Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri | Admissions Phone: 314-935-6000
E-mail: admissions@wustl.edu | Website: www.wustl.edu
ADMISSION
Admission Rate: 15%
Admission Rate - Men: 15%
Admission Rate - Women: 15%
EA Admission Rate: Not Offered
ED Admission Rate: 42%
Admission Rate (5-Year Trend): -1%
ED Admission Rate (5-Year Trend): +15%
% of Admits Attending (Yield): 38%
Transfer Admission Rate: 20%
# Offered Wait List: N/A
# Accepted Wait List: N/A
# Admitted Wait List: 31
SAT Reading/Writing (Middle 50%): 710-770
SAT Math (Middle 50%): 760-800
ACT Composite (Middle 50%): 32-35
Testing Policy: ACT/SAT Required
SAT Superscore: Yes
ACT Superscore: Yes
% Graduated in Top 10% of HS Class: 80%
% Graduated in Top 25% of HS Class: 97%
% Graduated in Top 50% of HS Class: 99%
ENROLLMENT
Total Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,751
% Part-Time: 8%
% Male: 47%
% Female: 53%
% Out-of-State: 90%
% Fraternity: 26%
% Sorority: 38%
% On-Campus (Freshman): 100%
% On-Campus (All Undergraduate): 74%
% African-American: 9%
% Asian: 16%
% Hispanic: 9%
% White: 51%
% Other: 5%
% Race or Ethnicity Unknown: 2%
% International: 8%
% Low-Income: 5%
ACADEMICS
Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 7:1
% of Classes Under 20: 64%
% of Classes Under 40: 81%
% Full-Time Faculty: 67%
% Full-Time Faculty w/ Terminal Degree: 94%
Top Programs
Architecture
Biology
Business
Design
Economics
Engineering
Political Science
Psychology and Brain Sciences
Retention Rate: 97%
4-Year Graduation Rate: 88%
6-Year Graduation Rate: 95%
Curricular Flexibility: Somewhat Flexible
Academic Rating: 
FINANCIAL
Institutional Type: Private
In-State Tuition: $54,250
Out-of-State Tuition: $54,250
Room & Board: $16,900
Required Fees: $1,042
Books & Supplies: $1,126
Avg. Need-Based Aid: $48,522
Avg. % of Need Met: 100%
Avg. Merit-Based Aid: $10,585
% Receiving Merit-Based Aid: 14%
Avg. Cumulative Debt: $22,555
% of Students Borrowing: 27%
CAREER
Who Recruits
1. Guggenheim Investments
2. Equifax
3. Cushman & Wakefield
4. Abercrombie & Fitch
5. Chicago Trading Company
Notable Internships
1. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
2. Uber
3. BlackRock
Top Industries
1. Business
2. Education
3. Engineering
4. Research
5. Operations
Top Employers
1. Boeing
2. Google
3. Microsoft
4. Amazon
5. Mastercard
Where Alumni Work
1. St. Louis
2. New York City
3. Chicago
4. San Francisco
5. Washington, DC
Median Earnings
College Scorecard (Early Career): $70,100
EOP (Early Career): $67,500
PayScale (Mid-Career): $114,900
RANKINGS
Forbes: 31
Money: 82
U.S. News: 19, National Universities
Wall Street Journal/THE: 19
Washington Monthly: 59, National Universities
Inside the Classroom
Despite receiving consistently high rankings since U.S. News released its first college guide in 1983, Washington University in St. Louis is, perhaps, the finest institution that is not a household name across the nation. Yet, this Midwestern research and pre-professional powerhouse is one of the most respected institutions in the eyes of Fortune 500 employers and elite graduate schools alike. Catering to just over 7,700 undergraduates, WashU admits students into five schools: Arts & Sciences, the Olin School of Business, the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, and the Art of Architecture programs housed within the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts.
Arts & Sciences, which claims more than half the student body, offers more than eighty majors, and all are guided by the IQ Curriculum, the school’s signature liberal arts course of study. As part of the IQ Curriculum students must take courses in applied numeracy, social contrasts, writing, and an additional course that is classified as “writing intensive.” WashU students also must complete coursework in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences/math, and foreign language along with three “integrations” that can be completed via multi-semester, cross-disciplinary coursework. Engineering students are not beholden to all of those curricular mandates. Special programs include the University Scholars Program in Medicine that allows students to apply for admission to both an undergraduate degree program and medical school before entering college as well as the Beyond Boundaries Program that allows students to implement a cross-disciplinary approach with the aim of solving major global and societal problems.
The university has an 8:1 student-faculty ratio, and 77 percent of classes have fewer than twenty-four students; close to one-quarter have single-digit enrollments. WUSTL students are known for being more collaborative than competitive and extremely hard working as evidenced by the fact that 75 percent double major or pursue multiple degrees. The Office of Undergraduate Research helps students land opportunities to research alongside faculty, primarily in the summers. A solid 59 percent of undergraduates report participating in a research endeavor. A relatively modest one-third of students study abroad.
Nationally recognized programs are numerous: the Olin Business School, the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, and the College of Architecture are well-respected by employers. The Biology Department prepares many successful med school candidates, including for the university’s own ultra-elite medical school. The most commonly conferred degrees are in business (15 percent), engineering (15 percent), social sciences (13 percent), biology (11 percent), and psychology (7 percent). Fulbright, Gilman, Luce, and Critical Language Scholarships all have been won by WashU grads in recent years, and two students were named Rhodes Scholars in 2018.
