by our College Data Analytics TeamWashington University in St Louis is a private not-for-profit institution in St. Louis, Missouri enrolling 7,857 undergraduates. It accepts 12% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 94%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #17 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Washington University in St Louis ranks #17 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Washington University in St Louis was awarded 998 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, WashU is ranked #17 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!
WashU is also ranked #1 on the Best Colleges in Missouri list.
See all of the rankings for Washington University in St Louis.
Washington University in St Louis has a very low acceptance rate of 12%, making it one of the most selective out of all the colleges and universities in the nation. It’s probably a good idea to apply to other schools in addition to WashU just in case you don’t make the cut.
About 29% of students accepted to WashU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 730 and 770. Math scores were between 770 and 800.
WashU received ACT scores from 28% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 33 and 35.
Learn more about Washington University in St Louis admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at WashU is an impressive 7 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Washington University in St Louis is 73%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Washington University in St Louis has a freshmen retention rate of 95%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at WashU for first-time, full-time students is 94%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Washington University in St Louis.
In the current academic year, there are 7,857 undergraduates at WashU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Washington University in St Louis.
The typical net cost at WashU is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,716 | $1,928 | $5,578 | $12,603 | $42,170 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of WashU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At WashU, approximately 12% of students took out student loans averaging $6,271 a year. That adds up to $25,084 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.1%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Washington University in St Louis.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Washington University in St Louis with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $86,182 in their early years. This is good news for future Washington University in St Louis graduates since it is 75% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Washington University in St Louis make the most money.
Washington University in St Louis is an private not-for-profit institution located in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis is a good match for students who enjoy the safety and convenience of the suburbs. Get more details about the location of Washington University in St Louis.
Contact information for Washington University in St Louis are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130 |
| Phone: | 3149355000 |
| Website: | www.wustl.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_University_in_St._Louis |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/wustl/ |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/wustl |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 25 majors graduated from Washington University in St Louis. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 6,193 | NA |
| Management Sciences & Methods | 387 | NA |
| Legal Research | 314 | $47,010 |
| Business Administration & Management | 287 | $108,627 |
| Computer Science | 286 | $93,433 |
| Applied Mathematics | 275 | NA |
| Law | 274 | $90,605 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 238 | $81,200 |
| Child Development & Psychology | 227 | NA |
| Economics | 198 | $61,591 |
592 students took at least one online class at Washington University in St Louis.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Washington University in St Louis.
Interested in comparing WashU? Match them up using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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