WashU acceptance rate and admissions statistics
WashU admitted 3,968 of 33,283 first-year applicants in its 2025-26 Common Data Set, an official acceptance rate of 11.9%. Every number below comes from the college’s own Common Data Set, each year linked to its document; a figure the college leaves blank says “Not published”, and the notes at the foot of the page say where a total is the sum of rows the college printed.
What did admitted applicants have? How to get into WashU counts the grades, scores and activities they posted.
WashU acceptance rate by year
| CDS year | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance rate | Enrolled | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 33,283 | 3,968 | 11.9% | 1,961 | 49.4% |
| 2024-25 | 32,754 | 3,951 | 12.1% | 1,847 | 46.7% |
Acceptance rate is admitted divided by applied; yield is enrolled divided by admitted. Both are computed by Aristo Scholars from the two counts printed beside them.
Early decision at WashU
WashU waitlist
WashU SAT and ACT scores
What WashU says matters in admission
In section C7 each college rates its own admission factors as Very Important, Important, Considered or Not Considered. These are the factors WashU rated in the top two tiers.
- 2025-26
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Academic GPA, Standardized test scores, Application essay, Recommendations, Talent/ability, Character/personal qualities
- Important: Extracurricular activities, First generation
- 2024-25
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Academic GPA, Standardized test scores, Application essay, Recommendations, Talent/ability, Character/personal qualities
- Important: Extracurricular activities, First generation, Volunteer work, Work experience
WashU testing policy for students applying in 2026-27
Test-optional: WashU has adopted a test-optional policy. Applicants who submit scores can send the SAT or ACT, and self-reported scores are accepted.
From WashU’s admissions site, read 2026-11-05. Policies change; the college’s page is the authority.
How these numbers were read
WashU's 2025-26 and 2024-25 Common Data Sets are the two posted on washu.edu, so two years are shown. C2 does not print the number offered a waitlist place in either year.
WashU acceptance rate questions
- What is the WashU acceptance rate?
- WashU's Common Data Set for 2025-26 reports 33,283 first-year applicants and 3,968 admitted, an acceptance rate of 11.9%. It was 12.1% in 2024-25.
- What is the WashU early decision acceptance rate?
- In 2025-26, 1,333 of 4,934 early decision applicants were admitted (27.0%), against 11.9% of all applicants. Early decision applicants are a different pool who commit to enroll, so the two rates are not a like-for-like comparison.
- What SAT scores do WashU students have?
- In 2025-26, the middle half of enrolled first-year students who submitted the SAT scored 1500 to 1550, and ACT submitters scored 33 to 35. 32.0% of enrolled students submitted an SAT score.
- How many students get off the WashU waitlist?
- In 2025-26, WashU offered an unpublished number of applicants a place on the waitlist; 3,865 accepted one, and 327 were admitted from it.
- Does WashU require the SAT or ACT for students applying in 2026-27?
- Test-optional: WashU has adopted a test-optional policy. Applicants who submit scores can send the SAT or ACT, and self-reported scores are accepted.
Applying to WashU?
An acceptance rate describes the whole pool, not one student. A Specialist can read your student’s file against what WashU says it weighs.
Source: WashU Common Data Set, sections C1, C2, C7, C9 and C21, each year linked above, read 2026-11-05. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with WashU. All official acceptance rates