Students who come to Washington University have challenged themselves academically and personally during their high school years and are required to have earned a high school diploma or equivalent. Your senior-year transcript should show that you continue to take demanding courses. Most applicants take advantage of honors, advanced placement, and international baccalaureate courses, if offered by their high schools.

Most candidates’ transcripts include:

• four years of English
• four years of mathematics (Architecture, Business, and Engineering recommend calculus)
• three to four years of history or social science
• three to four years of laboratory science (Engineering recommends chemistry and physics)
• at least two years of a foreign language.

For students who plan to do course work in the sciences and/or pre-medicine, the College of Arts & Sciences recommends both chemistry and physics; students are also urged to take the most challenging math programs available in their high schools.

Other important parts of your application for admission are:

• grades and class rank (if your school ranks students)
• counselor and teacher recommendations
• personal essay
• extracurricular and community activities
• standardized test scores (SAT or ACT). Either SAT or ACT scores are accepted for admission. Achievement Tests (SAT IIs) are not required.

Test results from any of your high school years are acceptable, though we encourage senior-year testing. Consideration will be given to the highest individual scores, whenever they occurred.

Washington University encourages and gives full consideration to all applicants for admission, financial assistance, and employment. The University does not discriminate in access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or disability. Present Department of Defense policy governing all ROTC programs discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation; such discrimination is inconsistent with Washington University policy. Inquiries about compliance should be addressed to the University’s Vice Chancellor for Human Resources, Washington University, Campus Box 1184, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130.