126. I Worked at WashU Admissions—Here’s What Really Gets You In

- Hi everybody, welcome back to the podcast. So today we are really shining a spotlight on Washington University in St. Louis or better known as WashU. It is really recognized as one of the top colleges in the country and often called a hidden IV, a school with exceptional academics, selective admissions, and a unique student experience. And we're lucky to have the perfect guest to walk us through it today, Ariel, who's not only a WashU alum, but also a former admissions officer who read thousands of application and now helps students navigate this process at In Genius Prep. So Ariel, welcome, it's so great to have you here. - Thank you very much, I appreciate it, I'm excited. - Since you're a new face on the channel, let's start with a little bit about your background who you are and what you do at In Genius Prep. - I'm a New York native. I think one of the biggest things about me is I've lived in a lot of different places, maybe not a lot, but several different places. All over the US, I've lived in San Diego, I've lived in LA, I've lived in St. Louis, I've lived in New York, I've lived in Tulsa, I've also lived in Madrid, I traveled abroad in Southeast Asia and Australia and New Zealand for months. And I think that because of all this, I've met a lot of different people from different backgrounds. And I think that has affected my perspective and worldview, so I think that's a big thing about me. And then what I do at In Genius is I consult with students and families on applications and also how to be a better candidate for colleges, even starting as early as eighth and eighth grade. So I work with all sorts of students who are trying to get into all sorts of colleges with all sorts of majors and all sorts of interests. And then in terms of personal things about me, I really like sports, I really like cooking, I like to be outside, I'm a big theater nerd and I never get bored by anything linguistic. So studying languages constantly fascinates me. So that's a little bit about me and who I am. - Wow, that's amazing. I feel like your world traveler and you mentioned you learned a lot of languages. What kind of language is your favorite to learn right now? - I think Arabic is really cool. I have two friends who both speak Arabic, one is families from Lebanon and one is from Jordan. They're constantly speaking Arabic when I'm around them and they're teaching me things and I'm picking up on things. It's a very difficult language, I think, for an English speaker to get a good grasp of and I think it's really exciting. So I'm gonna go with Arabic for the one that I'm currently most interested in. - Yeah, that's so cool. We can talk about it all the but let's get back to the podcast. Let's start with you. When you first set foot on Washi's campus, what instantly felt like a fit to you? - Okay, so I don't actually know that Washi instantly felt like a fit. I think there were some things about it that felt really good and then some things that I was like, "Okay, I think I'm gonna have to see what else is out there "in my college journey to compare this to," which is totally fine. So things that did instantly feel good to me were the size of the student body, the situation of the campus within the city and just having a campus and having pretty buildings. I think class sizes were a really good thing and I visited in the summer for my first time. So it was hard because there weren't any students but I could tell that vibes were good now to extend that to when I actually ended up choosing Washi, I did visit again the spring of my senior year when I was making my final decisions about where to go and that visit was in April and that instantly felt like a fit for sure. So the second look was the one where things really clicked and that was because of the people. You'll probably hear me talk about people as a running theme throughout this because I think it's what sets Washi apart. The people were cool, tour guides were great. Everyone was very welcoming. I did an overnight visit on campus and people were so happy to have me there. They were excited about Washi. They wanted me to be excited about Washi and people who I had met on the Friday night that I got there were saying hi to me from across the way throughout the whole weekend. It was great. Yeah, so I'm gonna say the people is what made it feel like instant good vibes. Apart from just like people, I think geographically you were also happy to be there, right? The location was great, weather was great. It's located in the Midwest, right? Yes, so it's in St. Louis, Missouri. Full name was Washington University in St. Louis but nobody calls that. That's like the first way that you can tell that somebody doesn't really know that much about Washi was if they call it by its full government name. The people who know Washi and are around Washi that just call it a Washi. So if you wanna be in the know, Washi is the way to go. Yes, so at the time I was pretty happy with that location. I'm from New York as I mentioned. I didn't wanna be too close to home. I wanted to be like a good distance from home. I don't know that I like really cared how far, how close but to be in that place, we drove around the city. It seemed cool. The weather was hot, I will tell you that but I think I was used to the heat and the humidity from New York summers so that didn't super bother me at the time. So like I mentioned before, Washi is often called the hidden IV with amazing academics, selective process and obviously a great campus culture. From your perspective as both an alumni, former student and admissions officer, what makes Washi stand out to you? The first thing I'm gonna say is the people. I think people at Washi are really special and they are what makes this campus culture of collaboration over competition possible. So I think you'll find, but these top tier colleges, everyone is academically motivated. You're not gonna find ones where people are like super slackers, they're there for a reason, they wanna learn, they're scholastic. But within that academic motivation, you can have people who are really competitive about getting there and gatekeep their study guides and stuff like that, where you can have people who are really collaborative about the way that they get there and want to share and grow and learn together. And that's what I think is special about Washi. It's a very collaborative place. There's always study groups, people are helping each other out. So that was really