Anonymous
05/28/2026 12:55
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
Anonymous wrote:There are only so many great students. Every highly selective college wants them, regardless of their family income. So there's this arms race going on in the early rounds to get them and lock them in.
My personal theory is that the SCEA schools - HYPSM - are mostly filled with students that didn't get into a school in the ED round. I'd be curious if there's any data to support it. But Duke, Penn, Vanderbilt, Rice, Brown, Cornell, Chicago, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, and WashU are really keen to get the best students early so they don't even need to apply anywhere else.
Harvard and Princeton and Yale are for those who didn't get in elsewhere. MIT and Stanford have different things going on and unique admissions. But I think overall, a lot of the very finite number of great students get picked up in the early rounds, which begets this arms race among colleges to get them to apply early to their school.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 12:55
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
Forbes has an article out on this that I don't believe has been linked (might be pay walled):
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizdoestone/2026/05/27/applications-to-washington-university-in-st-louis-are-about-to-surge/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizdoestone/2026/05/27/applications-to-washington-university-in-st-louis-are-about-to-surge/
Anonymous
05/28/2026 12:49
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I find it funny this even has 8 pages, when the actual media doesnt care at all. For comparison when Emory increased financial aid last year it made ABC nightly news barely had 3 pages of respondents here though.
Two reasons. First, because Emory is less popular than WashU. Second, because Emory mom dislikes seeing WashU discussed on DCUM and must take shot at the school. Her posts and responses to them easily take up a page or two.
With whom? The unemployed moms on DCUM? With 18-year-olds (and the media), Emory is clearly more popular.
Did you write this at the mall food court during your lunch break?
Anonymous
05/28/2026 12:47
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
There are only so many great students. Every highly selective college wants them, regardless of their family income. So there's this arms race going on in the early rounds to get them and lock them in.
My personal theory is that the SCEA schools - HYPSM - are mostly filled with students that didn't get into a school in the ED round. I'd be curious if there's any data to support it. But Duke, Penn, Vanderbilt, Rice, Brown, Cornell, Chicago, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, and WashU are really keen to get the best students early so they don't even need to apply anywhere else.
Harvard and Princeton and Yale are for those who didn't get in elsewhere. MIT and Stanford have different things going on and unique admissions. But I think overall, a lot of the very finite number of great students get picked up in the early rounds, which begets this arms race among colleges to get them to apply early to their school.
My personal theory is that the SCEA schools - HYPSM - are mostly filled with students that didn't get into a school in the ED round. I'd be curious if there's any data to support it. But Duke, Penn, Vanderbilt, Rice, Brown, Cornell, Chicago, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, and WashU are really keen to get the best students early so they don't even need to apply anywhere else.
Harvard and Princeton and Yale are for those who didn't get in elsewhere. MIT and Stanford have different things going on and unique admissions. But I think overall, a lot of the very finite number of great students get picked up in the early rounds, which begets this arms race among colleges to get them to apply early to their school.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 12:45
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
Anonymous wrote:It sounds like apps are down so they are just trying something new.
I predict it won't do much to lower their acceptance rate and increase their yield rate:
1) The new EA applicants were going to apply RD anyway so they are not getting new applicants
2) Some borderline applicants who were going to apply WashU ED may now apply EA so they may actually lose some yield
3) With so much WL activities this cycle including at the very top schools, WashU may have a harder time getting commitment from the EA accepts until close to the summer, which will mess up their own yield and class shaping
100%, if they were serious about doing more than just posturing, they would do ED0 like UChicago. But the decline in apps as all there peers increased probable has them shook. I'm pretty sure even Tufts had more apps this year.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 12:42
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I find it funny this even has 8 pages, when the actual media doesnt care at all. For comparison when Emory increased financial aid last year it made ABC nightly news barely had 3 pages of respondents here though.
Two reasons. First, because Emory is less popular than WashU. Second, because Emory mom dislikes seeing WashU discussed on DCUM and must take shot at the school. Her posts and responses to them easily take up a page or two.
With whom? The unemployed moms on DCUM? With 18-year-olds (and the media), Emory is clearly more popular.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 12:32
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
It sounds like apps are down so they are just trying something new.
