Washington University in St Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
- Private nonprofit
- Suburb
- 7,857 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 12%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $13,360per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 94%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $91,49710 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
WashU doesn't include loans in aid offers for any admitted undergraduate. Through the WashU Pledge, first-years from Missouri or 53 Illinois counties with family income of $75,000 or less get tuition, fees, housing and food covered for four years.
Source: WashU Student Financial Services
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 12%About 1 in 10 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1500–1570Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 33–35Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Washington University in St Louis's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
- Admit rate in this report
- 12%3,968 admitted of 33,283 first-year applicants
- Early decision admit rate
- 27%1,333 admitted of 4,934. Early decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1500–155032% of first-years sent SAT scores
- ACT, middle 50%
- 33–3529% of first-years sent ACT scores
- Top 10% of their class
- 86%98% were in the top quarter.
Early applicants often include recruited athletes and students who knew this was their first choice, so a higher early rate doesn't mean applying early raises any one student's odds by that much.
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
- Class rank
- Test scores
- Essay
- Recommendations
- A talent or ability
- Character and personal qualities
Important
- Activities
- Being first in your family to go to college
Considered
- Family who went there (legacy)
- Where you live
- Living in the state
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
- Showing interest in the school
Not considered
- Religious affiliation
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Washington University in St Louis's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Washington University in St Louis Common Data Set 2025–26. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $13,360full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $92,523sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $69,594Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 94%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 95%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $91,49710 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $15,250federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 7,857Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 22%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 11%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO — admits 75%
- Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA — admits 48%
- Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH — admits 37%
- Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX — admits 63%
Also worth a look
- Stanford University Stanford, CA — admits 4%
- Emory University Atlanta, GA — admits 11%
- Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN — admits 6%
- Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY — admits 4%
- Yale University New Haven, CT — admits 4%
- University of Chicago Chicago, IL — admits 4%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Washington University in St Louis, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.