Washington University in St. Louis

Summary

Washington University in St. Louis is a private institution that was founded in 1853. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 7,046, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 169 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Washington University in St. Louis's ranking in the 2011 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 13. Its tuition and fees are $40,374 (2010-11).

Washington University in St. Louis is located in a city that offers professional sports in football, baseball, and hockey in addition to a wide range of options for dining and entertainment. The Wash U Bears are members of the NCAA Division III University Athletic Association. Freshmen from outside of the St. Louis area are required to live on campus in one of the residence houses. After freshmen year, students can choose to live in suite-style housing, on-campus apartments, fraternity houses, or off-campus apartments and homes. Approximately 30 percent of students are affiliated with Greek life at Wash U.

Wash U is divided into three schools that serve undergraduate and graduate students and four graduate schools. Among Wash U’s graduate programs are the top-ranked George Warren Brown School of Social Work, the highly ranked Olin Business School, School of Law, School of Medicine, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, School of Engineering and Applied Science, and graduate program in education. The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum on Wash U’s campus houses one of the most distinguished university collections in the country, including works from Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock. Actor Peter Sarsgaard graduated from Wash U, as did former FBI Director William H. Webster. Wash U’s Barnes-Jewish Hospital is one of the top-ranked hospitals in the country.

School mission (as provided by the school):

Washington University in St. Louis is a research university that offers a unique environment for undergraduate students to learn and grow. Unparalleled... Read More

Applying

When applying to Washington University in St. Louis, it's important to note the application deadline is January 15, and the early decision deadline is November 15. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due January 15. The application fee at Washington University in St. Louis is $55. It is most selective, with an acceptance rate of 22.2 percent.
For more information about the tests, essays, interviews, and admissions process, visit the Applying to College knowledge center.

Selectivity	most selective
Fall 2009 acceptance rate	22%
Application deadline	January 15
SAT/ACT scores must be received by	January 15

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Academic Life

The student-faculty ratio at Washington University in St. Louis is 7:1, and the school has 69.7 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Washington University in St. Louis include: Business, management, marketing, and related support services; Engineering; Pre-medicine/pre-medical studies; Psychology; and Social sciences. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 96.8 percent.

Class sizes
Student-faculty ratio	7:1
4-year graduation rate	84% - High
Five most popular majors for 2009 graduates
Business, management, marketing, and related support services 13% Engineering 14% Pre-medicine/pre-medical studies 9% Psychology 9% Social sciences 17%

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Student Life

Washington University in St. Louis has a total undergraduate enrollment of 7,046, with a gender distribution of 48.8 percent male students and 51.2 percent female students. 75.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 25.0 percent of students live off campus. Washington University in St. Louis is part of the NCAA III athletic conference.

See what students are saying about life at Washington University in St. Louis.

Total enrollment	13,575
Student gender distribution
Undergraduate men who are members of a fraternity
Undergraduate women who are members of a sorority
Collegiate athletic association	NCAA III

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Campus Info & Services

Washington University in St. Louis offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, women's center, placement service, day care, health service, and health insurance. Washington University in St. Louis also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, student patrols, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). 20 percent of students have cars on campus. Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at Washington University in St. Louis.

Students who have cars on campus	20% - Low
Health insurance offered	Yes
Students required to own/lease a computer	No

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Paying for School

At Washington University in St. Louis, 41.9 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $28,649.
Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs.

Tuition and fees	$40,374 (2010-11)
Room and board	$12,941 (2010-11) - High
Financial aid statistics

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Student Reviews Ratings data provided by Unigo

The best thing about WashU is that everyone is so willing to help you in your endeavors. My four year advisor will help me with any problem I am having, even if it does not pertain to school. ResLife was helpful for me too- I had to move dorms mid-year and they helped me and allowed me to choose exactly where I needed to move. When I tell people I go to WashU they usually have no clue what I'm talking about. There is not much school pride, but I'm okay with that. It fits me that it's not a major sports school. The fact that we don't have much school pride just shows how mellow we are. I would say we have pride in the fact that we go to WashU. I rarely hear major complaints about the school; everyone seems pretty happy with going to WashU, and I'd call that having school pride of sorts. I think WashU's administration is fabulous. They are so friendly and seem concerned about the students, more so than when I talk to my friends from other schools. For example, I would feel that I could drop a class if I said I was having psychological issues, yet one of my friends at a state school wasn't allowed to drop a class when she needed to use that reason.

Ellie Sophomore

Best thing about Wash.U.: Friday night basketball games. Yeah, it's D3, but we have a blast. The school is also a great size and very geared toward the undergraduate population which is awesome School pride is big, though not necessarily in the athletics sense. That said, basketball games have gotten huge in the last couple years and are incredibly fun. Without D1 sports, though, people just aren't gonna get hopped up for games other than hoops. I wish kids were a bit more socially and emotionally intelligent. We have some of the most book smart people in the world, but they often don't have a clue as to how to interact or think outside of their narrow academic boxes.

Andrei Senior

I enjoy it when people ask me where I go to school, only to discover they've never heard of Wash U. I live three hours away, yet plenty of people from home don't know Wash U is in St. Louis. I'm glad that I can be proud of where I go to school, but at the same time I don't seem like I'm bragging by telling people where I go. The biggest recent controversy on campus was a student movement against the administration to bring presidential candidates to campus to speak for free. The administration cited legal and logistical reasons for not allowing Barack Obama to come speak. While these are... Read More

skipper Junior