Missouri · 12.0% acceptance · private · Tier 2
ED rate (27.8%) is materially higher than RD (9.8%). If Wash U St. Louis is your top choice and you can commit financially, this is the highest-leverage round.
Wash U favors academically intense applicants who have pursued deep, sustained intellectual interests and can point to concrete accomplishments in those areas, not just a long activity list. They place extra weight on evidence of research, lab or clinical experience for pre-med trajectories and on quant/entrepreneurial accomplishments for Olin applicants; creativity in humanities and arts programs is evaluated by depth and portfolio or project evidence. Compared with Ivy peers they are somewhat more flexible on single-test weakness if grades and course rigor are elite, but stricter about demonstrated academic focus and clear fit with a Wash U program.
For the Why Wash U prompt, name specific faculty, research institutes, or programs and tie them to your past work and next-step projects, for example a lab at the Department of Biology, the Mallinckrodt Institute opportunities, or Olin programs like the Hatchery or HEC. If applying pre-med or to Olin, include concrete plans that show how Wash U resources will accelerate a defined project or career path; avoid generic praise of campus vibe and instead map your intellectual trajectory onto named courses, centers, or professors.
If you only have time for one thing this month, do this: