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WashU unveils new supplemental essay prompts for 2023-2024 admissions cycle

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Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) has released new supplemental essay prompt options for students applying during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.

In addition being required to respond to the first prompt, which is a returns from last year, all first-year applicants to WashU will now have the opportunity to respond in 250 words or fewer to one of the additional three optional prompts.

2023-2024 WashU Supplemental Prompts

REQUIRED: 1. Please tell us what you are interested in studying at college and why. Undecided about your academic interest(s)? Don’t worry—tell us what excites you about the academic division you selected. Remember that all of our first-year students enter officially “undeclared” and work closely with their team of academic advisors to discover their academic passions. You can explore all of our majors and programs on our website. (200 words max)

OPTIONAL: 2. WashU is a place that values diversity of perspectives. We believe those perspectives come from a variety of experiences and identities. Respond to one of the following prompts to help us understand “Who are you?”: Optional (250 words max)

Option 1: Discuss a fresh perspective or opinion you brought to a collaborative setting or project.

Option 2: Describe a community you are a part of and your place within it.

Option 3: Tell us how your identity has impacted the way you view or interact with your community.

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This is the first time that WashU has asked applicants about their identity in an essay prompt, which is ironic considering The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in June that colleges can no longer admit students on the on the basis of race.

WashU also gives students the chance to upload a short video on the WashU Pathway portal after they submit their application, and within its supplemental instructions WashU notes, “If you prefer, you may focus your optional 90-second video submitted through the WashU Pathway on addressing one of these three questions.” Students who choose to submit a written response to one of the optional prompts may still opt in to sharing an optional video.

As most high school seniors applying to WashU do so through the Common Application, most WashU applicants will also need to respond – and respond well – to one of the Common App’s main essay prompts in order to be considered for admission at WashU.

Good luck to all those students applying to join Washington University in St. Louis’ Class of 2028. Start drafting engines!

Colby Working to Help Rural Students Attend College

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Colby College has announced that it has been selected as an inaugural member of the Small Town and Rural Students (STARS) College Network.

The STARS College Network is a group of sixteen colleges and universities across the United States working together to increase access, affordability, and college advising for students from rural and small-town communities. The other current colleges STARS colleges include Brown University, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Case Western Reserve University, Columbia University in the City of New York, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, The University of Chicago, The University of Iowa, University of Maryland, College Park, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University.

As part of its membership, Colby will help fulfill a critical role as the sole small liberal arts college in the network, ultimately committed to helping students from small-town and rural communities enroll in, succeed at, and graduate from the undergraduate program of their choice. Events, workshops, and college access opportunities in conjunction with this new membership are in the works beginning as early as this summer.

Colby College is a private liberal arts college located in Waterville, Maine, in the northeastern United States.

With easy access to outdoor recreational activities, including hiking, skiing, and rafting, strong academic programs, particularly in the fields of environmental science, biology, and economics, a student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1, a commitment to becoming carbon-neutral by 2025 and large investment in sustainable infrastructure and practices on campus, a vibrant campus community with a wide variety of clubs and organizations, and a strong athletics program, Colby College offers a unique combination of academic excellence, environmental stewardship, and a dynamic campus community in a beautiful location.

Colby College has an Island Campus on Benner Island.

University of Chicago shared more about the STARS initiative as well, including the fact that it is supported by a $20 million gift from Trott Family Philanthropies, the foundation of University of Chicago trustee Byron and Tina Trott.

WashU Receives Fewer Applications, Releases Regular Decisions March 23

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Washington University in St. Louis will release admission decisions for Regular Decision applicants in the late afternoon on March 23, 2023. The university will notify students via email on March 23 when decisions have been posted to the WashU Pathway.

This news comes as Ronné P. Turner, Washington University’s Vice Provost of Admissions & Financial Aid, shared that the selective private St. Louis university received over 32,000 applications from “wonderful young people around the globe” this admissions cycle. WashU received 33,214 applications last year for its Class of 2026.

Waitlisted students have until April 15 to respond affirming that they would like to remain on the waitlist, and they can do so by submitting a form through their WashU Pathway. A waitlisted student is also welcome, though not required, to submit updates he or she feels may help the WashU admissions team better understand the student’s application, and again, this can be accomplished via the Application Updates form in the WashU Pathway.

Turner added, “Our selection process is guided by a diverse committee of admissions professionals in an effort to ensure that, together, our five academic divisions create a community that is welcoming, nurturing, and intellectually rigorous.”

Overall, as of this time, for its Class of 2027, WashU admitted 3,644 students as follows: 2,401 students to its College of Arts & Sciences, 364 to the Olin Business School, 236 to the Sam Fox School (101 for Architecture and 135 for Art), 636 to its McKelvey School of Engineering, and 27 to its Beyond Boundaries Program. As a result, WashU’s overall admit rate for the 2022-2023 remains at at roughly 11%.

Admitted students will have access to WashU’s Admitted Student Portal once decisions are released. This portal will be their primary source for information about on-campus visits and virtual opportunities to engage with our admissions team and community. Students have until May 1 to submit their acceptance forms and enrollment deposits via the Pathway.

Meanwhile, students who applied for financial assistance can view their offer in the WashU Pathway. In addition, admitted students will receive more information about housing in mid-April and orientation in May.

Northwestern University vs. Washington University in St. Louis

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If you only have one more spot to fill on your college list and it comes down to Northwestern University or Washington University in St. Louis, here are the factors you should consider before making the final cut.

Enjoy this installment of College List Deathmatch below!

Washington University in St. Louis sees 70 percent increase in applications

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December 14, 2019 Note: The below article is about the 2018-2019 admissions cycle. The only information yet published out of St. Louis about the 2019-2020 admissions cycle is that Wash U. has accepted 708 students Early Decision I (EDI). Check this space for more information about the Wash U. 2019-2020 admissions cycle as we have it. If Wash U. follows trends from the Ivies, and if its lack of any major press release to date is any indication, it’s very possible that Wash U. saw a decrease in the number of students applying this fall. 

Ronné P. Turner, Washington University in St. Louis’ Vice Provost of Admissions & Financial Aid, informed counselors on Thursday, February 13, 2019 that inclusive of the university’s two Early Decision rounds and its QuestBridge rounds during this admissions cycle, the selective private Missouri university, “reviewed over 3,000 applications – a 70 percent increase from years past.”

For more clarity and context, last year during its one Early Decision round of admission, Wash U. reviewed 1,850 applications.

Wash U. has been selective for a long time, but this was the first year that Wash U. offered ED II. With the university accepting 250 students on Thursday when its ED II decisions were released, Wash U. anticipates that 60 percent of its first-year class – the Class of 2023 – will be populated by students who were accepted before Regular Decision. Last year only 40 percent of students enrolling in the university’s Class of 2022 were accepted ED. Turner did not provide any specific breakout information regarding Questbridge applications or acceptances.

This year, as in past years, students who applied Regular Decision will get their decisions by April 1, 2019.

Interestingly, despite being a hyper-selective university with an overall acceptance rate in the mid teens, some of those students accepted to Wash U. so far in this year’s admissions cycle will be required to attend the university’s First-Year Summer Academic Program from June 8, 2019 through July 13, 2019. According to Turner, “this is solely to help with the transition from high school to college. Their admission is contingent upon attendance/successful completion of this five-week program.” The First-Year Summer Academic Program “gives a select group of students the opportunity to ensure their readiness for STEM and pre-med coursework as well as to improve their critical reading, writing, and study skills. Students attending FSAP may be among the first in their family to attend college or coming from high schools with limited AP/IB offerings,” according to the university.

Washington University Adds Essay and Early Decision II

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Julie Shimabukuro, Director of Admissions at Washington University in St. Louis has announced some major changes to the first-year application process for admission to the selective Gateway City university.

Washington University in St. Louis “will be implementing a supplemental essay in addition to the Common Application or Coalition Application essay. This will allow students to further express their interest in their academic area of choice.” wrote Shimabukuro in an email to high school counselors.

While that sounds all well and good, this news is clearly aimed at separating serious applicants (those who will surely claim to bleed Wash U. red and green) to the university from those just using the school as a great school that requires no extra work, which many high-achieving students have been doing for years because Washington University in St. Louis had no supplemental essay writing requirement beyond what many high-acheving students were already completing for other Common App and Coalition App colleges to which they were applying.

Shimabukuro went on to add that the new essay will also be used as the merit-based scholarship essay for scholarships offered by Washington University’s undergrad divisions.

It’s worth noting that applications for the John B. Ervin, Annika Rodriguez, and Danforth Scholars programs will continue to be awarded through a separate processes, which include more essay writing.

On top of this big news, Shimabukuro added the more curious news that Washington University in St. Louis will also add an Early Decision II application deadline for the first time this upcoming admissions cycle.

This means that Wash U.’s new deadline schedule is as follows for those students hoping to matriculate in Fall 2019:

Application Deadlines Scholarship & Financial Assistance Deadlines
Early Decision I – Nov. 1, 2018 Need-based Financial Assistance (ED) – Nov. 15, 2018
Early Decision II – Jan. 2, 2019 Need-based Financial Assistance (EDII) – Jan. 15, 2019
Regular Decision – Jan. 2, 2019 Need-based Financial Assistance (RD) – Feb. 1, 2019
Merit Scholarships – Jan. 2, 2019

Washington University in St. Louis is clearly trying to shake things up, but no reason was given for why EDII is being implemented. It will be interesting to see if Wash U. proactively communicates the acceptance rates for both of their ED rounds this time next year. The university has been one of the most successful users of ED as a means of loading up its classes early each admissions cycle.

Washington U. Accepts 40 Percent of Class ED

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Ronné P. Turner, Vice Provost of Admissions & Financial Aid at Washington University in St. Louis, has shared with counselors that Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) will accept forty percent of its Class of 2022 through Early Decision. This is a meaningful increase from WUSTL’s more typical thirty-six percent of its entering class being filled through the ED pool. Last year, WUSTL accepted thirty-five percent of its Class of 2021 through the ED pool.

In addition WUSTL received two percent more ED applicants this year – 1,850 – compared to last year.

Not shared was WUSTL’s overall ED acceptance rate this admissions cycle. Last year the university had an ED acceptance rate of thirty-eight percent and and overall acceptance rate of fifteen percent.

If you do get the unfortunate deferral letter, please read this important article: How to Respond to an Early Decision or Early Action Deferral. If you get the stinging rejection letter, please read this article: How to Recover from Early Decision or Early Action Rejection.

If you get in, congratulations!

Visit Admissions Intel’s College Acceptance Gift Collection.