Washington University in St. Louis
A research university where you apply to one of five undergraduate schools but can take classes across all of them.
- Acceptance rate
- 12%
- Class of 2030 (entered fall 2026)
- Students
- 15,934
- 8,153 undergraduates
- International
- 10%
- of students
- Student–faculty
- 10:1
- ratio
- Tuition
- $71,310
- 2026-27
About WashU
Washington University in St. Louis was founded in 1853 by a group of St. Louis civic leaders and named for George Washington, because its charter happened to be signed on his birthday. Today it enrolls about 16,000 students, roughly 8,150 of them undergraduates, and brought in an estimated $1.09 billion in sponsored research in fiscal 2025. The university counts 26 affiliated Nobel laureates, and its medical school and hospital partners make St. Louis a major centre for biomedical research.
Undergraduates apply to one of five schools: Arts & Sciences, the Olin Business School, the McKelvey School of Engineering, and the College of Architecture or College of Art within the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. The school you choose is a home base, not a wall. You can take classes in all five, and you don't declare a major until your second year. About 80% of undergraduates pursue multiple majors or minors, and about half study abroad.
WashU is highly selective: it admitted about 12% of its 33,214 applicants for the class that entered in fall 2026. It suits students who want a top research university with a close residential first two years. All first- and second-year students live on campus, and first-years live on the South 40. It also suits students who like combining fields, whether that is the joint business and computer science degree, the Beyond Boundaries interdisciplinary cohort, or a pre-health track alongside a humanities major.
Per veritatem vis
“Strength through truth” — university motto
Why students choose WashU
WashU meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students without loans, and its admissions process is need-blind for US citizens and permanent residents.
Choosing a school when you apply doesn't lock you in: you can take classes across Architecture, Art, Arts & Sciences, Business and Engineering, and you declare a major in your second year.
Signature Scholar Programs (Danforth, Ervin and Rodriguez) offer full- and partial-tuition scholarships plus a scholar community, with a priority deadline of December 16, 2026.
WashU reports that 93% of graduates are employed, in further study or in other positive outcomes six months after graduation.
Admissions
Class of 2030 (entered fall 2026)
About 1 in 8 applicants is admitted
4,057 admitted from 33,214 applicants
Middle 50% of admitted students scored in this range.
Middle 50% of admitted students scored in this range.
WashU's incoming class profile (as of September 21, 2026) reports 33,214 applicants, 4,057 admits and 1,941 enrolling students, a 12% overall admit rate. The previous year's CDS (fall 2025) shows 33,283 applicants and 3,968 admits, with 1,333 admitted through Early Decision.
Typical entry requirements
| US high school curriculum | No specific courses are required. Successful applicants' transcripts often include 4 years of English and math, 3-4 years of lab science and of history or social science, and at least 2 years of one foreign language. Architecture, Business and Engineering strongly recommend calculus; Engineering recommends chemistry and physics. |
|---|---|
| International curricula (optional in place of SAT/ACT) | Predicted or actual IB Diploma results, A-levels or national exams (e.g. Baccalaureat, Abitur), or three AP or three IB HL exam scores. A math score is required for STEM majors in Arts & Sciences, Engineering and Business. |
| English language | IELTS 7 · TOEFL iBT 100 These are the ranges WashU says its most competitive applicants have, not hard minimums. TOEFL 100 applies to tests before January 21, 2026; for tests on or after that date, 5.0 on the new scale is recommended. Duolingo is also accepted. From fall 2027, SAT or ACT scores no longer replace an English test. December 2026 is the last accepted test date (October for EA and ED I). |
Deadlines
- Early Action Non-binding Next deadline · In 27 daysNovember 2, 2026
New for fall 2027. Counselor materials are due November 9, and decisions and aid offers come by December 23. You have until May 1 to reply. Deferred applicants can move to RD or ED II.
- Early Decision I Binding In 27 daysNovember 2, 2026
Financial aid forms are due November 17. Decisions and aid offers come by December 11, with a reply due January 4, 2027.
- Early Decision II Binding In ~3 monthsJanuary 4, 2027
Counselor materials and aid forms are due January 11. Decisions come by February 12, with a reply due March 1.