Outside the Classroom
It sounds trite, but by almost any metric one must conclude that Washington University students seem happy. Dorms, recreational facilities, and campus food are routinely rated well. The WashU atmosphere is known for being more laid-back and friendly than that at many of its elite peers. Seventy-four percent of the student body and 100 percent of freshmen reside on campus. WashU’s ten fraternities and eight sororities draw roughly one-third of the student body into Greek participation. The Bears compete in NCCA Division II, fielding nine men’s teams and ten women’s squads. The athletically-inclined student body also has forty-one club teams, and a simply insane three-quarters of undergraduates participate in intramural sports. In excess of 380 student-run organizations are active at WUSTL, all under the purview of the Washington University Student Union, one of the most well-funded college student governments in the country. Each semester it funds a concert known as WILD (for Walk In Lay Down) that features a big-time musical act. Well-attended speaker events are also organized on a regular basis, and recent attendees include Mitt Romney, John Paul Stevens, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Campus YMCA connects over 800 students each year with twenty-eight service opportunities in the local community. Student media is popular, and Student Life, the school’s independent newspaper, has won national awards on several occasions. In addition, the school’s radio station, KWUR, is immensely popular, and not just on campus but across the St. Louis area. For those inclined to explore off campus, the university is located within a few miles of the St. Louis Zoo, multiple art museums, a host of great eateries, and the gorgeous Missouri Botanical Garden.
Career Services
The Washington University in St. Louis Career Center is staffed by twenty-one full-time professional employees who specialize in employer relations, career counseling, event planning, and pre-graduate school advising. With a student-to-advisor ratio of 367:1, WUSTL compares favorably to the other institutions included in this book. Having conducted 5,803 one-on-one advising sessions in the 2018-19 school year, the center staff does a superb job of engaging their undergraduate student population.
Three large career fairs drew a collective audience of almost 2,000 individuals and 300 employers. The center also hosted over 280 low-key employer information sessions and a number of SLAMs, miniature career fairs for a particular industry where, in a bit of a role-reversal, employers pitch their companies to students. An almost hard-to-fathom 475 employers recruit on campus each year, and close to 1,114 on-campus interviews were conducted in 2018-19 (in 2016, the number of interviews was even higher—1,204). Thanks to the strong employer connections forged by career services staff, WashU students have no trouble landing internships at major companies like CBS News, Pfizer, and AT&T, and stipends are available through the university to help offset living expenses. All told, approximately 75 percent of students report completing at least one internship. With ample staffing, superior outreach, and positive student outcomes, WashU’s Career Center could not be doing a better job.
Professional Outcomes
The Class of 2018 sent 74 percent of its exiting members into the workforce and 23 percent into graduate and professional schools. The thirty companies employing the highest number of WashU grads feature many of the most sought-after employers in the world including Amazon, Bain, Boeing, Deloitte, Google, IBM, Goldman Sachs, and Microsoft. Of the employed members of the Class of 2018 who reported their starting salaries, 70 percent were making over $50,000 and 18 percent were making more than $80k. By age thirty-four, alumni earn the highest median income of any undergraduate degree-granting institution in the state. Geographically, remaining in Missouri was the favored choice among fresh alums, but a fair number also resettled in New York and California.
The universities welcoming the largest number of Bears included the prestigious institutions of Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Duke, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Stanford. Others were pursuing graduate degrees at non-elite schools including Case Western, Rutgers, Colorado State, and St. Louis University. In 2017, of 1,587 graduates, ninety were accepted into med school, including at WashU’s own top-ranked medical school. Baylor College of Medicine attracted a large number of future physicians; students also enjoyed acceptances into Harvard Medical School, NYU School of Medicine, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai.
Admission
WashU received over 31,000 applications for a place in the Class of 2022, but it admitted only 15 percent. Over 80 percent of attending students were in the top 10 percent of their high school class, and the middle 50 percent for SATs was 1470-1570 and 32-35 for the ACTs. For historical reference, in 2010, the university accepted 21 percent of applicants, and enrolling students possessed similar standardized test scores to those being accepted today.
Even with rising application numbers, the admissions committee carefully examines each application, granting “high importance” to soft factors including character/personal qualities, extracurricular activities, talent/ability, and volunteer/work experience. Essays also grace this list, and a new supplemental essay component was added for applicants in 2019. It behooves students seriously committed to WUSTL to give serious consideration to applying early. The admission rate is 42 percent in the early round compared to only 13 percent in the regular cycle, and ED entrants comprise 39 percent of the freshman class. For those applying in the regular cycle, demonstrating interest is critically important as the admissions staff is eager to know if WashU is truly one of your top choices or merely a safety school in case Harvard says “no.” Formerly relegated to Ivy backup status, Washington University has stepped into the limelight as a destination point for the best and brightest from around the country. In fact, close to 65 percent of current students hail from over 500 miles away, including all fifty US states and one hundred countries. This Midwestern behemoth casts a wide net, but it only brings aboard the most brag-worthy high school fish it can find.
Worth Your Money?
A fairly standard (in the world of elite private colleges) $75,500 list price cost of attendance greets WashU freshmen. The 42 percent of undergrads who qualify for financial aid see 100 percent of that amount met by the university, which averages out to $49k in grant money each academic year. Roughly 14 percent of students also receive merit aid awards averaging roughly $10,500 per year. This school has one of the wealthiest groups of students in the country (rivaled by Colorado College and Colgate) so, for many, the price tag will not break the bank. Given that reality, WUSTL can make sense for students across a wide spectrum of socioeconomic backgrounds.