good and that people are just awesome. They're passionate about things, they're funny, they are nice. I think the Midwest draws a lot of people from the Midwest. I mean, they're two from all over Washi, but the culture of this like Midwest nice sky vibes was not something I was used to coming from New York City. So that definitely took some adjustment, but in the end I think it ended up being a really good thing for me because I think I needed a taste of that attitude shift. So the people for sure hands down are what makes Washi stand out. You'll find the greatest people there. I think talking about academics wise, what's like the most popular majors that SUNY Sushi coach to Washi for? STEM probably, Washi Med is a really big powerhouse in the world of healthcare medicine hospitals and the medical school is extremely highly ranked. So you can often find Washi undergrad as a feeder for people who want to eventually get their DO or MD or take any sort of healthcare path. So because of that, I do think biology, chemistry are pretty popular degrees. The business school definitely is pretty popular too among people. I don't know that I can name like one most popular major, but the first thing that came to mind which I think is telling is STEM subjects. Now I kind of want to run back to fit. So from our previous conversations, one of the things that you're passionate about is helping students find their right fit school instead of chasing prestige. How would you define fit when you're working with students now? Yeah, so things that I like to ask students and families but primarily students about when they're considering these schools is location. Let's talk about the location of the place. Do you want to be in a city? Do you want to be in a town? Do you want to be rural? Do you want to be suburban? Do you want to be urban? How far do you want to be from home? How far are you willing to be from home? How about the size of the city? How about the size of the undergrad population? Do you care if their grad students are there? Do you actively want grad students there? That's all gonna shift the vibe. So then after we get some really hard answers and numbers and data to those things, that allows you to eliminate a little bit. If I'm working with a student from the East Coast who says I wanna stay on the East Coast, that narrows down the list a ton. They might end up expanding. They're mind a little bit in applying to places a little bit farther out, but in general, that's a good place to start. What else? Diversity. What kind of diversity do you want on the campus? Politics. What's the political vibe you're looking for? Do you want people generally to have the same mindset and attitudes politically that you do? What kind of programs are there? Do they have the program that you're looking for? 'Cause ultimately it doesn't matter how highly somewhere is ranked if they're not gonna give you the thing that you want. And then maybe on the flip side, if they're not as highly ranked, maybe they have a really good program in whatever you want and then whatever you wanna go on to do, academically or professionally after that, we'll recognize that as a good program. It's all part of the game. Then what does the vibe of the students? What about clubs, activities, campus life? What's the food like? What she was known for having really good quality dorms and really good quality food? I don't think it was a designing factor for me, but it certainly didn't hurt and I ended up loving it. And then I wanted to go visit my sister, my senior here, her freshman year at the college that she was at. Everyone was complaining about the food and I was like, yes, I'm so glad that once you had this awesome food, I'd never heard anyone complain about the food. It was honestly really great and a really diverse post of options there. So yeah, all these things contribute to fit, I think and what the vibe is. The best way I think to check that out is to visit if you can visit and within that, if you can visit during a time where students don't camp is great. If you can't, I would pull all of your connections and talk to as many students who are at that college as you possibly can or have gone to that college recently. - So US News actually just released their 2026 college rankings list. And one of the headliners stood out was Columbia dropping to 15 spots. - Like the lowest part. - Her in Ivy League school. So a lot of parents and students, I'm sure get caught up in these numbers. So from your perspective, how should they start thinking about these rankings and what's the healthier or more effective way to really evaluate these schools beyond the list? - Okay, so the first thing I'm gonna say is that rankings change. Like you just said it in that comment, Columbia drops to 15, which means they dropped, which means the ranking was something different. And whatever, 95, 2012, 2019, whatever year it was. So don't get too caught up in what the ranking is right now. Wash, you has a very different ranking right now from when I went. And I was more concerned with ranking back then than I would be now if I were doing this process or then I advise my students to be concerned with ranking. And the ranking changed. So it doesn't matter. Like the programs are still gonna be the programs. The numbers are based on arbitrary factors. They don't even matter sometimes to what you wanna do on campus. I would just implore everyone to please not be too caught up in these rankings because they might not be the same 10, 15, 20 years down the line. And ultimately, you have to be happy worth where you went. I think chasing rankings is a really bad idea actually. - Okay, so let's get into that insider secrets. I know you worked as a former admissions officer at WashU. What were like the common traits of a student that stood out in their applications? Did you read any essay of done any interview where a student really captured that WashU spirit that stuck with you? - WashU's whole thing is getting to know students by name and by story. That's like their motto. So I think aside from stellar academics, which of course they're always looking for, students that had really stand out or compelling stories were the ones that I think people were talking about all the time. Students who are doing really cool things, who were pioneers in any area, who just clearly had amazing personalities, which you can tell from interviews, from essays, from letters of recommendation. I think people who really use their application effectively to let those facets