The Washington University in St Louis network
A tiny city where building height is student body size, and each district is better in its own way.
MO
9 colleges with a similar mix of majors, each also teaching engineering, biological & biomedical sciences, and social sciences, are the same or better on all of yield, graduation rate, cost. That's fewer than 20: few schools like this one beat it on every count.
See it as a table
| College | Size | Yield | Graduation rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington University in St Louis (your pick) | 8,220 | 47% | 94% | $88,488 |
| Yale University | 6,81483% as many undergrads | 70%better | 96%same | $88,300same |
| Stanford University | 7,904about the same size | 82%better | 92%same | $87,833same |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 7,37790% as many undergrads | 46%same | 94%same | $83,697same |
| Vanderbilt University | 7,22188% as many undergrads | 61%better | 94%same | $89,590same |
| University of Chicago | 7,598about the same size | 88%better | 96%same | $90,360same |
| Duke University | 6,52379% as many undergrads | 59%better | 97%same | $87,072same |
| Tufts University | 7,12687% as many undergrads | 46%same | 94%same | $88,300same |
| Cornell University | 16,1282.0× as many undergrads | 64%better | 95%same | $88,140same |
| University of Notre Dame | 8,880about the same size | 62%better | 95%same | $83,271same |
From IPEDS, academic year 2024-25 (sticker prices from the year before where this year's are not out yet). “Similar mix of majors” means close on the degrees students finish, subject by subject, and on how many. Only colleges a student choosing Washington University in St Louis would also weigh are counted: each must award at least 1% of its bachelor's degrees in every one of Washington University in St Louis's 3 largest subjects; a special-focus school (a conservatory, art school, seminary, or the like) is compared only with schools of the same focus; and colleges with a strong religious mission are compared only with each other. Yield and graduation rate count as the same when they are less than 4 points apart; sticker price when it is within 10%. Better cost means cheaper. Sticker price is before financial aid, and for public colleges is the average of the in-state and out-of-state prices.