How to Get Into WashU: What Actually Works

Acceptance Rate: 12%

Washington University in St. Louis received over 32,000 applications for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle and admitted approximately 3,951 students, resulting in an acceptance rate of 12%. Getting into WashU is highly competitive, and the acceptance rate has been declining year after year. With an acceptance rate of just 12%, you are competing against some of the most accomplished students in the country, and even outstanding applicants with excellent grades and test scores face rejection. The numbers make clear that academic credentials alone are not sufficient to gain admission, no matter how impressive they may be.

Average SAT: 1525

Average ACT: 34

The middle 50% of admitted students score between 1500 and 1570 on the SAT, and between 33 and 35 on the ACT. These score ranges place admitted WashU students in the 98th percentile nationally. While WashU is test-optional, the vast majority of applicants still submit scores, and having a competitive score significantly strengthens your application. If your scores fall below the middle 50% range, you will need other exceptional qualities in your application to compensate, as standardized test scores remain an important academic indicator that admissions officers use to evaluate preparation for college-level work.

Average Unweighted GPA: ~3.9

The average GPA of admitted students is around 3.9, with approximately 86% of admitted students placing in the top 10% of their high school class. Most successful applicants maintain near-perfect grades throughout high school, particularly in honors, AP, and IB courses. Taking the most rigorous courses available to you is essential, as admissions officers evaluate whether you challenged yourself within your specific school's context. Admissions officers understand that a small school with limited AP offerings may not be able to provide the same course rigor as a large suburban or private school, so they assess your academic strength relative to what was available to you. Consistent high performance across all four years, including strong grades in senior year, is critical to a competitive application.

What truly separates admitted students at WashU goes far beyond perfect GPAs and outstanding test scores. Admissions officers are looking for evidence that you are intellectually curious and engaged in genuine learning, not just optimizing for grades. Successful applicants demonstrate deep thinking about topics that excite them, whether through independent reading, personal projects, or exploring connections between different academic disciplines. When you describe your interests in your application, show rather than tell. Instead of saying you are interested in environmental science, explain how you became interested in this field, what specific questions drive your curiosity, and what you have done on your own time to deepen your knowledge. This intellectual engagement must feel authentic and specific to your own passions, not generic or formulaic.

Admitted WashU students typically excel in a small number of extracurricular activities rather than joining many clubs superficially. The admissions committee values demonstrated leadership and meaningful impact, not activity list length. This means pursuing activities where you have taken initiative, started something new, or achieved distinction. For example, you might have founded a community service project, led a successful fundraising campaign, earned recognition in a specialized skill, or transformed an existing club through your leadership. Admissions officers pay particular attention to whether you have held leadership positions and how your involvement directly benefited others. They want to see evidence that you did not just participate passively but that you made a concrete difference and grew through your commitment over time.

Beyond academics and activities, WashU admissions officers are looking for students with strong character and personal values. They want to understand who you are as a person: what drives you, what you care about deeply, and how you engage with different perspectives and challenges. The admissions team seeks evidence of resilience, adaptability, intellectual integrity, and genuine care for others. Many admitted students can articulate meaningful perspectives on service and community engagement, and they demonstrate through their application how they think about contributing to society. Your teacher recommendations and essays should reveal these personal qualities alongside your academic accomplishments, creating a fuller picture of you as an individual.

Your supplemental essays at WashU are very important to your application and are a primary opportunity for you to stand out. WashU rates essays as a critical factor in holistic admissions decisions, placing significant weight on your written responses. Essays are often what distinguish an otherwise strong application from a truly exceptional one, which explains why some admitted students have slightly lower GPAs or test scores but wrote essays that were remarkably thoughtful and revealing. The required academic essay gives you a chance to demonstrate genuine intellectual interest in your major, while the optional essays let you share who you are beyond your transcript. Together, these essays should feel authentic, specific, and reflective of your genuine voice.

You should check out the how to write the WashU supplemental essays article to see details on how to write the WashU essays.

Build your application strategically so that every component works together to tell a coherent story about who you are and why you would thrive at WashU. Take challenging courses across all core academic subjects, particularly AP and IB courses if available at your school, to demonstrate that you can handle college-level rigor. Select teachers for your recommendation letters who know you well, have taught you in rigorous courses, and can speak to your intellectual curiosity, character, and potential to contribute to a community. Treat these recommendations seriously by selecting teachers who can describe you as one of the most impressive students they have taught, and give them sufficient time and information to write thoughtful, detailed letters. Consider the early decision option if WashU is truly your first choice, as the ED acceptance rate is significantly higher (around 25%) than regular decision (around 8%), though remember that ED is binding. Finally, demonstrate throughout your application that you understand WashU's commitment to community, research, and interdisciplinary learning. Show that you have genuine enthusiasm for engaging with St. Louis as part of your WashU experience and that you understand what it means to be part of a residential community built on collaboration and honor code principles.

Your required supplemental essay asks what you want to study and why. Rather than simply naming a major, show the arc of your intellectual curiosity by explaining how your interest developed over time. Include specific examples from both inside and outside the classroom that sparked your passion, describe what questions fascinate you within this field, and then connect your interests to concrete resources at WashU. Research actual programs, courses, and professors that appeal to you, then explain specifically why their work or teaching excites you and how you envision yourself engaging with these opportunities. This demonstrates genuine interest in WashU specifically, not just interest in a general field of study. Be thoughtful in your research and avoid superficial name-dropping of famous programs or professors. Instead, explain how specific courses, research opportunities, or centers at WashU would allow you to deepen your intellectual interests in meaningful ways.

The optional essays at WashU offer a chance to reveal who you are beyond your transcript and grades. Choose the prompt that feels most natural to you and tells something about your character, values, or perspective that admissions officers might not otherwise learn. If you select the community prompt, focus on one community you genuinely belong to and explain your authentic role within it and how it has shaped you. If you choose the life experiences prompt, reflect on how specific events or experiences have influenced your worldview, character, or future goals. In both cases, avoid trying to impress admissions officers with what you think sounds impressive; instead, share something genuine and specific that reveals who you truly are. Many successful applicants benefit from submitting both optional essays despite them being optional, as each provides additional insight into their character and values. If you are particularly committed to WashU, submitting both optional essays signals your genuine interest in the institution.