Thoughts on Wash U in St. Louis?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some guy wrote a book about how two mental patients bombarded the DCUM forums with incoherent messages about gaming the USNews rankings. Sequel coming out soon.

[Anonymous]

People talk here about kids who got as much unsolicited mail from Wash U as from all other schools combined. Sounds very familiar!

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/washington-university-st-louis/855977-what-exactly-did-wustl-do-rankings.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's no better than U.Va. or College Park but popular with kids who can't get into Ivies, Stanford or Duke.

My kid was accepted at Yale, Stanford, and Duke (among other schools including Williams) but chose to attend WUSTL because it was one of the two "top 20" ranked schools (the other being Duke) that offered substantial merit-based aid (we don't qualify for need-based aid which is the only kind that most other top schools provide). My kid is not unique; WUSTL is teeming with students who got into "Ivies, Stanford or Duke" but, like my kid, are attending WUSTL because they received a half-to-full (+stipend) scholarship that is guaranteed for 4 years. I think that my kid would be attending Stanford if he hadn't received a scholarship to WUSTL but we simply didn't see the value of paying $60K per year when attending WUSTL is a fraction of the cost of attending any other top-ranked, private school and comparable to attending our state school. Even if WUSTL is "no better than U.VA or College Park" or if it's "popular with kids who can't get into Ivies, Stanford or Duke," WUSTL gives a lot of money to kids who can get into Ivies, etc. and these students attend too (my kid's dorm-mate turned down Harvard to choose between "full ride" scholarships from Duke and WUSTL).

As noted in the 2003 NY Times article, Wash U made a big endowment push more than a decade ago. A larger endowment lessens the need to maximize tuition income and allows schools to recruit elite students. We'd all be better off if every top 25 school used WASH U's approach to improving the school.

um, except Wash U has a markedly low share of poor students who receive Pell Grants, much lower than most of the other top 25 schools. I suspect this is by design, but YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's no better than U.Va. or College Park but popular with kids who can't get into Ivies, Stanford or Duke.

My kid was accepted at Yale, Stanford, and Duke (among other schools including Williams) but chose to attend WUSTL because it was one of the two "top 20" ranked schools (the other being Duke) that offered substantial merit-based aid (we don't qualify for need-based aid which is the only kind that most other top schools provide). My kid is not unique; WUSTL is teeming with students who got into "Ivies, Stanford or Duke" but, like my kid, are attending WUSTL because they received a half-to-full (+stipend) scholarship that is guaranteed for 4 years. I think that my kid would be attending Stanford if he hadn't received a scholarship to WUSTL but we simply didn't see the value of paying $60K per year when attending WUSTL is a fraction of the cost of attending any other top-ranked, private school and comparable to attending our state school. Even if WUSTL is "no better than U.VA or College Park" or if it's "popular with kids who can't get into Ivies, Stanford or Duke," WUSTL gives a lot of money to kids who can get into Ivies, etc. and these students attend too (my kid's dorm-mate turned down Harvard to choose between "full ride" scholarships from Duke and WUSTL).

As noted in the 2003 NY Times article, Wash U made a big endowment push more than a decade ago. A larger endowment lessens the need to maximize tuition income and allows schools to recruit elite students. We'd all be better off if every top 25 school used WASH U's approach to improving the school.

um, except Wash U has a markedly low share of poor students who receive Pell Grants, much lower than most of the other top 25 schools. I suspect this is by design, but YMMV.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/education/elite-colleges-differ-on-how-they-aid-poor.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[Anonymous]

Call me a horrible person, but I frankly could care less whether my child went to college with 8% pell grant students instead of 12% pell grant students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems to attract very bright kids from our HS. Never really heard of it until DC's college search. Does it have a Midwestern vibe to it? Does is have enough brand name recognition outside of the Midwest? What are your thoughts/experiences?

I am a Wash U alum - originally from the East Coast.
20+ years ago the student body had a strong representation from the North East, and pockets of the larger Eastern cities - Philly, DC metro, Atlanta, greater Miami area
Probably 50% of the student body was from the greater Midwest (defined here as Western PA - up to Canada - Colorado and using MO as the southern boarder)
It was very light from the West Coast (Pacific NW and CA) as well as international for undergrad. I believe it is more diversified now but still a strong draw from many of the strong schools in the cities around the mid-west: Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Minneapolis etc.

Many of my friends from Wash U have advanced degrees and I have never had anyone in my professional career ask me about where I want to school and say anything other than - Wash U - that is a great school.

When I attend Alumni events in the area and meet recent grads I think - wow this person is quite impressive!

[Anonymous]

Wash U really does NOT have a Midwestern vibe - to the contrary, the "vibe" among in the Midwest is usually geared toward the enormous state schools. The private schools draw MANY students form outside the region.

[Anonymous]

Some of these responses are funny. I turned down a huge, no-loans scholarship at Wash U and went to a prestigious East Coast SLAC (from which I later dropped out), and I alwayd regretted it profoundly. Wash U is excellent, and only moving up in the rankings. It is well funded and the alums are loyal to a fault; I know multiple recent grads who speak truly well of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of these responses are funny. I turned down a huge, no-loans scholarship at Wash U and went to a prestigious East Coast SLAC (from which I later dropped out), and I alwayd regretted it profoundly. Wash U is excellent, and only moving up in the rankings. It is well funded and the alums are loyal to a fault; I know multiple recent grads who speak truly well of it.

Actually WUSTL dropped 5 places in the most recent rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of these responses are funny. I turned down a huge, no-loans scholarship at Wash U and went to a prestigious East Coast SLAC (from which I later dropped out), and I alwayd regretted it profoundly. Wash U is excellent, and only moving up in the rankings. It is well funded and the alums are loyal to a fault; I know multiple recent grads who speak truly well of it.

Actually WUSTL dropped 5 places in the most recent rankings.

Harvard dropped too - are they panicking? Doubtful, but hey they are rolling out a $6,5 Billion fund raising campaign.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of these responses are funny. I turned down a huge, no-loans scholarship at Wash U and went to a prestigious East Coast SLAC (from which I later dropped out), and I alwayd regretted it profoundly. Wash U is excellent, and only moving up in the rankings. It is well funded and the alums are loyal to a fault; I know multiple recent grads who speak truly well of it.

The funny responses are from the people who try to make this school sound better than it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of these responses are funny. I turned down a huge, no-loans scholarship at Wash U and went to a prestigious East Coast SLAC (from which I later dropped out), and I alwayd regretted it profoundly. Wash U is excellent, and only moving up in the rankings. It is well funded and the alums are loyal to a fault; I know multiple recent grads who speak truly well of it.

The funny responses are from the people who try to make this school sound better than it is.

+1. St. Louis? Really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of these responses are funny. I turned down a huge, no-loans scholarship at Wash U and went to a prestigious East Coast SLAC (from which I later dropped out), and I alwayd regretted it profoundly. Wash U is excellent, and only moving up in the rankings. It is well funded and the alums are loyal to a fault; I know multiple recent grads who speak truly well of it.

The funny responses are from the people who try to make this school sound better than it is.

+1. St. Louis? Really?

I know . . . and New Haven? C'mon!

[Anonymous]

I think St. Louis is a great city, but from this thread (which should have died long ago) it is clear that there is at least one DCUM that was traumatized by an experience with Washington University & St. Louis. That person has shown amazing persistence in trashing Wash U & STL in this and other threads. I truly pity that person, but suggest that she move on - any credibility is long since gone.

[Anonymous]

Good school. However, overrated in rankings due to statistical data manipulation.