of their personality shine. Those are the people who stood out to us. And there's no one magic extracurricular or activity or personality trait that makes someone the best applicant. All of these things have to work in harmony together. But I think if I'm remembering like a couple of specifics, entrepreneurs, people who took something small and made it something big. So whether it was like a club at school that they then snowballed into a huge event or something in their personal life that started as a fun little hobby that then they turned into something huge after that, whether it was monetized or just a fun thing or whatever. Okay, here's an example. I had a student who actually ended up at WashU. He worked on a novel with his friends and the four of them just collaborated on this full length novel that they hope to get published. And that started as like a little silly role-playing project that they then turned into something really huge that they all took very seriously. I thought that was so cool. So stuff like that is off the beaten path. In addition to just like having really good letters of recommendation, those were the kids who really stood out. When you interviewed students at WashU, what makes a great interview? Or mistakes that students should avoid? - What makes a great interview? I think is just being normal. Like you're being yourself, admissions officers wanna see your personality. They wanna see things that they can't get in your application. So if you come to this interview and you're just rattling off your resume, that's not really gonna give them much else to work on. You've told them things that they can already get from your application. This is a great time to showcase your personality, your sense of humor, what you're passionate about. Expand on the activities that you're doing in the common app or any other app. You only get a certain very limited word count to explain what you are doing with a certain activity. And I know that people have more to say about their activities. So going into those, showing aos how passionate you are about those things, that's what really makes a good interview. People who are vulnerable, it doesn't really matter like what your personality is as long as we can see your personality. I think that's really good. So you asked about what's a big mistake that someone can make. What it boils down to is everything in moderation. So I think a mistake would be going with hyper professionalism or hyper casualty. You don't wanna come into an interview super super super casual because your admissions officer might not feel like you're taking the process seriously enough. But you don't wanna come in super buttoned up either. This is not a job interview. It's a college interview. And ultimately, aside from being a stellar student, you have to be someone who's gonna be cool and fun and nice to live with on campus for four years. These admissions officers are trying to cure a good campus vibe. So think about what are the good vibes that you would like to be around for four years. And that's what you wanna show them that you can contribute to campus. - Yeah. I've heard from some former admissions officers that some actually came into the interview wearing board shorts or like gym clothes. Something that you don't want students to do right. - Yeah, I think probably don't do that. And it depends on the school. So I watch you at the time that I was there. It was pretty casual. And we told students that. Okay, so I think if an admissions office says our admissions are casual, wear whatever you want, listen to them. But don't come in gym shorts like it's within reason. If they say our admissions casual, maybe you wanna dress a little higher than casual, but not super formal because they told you what the vibe is. If you get a black tie optional wedding invitation, you don't really wanna be the optional and a black tie optional. Better to go a little above what they're asking, but not too much. And don't swing in that other direction either. - Yeah, in the middle maybe. That would be. - Yes, in the middle. So moving up board shorts, but you can add jeans and a button down is I think more than fine. Or just depending on the school, jeans and like a normal plain t-shirt can also be totally fine. So going back to like campus life and spirit, I'm very interested to know what are some of your favorite campus traditions or student communities that you saw applicants really connect with? - I think what my favorites are and ones that I saw students really connect with might be a little bit different. Washy does this thing called Moonlight Breakfast, which is a very silly little tradition where during reading week before finals, they do an all-you-can-eat pancake, bacon and eggs type of breakfast thing. When I was there was served by the professors and they were literally like toss you pancakes, which was super fun. It was like from 10 to midnight as a fun little break during reading week. So that was one of my favorite traditions. Student groups that I saw students really connect with. I am a sucker for a theater kid because I'm a theater kid. And so I think anytime that I saw a student want to form connections with student theater, I thought that was great. There definitely were applicants that formed connections with student theater groups, but I also think that people took a lot of interest in like political organizations, environmental organizations that are on campus. Res life. You had people who eventually wanted to be RAs or residential advisors and that was important to them. Those are a few things that I saw people get jazzed about. Music, I think music's another really big one. It can be really hard to find time in college to continue your music studies, music performance, music interests. And so finding like being able to find ways to do that on campus I think is really exciting for people without making it their entire academic personality. Now moving into a different segment in the podcast, into the quick rapid fire questions. The first thing that comes to mind, the first one would be most creative or unusual application you've read at Wash You. Definitely the fireworks girl. There was this girl who talked about how she was basically like found as a baby in a fireworks shop and adopted by this family. And that story, I know, right? That story just struck out to me so much. It lives with me to this day. And I don't remember all the details of her essay, but I think it was about like finding her path within the world after somebody