Washington University
in St Louis
Private Research University in St. Louis, MO. Six-year graduation rate 94%. Median 10-year earnings $86,182.
A decade after enrolling, the median Washington University in St Louis student earns $86,182 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. Completion is a strength: 94% of students finish within six years. Graduates carry a median of $17,500 in debt — in line with the national norm.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.20 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 94% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Admit rate 12% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
Washington University in St Louis admits just 12% of applicants, placing it among the most selective undergraduate institutions in the country. The applicant pool is large — 32,754 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield is high — 47% of admitted students go on to enroll, well above the typical rate. 29% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 730–770 | 538 (29%) |
| SAT Math | 770–800 | |
| ACT Composite | 33–35 | 517 (28%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Washington University in St Louis →Academics
A 94% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 95% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. At 7:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. With 8,267 undergraduates, the school sits in the middle of the size distribution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,897 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $22,408 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $1,716 at $0–30k versus $42,170 at $110k+. Grant aid is limited — 48% of students receive any. 12% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,823 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $1,716 |
| $30–48k | $1,928 |
| $48–75k | $5,578 |
| $75–110k | $12,603 |
| $110k+ | $42,170 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 972 of these 7,897 students, totalling $6,095,080 — an average of $6,271 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (St. Louis County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)