Washington University in St Louis

Private · Highly Selective · MO

Photo: L. M. Bittick (CC BY 2.5)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationMO · Midwest

SettingSuburban

Undergrads7,857

Student:faculty7:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate85.1%

6-yr grad rate94.3%

Drop-out rate5%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$66k

Out-of-state tuition$66k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity60.3%

Gender diversity54.5%

International9%

Identity—

Overview

WashU is a private research university in St. Louis known for outstanding programs in medicine, biomedical sciences, business, architecture, and art, paired with a flexible academic structure that makes combining majors and coursework across different schools unusually easy. The collegiate Gothic Danforth Campus borders Forest Park, one of the largest urban parks in the country, giving the campus a green, self-contained feel within the city.

Academics

Pre-med and biomedical sciences are particular strengths, bolstered by the university's medical school and research enterprise, and the Sam Fox School's architecture and art programs are similarly well regarded. Olin Business School gives undergraduates real access to a top-ranked business faculty. WashU's flexible curriculum and cross-school double-majoring make it relatively easy for students to combine, say, business with art or engineering with a humanities field, and the university places strong institutional emphasis on undergraduate research opportunities across departments.

Campus & student life

The Danforth Campus has a classic, cohesive collegiate Gothic look and a genuinely undergraduate-focused, collaborative culture rather than a cutthroat one, despite the university's research intensity. Most undergraduates live in the South 40, WashU's dense residential neighborhood of dorms just south of the academic quads. Forest Park next door — site of the 1904 World's Fair and today home to the zoo and an art museum — offers substantial green space and recreation without needing to leave campus far behind.

Getting in

WashU reads applications holistically and has a reputation for weighing demonstrated interest and fit carefully, given how selective and research-focused the university is; strong essays that show genuine intellectual direction tend to matter more here than at peer schools with less emphasis on fit. Applicants aiming at pre-med tracks, the Sam Fox art and architecture programs, or Olin Business School should expect the application to look for real evidence of that specific interest, not just strong grades.

After graduation

Graduates place strongly into medicine and biomedical research, business and consulting, and architecture and design fields, supported by a collaborative alumni network that is particularly active in the St. Louis region and in health-sciences fields nationally. Medical school placement out of WashU's pre-med track is a particular point of pride, and the university's research intensity gives many undergraduates genuine lab experience well before applying to graduate programs.

Worth knowing

The university's collaborative, undergraduate-focused culture is frequently cited as distinguishing it from peer research universities of similar academic intensity — worth noting for students weighing it against schools with a more competitive day-to-day culture. The South 40's density is also a defining feature of the undergraduate social scene.

wustl.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate12.1%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1500–1570 · ACT 33–35

Test policyoptional

Rec letters2

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 2

Early decisionNov 2

Regular decisionJan 4

Verified from the school’s admissions page ↗

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App or Coalition (Scoir).

Early decision IIJan 4

Priority / scholarshipDec 16

Financial aid formsFeb 1

Early Decision I and II are binding commitments to enroll if admitted, while Early Action is non-binding, so you can apply Early Action to WashU alongside other non-binding early programs elsewhere.

Supplemental essays (1)

Please tell us what you are interested in studying at college and why.
250 words · Required

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