literally found her and took her in. So that was crazy. - Yeah, that's, yeah. I would love to know more about that, but like an aggression overrated extracurricular in college admissions. - Probably NHS or something like that. No extracurricular is bad. There's no one that you shouldn't do. Everything works in harmony with each other, but I think you just see a lot of NHS's. So I'm a little bit desensitized to it at this point. - How about underrated extracurricular? - An underrated extracurricular would be having a job. Not many students have jobs. And whenever I come across an application, whether I was reading it or counseling a student, where the kid has a job, I'm like, that's cool. You're doing something atypical. You're working for that coin, you're spending time, doing something that maybe your peers aren't doing, and you're getting some real good real life experience. So I think having a job is a pretty underrated one. - One piece of advice you wish every student applying to wash you or any other selective school you? - I'm gonna go back to fit. I don't forget to fit, fit is king. Fit is king, that is my number one piece of advice. It can be a doozy when applying to these selective schools because at some point when a school's admit rate is 4.5% no matter whether you have a 4.0 GPA and a 36 on your ACT, 1600 on your SAT, there's gonna be hundreds of you at that point. It's gonna take way more than those grades and those scores to get into these colleges. So a lot of it is luck, a lot of it is chance, a lot of it is connections you're making, talking with your admissions officers. So yeah, I would try to showcase your personality as much as possible. Make sure you have awesome letters of recommendation and consider the fit. Don't get hung up on these rankings of these super selective schools. - I think this next question you're gonna be excited about 'cause you mentioned you're a theater nerd. So if wash you were a character in a play, who would it be? I love this question, gosh, who would wash you be? Definitely have some sort of mixture of the corporate overlord for sure. And then you also have some Midwest charm and you have like a warm family vibe. Ooh, all at the same time. It would definitely have to be like a complex character and somebody who is a leader and also has like many different facets of their personality. I'm trying to think about please that are in my wheelhouse that I can relate this to. I'm so excited about this question but I really have had a lot of trouble with it, unfortunately. - No, but I think the character part is just, it sounds like a well-rounded person, to be honest. - Yeah, I think there is a lot of good diversity of personality within the campus and the washroom environment. I'm mad at myself for not being able to think of a good answer to this. - I'm appreciate you come up with an answer after. And you'd be like, oh, but before you go, can you share your top three pieces of advice for high school students who are gearing up for their EAD applications right now? - Yes. - Okay, so especially in the name of gearing up to do these things right now, I would say advice number one. Do things early. I know it's hard and you got a lot going on your senior year and sometimes the last thing you wanna do after a hard day of school and sports and model you in or whatever you're doing is sit down and work on your college applications. But oh my gosh, having things at least mostly done early will save you so much anxiety when the deadlines are rolling around because there's always stuff that pops up around the deadlines last minute changes you wanna make. Pieces of advice that you get late in the game that you're like, oh my God, I never considered that thing you wanna incorporate and then all of a sudden you're switching around a whole essay, which I don't necessarily advise, but sometimes people do it because ultimately, you have to submit the thing that's gonna help you sleep at night. So do things early, please try, especially the essays. And FAFSA, if you're applying for financially, getting a letters of recommendation 'cause there's more people involved than just you and anytime you bring another person into the process, you lose a little bit of control. So being able to get to your teachers early and have them submit your letters is a really good move. Number two, if people wanna help you, take yes for an answer, I think for a lot of us, it can be really hard to ask for help, really hard to accept help and if you're somebody who knows that about yourself, try to challenge yourself in this particular time in your life to just let go and let the people who wanna help you. Now that doesn't mean you need to have too many cooks in the kitchen, you don't need to have everybody reading your stuff, who asks to read your stuff, but if you have a couple of people you trust and they have offered help, please let them help you. So lean into that. Number three is gonna be one last thing on topic, find your fit, find your fit, try to break through all the noise and this is not only about rankings, this is about what other people are telling you, there are smart people everywhere and there are good people everywhere and there are good mentors everywhere and they have gone to all sorts of colleges in the country and in the world, finding where you belong, finding a diamond in the rough, a program that you've not necessarily thought about, you can find stuff like that by just talking to people. It's almost like networking, like the more people you tell about what you're doing and what you wanna do, the more people are able to help you and advise you. Think about things like city, distance from home, what you want out of your campus life, what the vibe of the buildings are, stuff like that. I think it's all really important. Do you want to be in a city that has a major league sports team that you can go to the games, not saying that any one thing should be a defining factor, but all these are factors to consider and to weigh against each other when thinking about where you eventually wanna go. - Yeah, I think that was the best thing to end the podcast. Thank you for giving us such great advice and giving us a peek behind the curtain that wash you and admissions more broadly. And to our listeners, if today's episode sparked any questions about your application strategy, you can schedule a free consultation call with us details in the description below and thanks for tuning in to the podcast and we'll see you again next time. - Bye. - Thank you so much.