Washington University, also known as WashU, is a private research university that many high achieving students worldwide name their top choice of institution. It is often referred to as the Harvard of the Midwest because of its emphasis on stellar academics and for providing its students with top-end educational resources.
Hopeful candidates for the class of 2026 and beyond will need to sharpen up their academic profile to improve their chances of admission. Here are the basics:
Let’s deep dive into how you can improve your admission profile for WashU.
WashU was founded in 1853 in St. Louis, making it one of the oldest institutions in the country. Not many people know this but in the 70s, WashU was referred to as St. Louis (after its location) because people assumed it was located in Seattle or Washington. Today, WashU is one of the toughest places to get into and has an acceptance rate of nearly 15%, making it extremely competitive.
They have four undergraduate schools specializing in arts, business, engineering, and sciences. Together they produce industry-leading professionals in various fields. To impress admissions officers, students will require an above-average academic profile and, if possible, good extracurriculars.
Famous people who have attended WashU include Marguerite Martyn, Steve Fossett, Tennessee Williams, and John Bates.
Admissions officers place a lot of importance on GPA and class rank, although the latter is not mandatory but highly encouraged. The average GPA for admitted students is 4.15, making the school extremely competitive. You will have to be at the top of your class with nearly straight A’s and demonstrate academic excellence by taking AP and IB courses.
The average SAT score at WashU is 1520 on the 1600 scale, which is extremely competitive. This means you applicants have very little room for error in their SAT scores. The bottom percentile of students had a SAT score of 1470 while the top tier students achieved a whopping 1570 on their SAT scores.
Consider hiring SAT tutoring services to bolster your chances of maximizing the test scores.
The average ACT score at WashU is 34, which is also very competitive. The bottom percentile of students scored 32 while the highest achieving students scored 35. Like the SAT scores, you will need to perform really well on your ACT tests to achieve anything beyond 32.
We recommend hiring ACT tutoring services to improve your score. You will need every advantage you can get to impress admissions officers.
The application process for Washington University is very similar to other universities in the country. You will require the following basics:
In the words of WashU’s admission officers, the university is on the lookout for students who have taken preparatory challenging courses in high school and complemented their academics with relevant extracurriculars and community service. You will also have to sum up your academic profile in a personal statement. This will give you a good opportunity to share something unique about yourself and speak to your passions in life.
Although the acceptance rate at WashU is low, it isn’t impossible for applicants who lay the groundwork from day one.
For more assistance on WashU admission requirements, get in touch with our tutoring services here.
No matter how you look at it, college is an expensive proposition these days. Both public and private colleges and universities have had to raise fees and tuition as costs have increased. As a result, college student debt has skyrocketed and many students end up with loan payments years, sometimes even decades, after graduation. But with some careful planning and creative thinking, there are lots of other ways to help pay for college and avoid being stuck with big loan payments after graduation. One final but important step in the college application process is to include an application for financial aid.
As parents, and grandparents for that matter, we consider it to be a bit of a rite of passage to tell our children just how easy they have it compared to what we went through at their age. File this under the “when I was your age, I had to walk 2 miles to school each day, uphill both ways” category.
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