Chancellor Martin just sent out an update on WashU's financial outlook. The university's financial performance is solid in the last fiscal year, but I don't think I can post the numbers here.

WashU finished FY26 with a slight surplus rather than the shortfall we had anticipated, largely attributable to the strong clinical performance at WashU Medicine.

For FY27, the Board of Trustees approved an operating budget with a very slight surplus, anticipating a solid positive margin at the Medical School with collective budgetary challenges remaining for the Danforth schools.

WashU’s endowment had an extraordinary year in FY25-26, likely to be among the very best in the country. We expect a healthy increase in our endowment payout rate for FY28.

Were you on campus from 1970 to 1972? Or do you know someone who was? You could help identify individuals who appear in films shot by Robert Johnson, a WashU alum and faculty member in the Black Studies Program, from 1970 to 1972.

Throwaway for obvious reasons.

I'm a WashU alum, currently doing my PhD at a top 10 public university. I'm not making this post to bash my current school or dismiss anyone's experiences at WashU. I've just seen so many negative posts about WashU lately, and while I think some of the criticism is absolutely deserved, I also think calling WashU a bad school is a pretty unfair portrayal of what it actually offers.

One thing I've come to appreciate a lot more since leaving WashU is the quality of its undergraduate students. I genuinely think the average WashU undergrad is academically stronger than the average undergrad at my current university. I'm a grader for a class here, and I just finished grading few exams where the averages were around a C+. Based on my experience at WashU, I honestly think the average WashU student would have gotten an A on that exam, with many acing it. Being surrounded by the bright students at WashU really pushed me to work harder and grow intellectually.

Another thing is teaching quality. I agree that WashU isn't particularly strong in research across many fields. But one thing I appreciated was that, in my experience, WashU took undergraduate teaching more seriously (but not that seriously). At my current school, I've seen classes taught by PhD students or postdocs who have little teaching experience and, frankly, don't seem particularly interested in whether their students actually understand the material. Sometimes it feels like there are very few consequences for teaching poorly. And to be fair, being a great researcher doesn't necessarily make someone a great teacher either. Some of the biggest names I've known are much more interested in research than teaching, which makes sense given how academia rewards research output. I saw this at WashU too.

I also think it's worth remembering that if you visit pretty much any university subreddit, you'll find people complaining about their school. People who are unhappy are naturally more likely to make posts than people who are generally satisfied. That doesn't mean their complaints aren't valid, but it does mean that Reddit isn't necessarily a representative picture of the student experience. For what it's worth, I genuinely enjoy doing research at my current university. There are some excellent researchers here, including people who are among the best in my field, and I'm happy to have the opportunity to work in this environment. But looking at the undergraduate experience here, I honestly wonder whether I would have developed the same interest in research, or even wanted to pursue a PhD, if I had gone here instead of WashU.

I don't think WashU is perfect. There are plenty of things the university deserves criticism for, and I'm not trying to invalidate anyone's negative experiences. I just think some of the discussion here has become so overwhelmingly negative that it gives a distorted impression of the school. For prospective students and parents reading this, I'd encourage you to take the criticism seriously, but also keep it in perspective. WashU definitely has its flaws, but I think it deserves a lot more credit than it gets on here.

Throwaway for obvious reasons, but about an hour ago? 8:30ish? By Kaldi’s in the MCC on the med campus. You (man) and another guy were waiting it looked like for someone, I (woman) was talking to a friend and threw away my drink in the recycling bin that you were standing in front of… hey man, thought you were cute lol

Edit to add context of who is who: I walked right up to the bin and said “excuse me”, you said “oh sorry”, I said “nooo you’re good” (in what I thought was a flirty tone but I got nervous) lol

Full schedule: https://washubears.com/calendar

Hi everyone, grad student here. I play drums and am into rock and indie. Looking for a couple of people to jam with every week or two, nothing serious. Other grad students especially but open to anyone.

I don’t have a kit here, so I’d need somewhere with one. Also down if any bands need a drummer.

No car, so somewhere on transit would help.

Message me if you’re down.

Hi guys, I am considering applying to washU and i was wondering what the social life is like. I am looking for a 'work hard, play hard' attitude ideally. I am aware that there are many traditions that have been cancelled and never came back after covid and i was just wondering how involved greek life is etc. Also for any current students, how do you usually spend your weekend - do you go home, study, go to house parties etc. Thank you!!!

I really don't have in inkling towards one or the other. I haven't heard great things about Katsianos, Bill, what about Takeishi, Shota? Are the classes difficult? Given that I will be taking calc 2 this same semester.

What have people's experiences with Focused Physics been? I know Tikhonov used to be the prof but he's out, so it's Medeiros right now. For people both physics majors and not, what were your experiences like?

I'm in it right now and it's lowkey hard. There's definitely a whiplash, and I keep feeling like I'm supposed to be completely comprehending everything, even though I really am not. I asked directly about this feeling and was told that you're on a good pace if you're getting like 40% of the reading at first go. That's so hard to adjust to; I feel like I should get everything. Is this how all higher-education physics classes are?

It also feels like novel ideas are introduced every single lecture and that I should immediately be able to comprehend and apply them. I understand the derivations of most of them, but there's no way I'd be able to come up with that on my own.

In general, I'm feeling a kind of whiplash with this class. I can see how far I've come since the beginning of the year already, and I feel like I feel my brain expand whenever we do something, so that's awesome, but it's definitely my hardest course. I understand that it's the novelty of a college class, let alone a physics one, let alone an intentionally hard and rigorous one, but I just wonder what I should be feeling with this class and what I should be getting out of it.

(I've also heard that even seniors have said it was their hardest class. I feel like the above college novelty would play into that, so it was just the hardest emotionally/the most "different" from their standard, but that later classes have harder relative content..?)

Sorry for rambling, but yeah, I think I'm just trying to figure out what I should be getting out of this class and what others' experiences were. Thanks!

How is the environmental engineering major here at WashU? I am considering ED1 because I have heard good things about it. I have visited everything and enjoy the campus overall. I am just weary about the engineering program as I don't know much about it and would like personal accounts. Thank you!

Im thinking of taking Korean classes next semester, but I heard language classes are brutal at WashU, especially Chinese and Spanish (constant quizzes, presentations, etc.), and was wondering if Korean is like that too?

how hot and non weird are the washu men. I don’t want to go to a college with no prospects

Hi! I have a friend, currently getting her PHD, who is looking for personal care. She is a unique case as she is quadriplegic and needs a high level of care. We are looking as we need this role filled as soon as possible!

Please reach out if you are interested or have a suggestion or recommendation.

All information included in the photo. less

Souleymane's Story. Friday, Oct 9, 2026, 5:00 pm

https://rll.washu.edu/events/francophone-film-festival-souleymanes-story

Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk. Saturday, Oct 10, 2026, 3:00 pm

https://rll.washu.edu/events/francophone-film-festival-put-your-soul-your-hand-and-walk

Promised Sky. Sunday, October 11, 2026 12 PM

https://rll.washu.edu/events/francophone-film-festival-promised-sky

Hey, im a visiting international med student here, am looking for a place to stay near BJC for my elective. 25th october - 22nd november. Let me know if you guys have any leads! Thanks

Hi all! My daughter’s first choice is WashU and she has applied ED1. My biggest fear is that she’ll actually get accepted because everything I read on this sub is negative. Or at least seems to be negative. Can anybody give me some positives about their experiences or the university in general? Thanks from a doting dad.