I predict it won't do much to lower their acceptance rate and increase their yield rate:
1) The new EA applicants were going to apply RD anyway so they are not getting new applicants
2) Some borderline applicants who were going to apply WashU ED may now apply EA so they may actually lose some yield
3) With so much WL activities this cycle including at the very top schools, WashU may have a harder time getting commitment from the EA accepts until close to the summer, which will mess up their own yield and class shaping
I predict it won't do much to lower their acceptance rate and increase their yield rate:
1) The new EA applicants were going to apply RD anyway so they are not getting new applicants
2) Some borderline applicants who were going to apply WashU ED may now apply EA so they may actually lose some yield
3) With so much WL activities this cycle including at the very top schools, WashU may have a harder time getting commitment from the EA accepts until close to the summer, which will mess up their own yield and class shaping
Anonymous
05/28/2026 11:51
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I find it funny this even has 8 pages, when the actual media doesnt care at all. For comparison when Emory increased financial aid last year it made ABC nightly news barely had 3 pages of respondents here though.
Two reasons. First, because Emory is less popular than WashU. Second, because Emory mom dislikes seeing WashU discussed on DCUM and must take shot at the school. Her posts and responses to them easily take up a page or two.
Emory mom’s kid would die of embarrassment if kid read mom’s rantings.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 11:26
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
Anonymous wrote:They're trying to drive down their admit rate. I don't think EA will be very generous. They will treat it like UChicago where EA isn't given much of a boost over RD at all.
You are missing the point. From a university’s perspective, having an EA option allows them to compete with their peer institutions to secure students, admit them, and enroll them. When my child applied to schools, I kept observing that these RD schools are missing the best students. The kids are getting excited and committing to schools they applied to in the EA round. They’re attending early student admit days, they’re thinking about housing, they’re buying merch.
By the time RD decisions come along, it’s often 3+ months later.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 11:09
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
Anonymous wrote:I find it funny this even has 8 pages, when the actual media doesnt care at all. For comparison when Emory increased financial aid last year it made ABC nightly news barely had 3 pages of respondents here though.
Two reasons. First, because Emory is less popular than WashU. Second, because Emory mom dislikes seeing WashU discussed on DCUM and must take shot at the school. Her posts and responses to them easily take up a page or two.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 08:58
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
I find it funny this even has 8 pages, when the actual media doesnt care at all. For comparison when Emory increased financial aid last year it made ABC nightly news barely had 3 pages of respondents here though.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 08:56
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
Anonymous wrote:They're trying to drive down their admit rate. I don't think EA will be very generous. They will treat it like UChicago where EA isn't given much of a boost over RD at all.
Exactly, adding this the same year their apps drop.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 08:26
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
They're trying to drive down their admit rate. I don't think EA will be very generous. They will treat it like UChicago where EA isn't given much of a boost over RD at all.
Anonymous
05/28/2026 08:09
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Among its peers Washu receives the least amount of applicants so its the least popular no matter how you slice it.
it more popular in the usnwr rankings… + their freshman classes are admitting 500+ to oxford. And washu has a smaller class size.
Usnews isnt a popularity contest, nor is a ranking of 20 vs 24 anything to brag about
Anonymous
05/28/2026 07:06
Subject: What is WashU trying to accomplish by adding EA?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So next year's strategy for highest stat STEM applicants:
EA to MIT, Wash U., Georgia Tech
Can you do this and also SCEA to HYP or ED a T20?
If you SCEA/REA to an HYP, you could still EA to Michigan and Georgia Tech since they are public, but not MIT, WashU, USC, and Case. If you ED to a t20, then you could EA to anything as long as it's not an SCEA/REA school.
You can also skip ED/SCEA entirely and apply EA to: MIT, Michigan, Georgia Tech, Wash U, Notre Dame, Georgetown, UVA, UNC, USC, Wisconsin, Georgia, Case, and Tulane. Yes?
Yes, you can do this, but EA does not give your child any real advantage since it's non-binding and a fair number of these schools care about yield and may defer your kid.
EA is non-binding, but an EA acceptance gives the kid a nice floor. EA acceptance means kid can whittle down RD list to only reaches. For a place like Wash U, that could increase early interest.
People who might have applied RD to Emory or Vanderbilt might decide to forego those apps if they have an acceptance to Wash U in their pocket, and only apply to high reaches. If rejected from high reaches, kids are not deciding btw Wash U and Emory/Vanderbilt/NW. They just go to Wash U.
Definitely not true. Nobody is picking WashU over Vandy/NU/other higher-ranked schools.
You’re wrong.
This. My kid’s friend turned Harvard down for WashU.