Washington University in St Louis
WashU publishes 12% (Fall 2025 entering class). Early Decision applicants got in at 25%; everyone else at 9.8%.
Acceptance rate
What WashU's 12% is made of
The published rate averages groups with very different odds. These are the splits WashU reports itself.
By application round
Fall 2025 entering class (Class of 2029)
Read the full decomposition →Part of Real Acceptance Rates, our series decomposing published rates from each school's own Common Data Set.
Testing
Test-Optional for 2026-27
- Policy
"We are continuing our test-optional policy" for fall 2027 applicants; neither SAT/ACT writing nor Subject Tests required; no future change announced.
- SAT middle 50%
- 1500–1570sum of section 25th–75th percentiles
- ACT middle 50%
- 33–35
- Average HS GPA
- Not published by the school
Applying
Deadlines, essays and AI policy
- Early deadlines
- Nov 2, 2026 (ED); Jan 4, 2027 (ED2)
- Regular decision
- Jan 4, 2027Source
- Supplemental essays
- 1 required
One required 250-word supplement: "Please tell us what you are interested in studying at college and why." Optional scholarship-program writing supplements exist separately (Signature Scholars, Nemerov).
- AI use in essays
Limited Use Allowed — applies to Application essays, Sam Fox School portfolio images, and other application materials (letters of recommendation, transcripts, award certificates)
“When you're drafting your essays, it's important that we hear from you. Relying on tools such as ChatGPT or Claude to compose for you will result in an inauthentic, more generic writing that doesn't showcase your unique attributes. ... Researching colleges and developing your list of colleges are ethical uses of AI. ... Reviewing the grammar and spelling of your completed essays can be a helpful use of AI, but you may ask a teacher or counselor to review as well. ... Unethical uses include (but are not limited to) using AI to brainstorm essay topics or draft or write your essays; generating images for your Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts portfolio; or producing fraudulent application materials such as a letter of recommendation, a transcript of high school courses, or a certificate for an award.”
Full cycle calendar: Application Deadlines.
At a glance
Size and cost
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 7,857
- Tuition (out-of-state)
- $65,790
- Category
- Elite Private
- Admissions site
- washu.edu
What should this school mean for your list?
A published rate is one input. Working out what it means alongside the rest of your list is the part that actually changes an application. Free 25-minute call, no commitment.
Sources
- WashU test policy (2026-27)
- WashU deadlines
- WashU AI-use policy
- WashU admissions pages
- WashU admissions pages
- Acceptance rate, test-score percentiles, enrollment and tuition: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, pulled 2026-08-19.
Test policy and deadlines last verified 2026-08-17.
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