- Regular Decision Non-binding In ~3 monthsJanuary 4, 2027
Financial aid forms are due February 1. Decisions and aid offers come by April 1, with a reply due May 1.
These are the fall 2027 dates published on WashU's Application Dates & Deadlines page. For priority consideration for Signature Scholar Programs, apply by December 16, 2026. QuestBridge National College Match materials are due November 1, 2026.
How to apply
Common App or Coalition App (via Scoir), with no preference between them. You choose one of the five undergraduate schools and answer one required WashU question in 250 words: what you want to study and why. You also need a school report and transcript, one teacher evaluation, a counselor recommendation and a $75 fee (waived for financial aid applicants). A SlideRoom portfolio is required for the College of Art and strongly encouraged for Architecture. A 90-second video is optional. WashU does not offer evaluative interviews.
What admissions looks for
- Academic potential: your whole transcript, including the rigor of your courses and trends over time, not just your GPA, plus preparation for the school you choose.
- Personal characteristics: collaboration, intellectual curiosity, creativity and concern for others, shown through your writing and your recommendations.
- Accomplishments and involvement: the impact you've made through activities, work, family responsibilities or service, rather than titles.
- Fit and engagement: a clear why-WashU answer in the required essay. WashU says demonstrated interest counts as a small part of its review.
Tips for applying to WashU
- 1 Treat the 250-word what-and-why-you-want-to-study question as your WashU essay. WashU says it hopes to see there what you learned from its staff and students.
- 2 If you need a merit scholarship to afford WashU, the admissions office recommends applying Regular Decision. School scholarships and Signature Scholar awards are decided after ED II notification.
- 3 Submit by December 16, 2026 if you want priority consideration for the Danforth, Ervin or Rodriguez Scholars programs. Each needs a 250-word short answer in the WashU Pathway.
- 4 Pick your school thoughtfully: it sets your advising from day one, and after enrolling you must wait one semester before requesting a transfer between schools.
- 5 WashU explicitly counts demonstrated interest, so use visits, virtual sessions and contact with admissions to learn about the school and to show it.
What are your chances?
Sign up to see your personalized admission chances for Washington University in St. Louis
Sign up to see your chancesCosts & financial aid
2026-27 · figures in USD
WashU meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students, with no loans in aid offers. Admission is need-blind for US citizens and permanent residents; international students can receive aid only if they apply during the admission process. The WashU Pledge gives a full ride to qualifying students from Missouri and southern Illinois with family incomes of $75,000 or less. Merit awards include school scholarships of up to full tuition and the Danforth, Ervin and Rodriguez Signature Scholar Programs.
- $96,994, plus about $5,266 in estimated books, travel and personal costs
- Total university charges 2026-27 (tuition, fees, housing and food)
- About $75,000
- Average need-based aid offer
- 843 of 1,961 (43%), with 100% of need met on average
- First-year students awarded need-based aid (fall 2025)
- $75,880
- Average need-based scholarship or grant, first-years (CDS 2025-26)
- 30 students, averaging $71,003
- International undergraduates receiving institutional aid (CDS 2025-26)
Academics
Academic calendar: Semesters
Joint BS in Business and Computer Science
A formal joint degree run by Olin and McKelvey with defined requirements in both fields, not just a double major. You apply with a separate 250-word short answer.
Beyond Boundaries
A small first-year cohort that takes team-taught interdisciplinary classes on topics such as aging, public health and entrepreneurship, then moves on to self-directed interdisciplinary study.
Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology (PNP)
An interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences program on the mind that links philosophy, neuroscience and psychology.
PreHealth advising
WashU has no BS/MD program. Instead, one-on-one PreHealth advisors guide students in any major toward medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or public health.
College of Art and College of Architecture (Sam Fox School)
Studio-based design degrees on a research campus. Art applicants must submit a SlideRoom portfolio, and one is strongly encouraged for Architecture.
Research
- WashU received an estimated $1.09 billion in sponsored research support in fiscal year 2025, including $814 million from federal sources.
- WashU Medicine and its partners on the Medical Campus, including Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children's Hospital and the Siteman Cancer Center, run one of the largest academic clinical practices in the US.
- The university counts 26 affiliated Nobel laureates, including alumni Earl Sutherland, Edwin Krebs and Daniel Nathans, who won in physiology or medicine.
- Plant science research is done in collaboration with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, focused on helping the world feed its people.
Schools & faculties
- Arts & Sciences
- Olin Business School
- McKelvey School of Engineering
- Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts (College of Architecture, College of Art)
- Brown School
- Bursky School of Public Health
- School of Law
- WashU Medicine (School of Medicine)
- School of Continuing & Professional Studies
93% of graduates are employed, in further study or in other positive career outcomes six months after graduation, and 86% of employed graduates earn $60,000 or more (WashU career outcomes). According to the US Department of Education's College Scorecard, the median income 10 years after entry is $86,182.
Student life
All first- and second-year students live on campus. First-years live in one of 10 residential communities on the South 40, which works like a small town with its own student government, dining, fitness centre and student-run businesses. Some traditions are Moonlight Breakfast, where professors serve a late-night breakfast before finals, the WILD outdoor concert and ThurtenE, which WashU calls the nation's oldest and largest student-run carnival. There are more than 400 undergraduate student groups. About 18% of undergraduates join Greek life, and first-years can only join after their first semester.
- Moonlight Breakfast before finals, with food served by professors
- ThurtenE Carnival, which WashU calls the nation's oldest and largest student-run carnival
- 19 varsity sports in NCAA Division III and the University Athletic Association, where the Bears have won 29 NCAA Division III titles
- 400+ undergraduate student groups and cultural shows such as Black Anthology and Carnaval
- The Congress of the South 40 runs music festivals, a formal dance and trips into St. Louis
Housing. All first- and second-year students live on campus. First-years live on the South 40, mostly in double rooms in modern or traditional halls.
Location
The Danforth Campus, with red granite Collegiate Gothic buildings around Brookings Hall, sits on the western edge of St. Louis, right across the street from Forest Park. The park covers 1,300 acres and holds a free zoo, museums and an ice rink. The Delmar Loop, with shops, restaurants and music venues, is about five minutes' walk away. WashU describes St. Louis as a friendly, affordable city with a growing tech and startup scene for internships.
Nearest airport: St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL)
Notable alumni
- HR Harold RamisActor, writer and director of Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day; graduated in 1966 after studying English literature
- JM Jim McKelveyCo-founder of Square (now Block, Inc.); WashU's engineering school is named for his family
- RW Rochelle WalenskyDirector of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021-2023); BA in biochemistry and molecular biology, 1991
- BB Bob BehnkenNASA astronaut and former Chief of the Astronaut Office; BS in mechanical engineering and physics
- WH William H. WebsterThe only person to direct both the FBI and the CIA; JD from Washington University School of Law, 1949
- DN Daniel Nathans1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; MD from Washington University School of Medicine, 1954
- PS Peter SarsgaardFilm and stage actor; transferred to WashU from Bard College
- GO Gyo ObataArchitect and co-founder of HOK, one of the world's largest architecture firms; studied architecture at WashU
Frequently asked questions
What is WashU's acceptance rate?
For the class that entered in fall 2026, WashU admitted 4,057 of 33,214 applicants, an overall admit rate of about 12%.
Is WashU test-optional for fall 2027?
Yes. SAT and ACT scores are optional and can be self-reported and superscored. The middle 50% of the fall 2026 entering class scored 1510-1550 on the SAT or 33-35 on the ACT.
Does WashU have Early Action?
Yes. For fall 2027 WashU added a non-binding Early Action round with a November 2, 2026 deadline, alongside binding Early Decision I (November 2) and Early Decision II (January 4, 2027), plus Regular Decision (January 4, 2027).
Is WashU need-blind and does it meet full need?
WashU is need-blind for US citizens and permanent residents and meets 100% of demonstrated need for all admitted students without loans. International students must apply for aid during the admission process to be eligible.
Does WashU require an interview?
No. WashU does not conduct or offer evaluative interviews. International applicants are encouraged, but not required, to submit a third-party interview such as InitialView, and a 90-second video supplement is optional for everyone.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
- WashU Admissions: Application Dates & Deadlines (fall 2027)
- WashU Admissions: First-Year U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident Applicants
- WashU Admissions: First-Year International Applicants
- WashU Admissions: What We're Looking For
- WashU Admissions: Common Questions
- WashU Admissions: English Testing Requirements
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