edit

one more thing...if you don't mind drunkards and drugs around school (teachers get drunk too on a certain day), it's quite a good school in terms of academics...

By Dave Berry on Monday, August 19, 2002 - 09:16 am: Edit

BTW, uncertainty, would you mind citing your source for your contentions here about alcohol abuse by faculty?

By TXmom on Wednesday, August 21, 2002 - 06:09 pm: Edit

We have visited the campus twice officially and once just roaming around. Each of the professors we visited with and the engineering admissions director seemed genuinely interested in my son. The admissions director even gave him some hints to increase his chances at a scholarship. So far, we have been very favorably impressed with Wash. U.

By rusty rooter on Saturday, August 24, 2002 - 09:02 am: Edit

my nephew was admitted for class of 2006, but after a 2nd visit and sitting in on 3 classes where no discussion took place in small classes, decided not to spend the night and moved on to the next school on his admitted tour. Specially strong in sciences. Co-ed bathrooms a turn-off!

By BOBo on Thursday, December 05, 2002 - 03:42 pm: Edit

Hmm thats strange. You see my brother is a student at wash u and i applied there early, and i do not believe they have coed bathrooms, only coed floors. If your accepted to this university and you turn it down for another, there is something most definately wrong with you. I cant imagine a better school than Wash U...

By blindtom on Friday, December 13, 2002 - 02:04 pm: Edit

My son goes there. No coed bathrooms that we know about. He had not heard of it and was not interested in going until he visited. It became his first choice.

By . on Friday, December 13, 2002 - 05:46 pm: Edit

4 people from my school accepted early

By JJ on Friday, December 27, 2002 - 01:14 am: Edit

According to US News, Washington U. accepted only 23% of it's applicants last year...(they are becoming more selective)

By Tim Ashlock on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 01:02 am: Edit

I am a Senior graduating from Wash U a semester early. The experience has been extraordinary. Courses are taught by a very diverse group of professors who are world-renowned in their respective fields. I was taught Congressional Politics by the former Asst. Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives (Jim Talent-now a U.S. Senator from Missouri.) I was taught Philosophy of Law by a very well known and accomplished Appellate Attorney (Larry May). My Economics Professor won the Nobel Prize in Economics (Douglass North). The Dean of Washington University Law School taught our Supreme Court class (Joel Seligman). Our Journalism/Fair Trial class was taught by an accomplished Journalist for the New York Times (Ellen Harris), and my Defendant's Rights professor is one of the most well-respected (and published) political scientists in the country, who has spent more than her share of time with several members of the U.S. Supreme Court (Lee Epstein). The list of Wash U. Professors who are at the very cutting edge of their fields is absolutely amazing.
If the impressive credentials of Wash U professors doesn't convince you, a tour of our beautiful campus will surely hook you. It has the look and feel of an Ivy in many respects, but its midwestern roots lend a certain congenial air to the place. If you visit, you'll want to spend the next four years here.
By the way, we are now ranked 11th by U.S. News, and have moved up steadily over the last several years. I don't know who is winning the race for creativity and ingenuity--those planning exciting new curriculum or those who continue to add to the striking beauty of the place by recreating turn of the century architecture with ultra-modern and technologically superior facilities in every new construction endeavor. No, I'm not on the Wash U Marketing Team ;-). I'm just a student who came expecting a quality education, and got considerably more than I ever imagined.

Tim Ashlock

By jews4jesus on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 05:24 am: Edit

extremely overrated school. why the hell do you call your school washington university IN st louis. why not St louis university IN st louis. this school is overrated. ppl are always saying, 'apply to wash U'. i'm like, 'how about i apply to Harvard Community College' too. this school isnt good. it lies about its statistics, including kids who send for information as applicants. terrible school. i guess go, if that's your best choice, but otherwise, it's a degree from a school nobody has heard of except the ppl on this message board.

By k is at on Tuesday, December 31, 2002 - 05:26 am: Edit

washington university IN SAINT LOUIS. what a ••••••• joke. get a real name. who thinks this school is good? all the losers who can't get into the top notch schools. right on jews4jesus. you are so right. only idiots go to washington u

By Jessica on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 08:26 pm: Edit

You, "jews4jesus", are extremely uninformed.

Washington University is called Washington University because when it was founded (1853), there was no Washington state. Oh, and there IS a St. Louis University.

Washington University is an incredible school. Some famous alumni include Daniel Nathans (Nobel laureate, medicine), screenwriter and actor Harold Ramis ("Caddyshack", "Ghostbusters", "Groundhog Day"), Mike Peters (Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist, "Mother Goose and Grimm", fashion designer Carolyne Roehm, producer Henry Hampton, George Herbert Walker (founder of the Walker Cup in golf and grandfather of former President George Herbert Walker Bush and great-grandfather of George W. Bush), William Webster (former director of the FBI and CIA), and Tennessee Williams (playwright, "The Glass Menagerie", "A Streetcar Named Desire.")

The 2000 presidential debates were held at Wash U.

You are ignorant and are basing your opinion on your interpretation of the name and the fact that it is not as well known as some of the Ivys. Ridiculous.

By tenisghs on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 09:41 pm: Edit

Is it true that Wash St. Louis has co-ed bathrooms? Alcohol and cigarettes are common in dorms/campus? Despite the excellent education, I could not see myself living there. I am anti-drugs and not an alcohol person. I do not like co-ed bathrooms either!!!!

By Jessica on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 10:10 pm: Edit

Tenisghs, they have substance-free (no cigarettes, no alcohol) dorms that you can live in. Coed FLOORS are available, but the bathrooms are still separated. You also have the option of living in an all-girls dorm.

By Mike03 on Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 06:31 pm: Edit

Wash U. in St. Louis is extremely underrated. The school has all the resources of the Ivys and a very low acceptance rate (23%). Wash U. has one of the best medical schools in the nation and a huge endowment (US News ranked it 3rd in financial resources). It has a beautiful gothic campus that was modeled after Oxford and Cambridge by the same architectural firm that designed much of Princeton. Despite having top caliber students, faculty, and resources, Wash. U. is often overlooked. I truly believe it is a "hidden gem"---and it is only a matter of time before it receives the recognition that it truly deserves.

By wu on Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 07:45 pm: Edit

Wonderful school to which our daughter applied but would prefer not to attend since it's twenty minutes from our house.

By ewq on Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 10:01 pm: Edit

Is this a good school for someone who wants to major in polisci?

By Lar (Lar) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 05:21 pm: Edit

We are very pleased that our daughter has been accepted to Washington University in St. Louis. She received queries from Harvard, University of Chicago, and many of the best schools in the nation. She was most impressed with Wash U.
After having toured the campus several times, I can attest to the beauty of the campus and the seriousness of its academics based on comments from students and others.