We take every aspect of your personal profile into consideration when calculating your admissions chances.
Please tell us what you are interested in studying at college and why.
Undecided about your academic interest(s)? Don’t worry—tell us what excites you about the academic division you selected. Remember that all of our first-year students enter officially “undeclared” and work closely with their team of academic advisors to discover their academic passions. You can explore all of our majors and programs on our website.
The Beyond Boundaries Program helps talented, self-initiated, and self-motivated students become creative problem solvers and insightful scholars who are prepared to pursue their own broad interdisciplinary interests. This unique educational experience requires collaboration across academic disciplines and perspectives, drawing on the strength and interconnectedness of the university’s five undergraduate divisions and three graduate schools. After their first year, students are able to seamlessly transition into any of WashU’s undergraduate schools while they continue engaging with the Beyond Boundaries Program. Students interested in pursuing degrees in Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Environmental Engineering may not be able to participate in the program due to specific track-based requirements.
Many of our students broadly explore the connections across WashU’s five undergraduate divisions and three graduate schools and engage with the community before declaring a major. The Beyond Boundaries Program equips students with a set of tools to critically understand and make a difference in a complicated world where challenges do not come pre-packaged as territory of a single discipline. Tell us what great challenge you might want to understand and tackle leveraging two or more of WashU‘s schools and how you would pursue an interdisciplinary path of study that explores that challenge or an aspect of that challenge in a unique and innovative way.
Students in the Joint Program in Business and Computer Science will be equipped with the fundamental knowledge and perspectives of computer science and business and will have unique opportunities to converge these two disciplines.
This is a distinctive degree program that captures the intersection of business and computer science and the growing demand for people with this special and sought-after skillset. Graduates of the program will able to pursue careers in technology, data analytics, finance, consulting and business development, to name a few.
Tell us how you would use this combined degree to explore the intersection of these two disciplines?
Consider the legacy of Chancellor Danforth and the four Program Pillars. How have you demonstrated your commitment to the ideals of the Program? Please provide 1-2 specific examples.
Write an essay on the following: What matters to you?
Dr. John B. Ervin was a nationally renowned black educator and the first African American Dean at Washington University. The Ervin Scholars Program was founded on and continues to live out his legacy through scholars‘ dedication to the Program Pillars. Review the biography of Dr. John B. Ervin and the four Program Pillars. How have you demonstrated your commitment to the ideals of the Program? Please provide 1-2 specific examples.
Describe a high school or community activity in which you have taken initiative. What were the challenges and outcomes? What did you learn?
Consider the biography of Annika Rodriguez and reflect upon your commitment to bringing diverse groups together and/or bringing about positive change in your community. How do you demonstrate these commitments? How do your activities demonstrate your dedication to the ideals embraced by the Rodriguez Scholars Program?
Describe a high school or community activity in which you have taken initiative. What were the challenges and outcomes? What did you learn?
The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don‘t feel obligated to do so.
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you‘ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
