How selective are MIT and WashU admissions compared with each other?

MIT is more selective overall than WashU, and the difference is noticeable in both the applicant pool and what the school is looking for. MIT draws an unusually concentrated group of students with top-level strength in math, science, and problem-solving, so even very high-achieving applicants are competing in a pool where exceptional quantitative preparation is common. WashU is also highly competitive, but its applicant pool is broader across majors and tends to be less uniformly tilted toward the extreme STEM profile MIT sees.

One concrete difference is the academic threshold. At MIT, strong grades and rigorous coursework are basically the starting point, and the admissions office is paying close attention to whether a student has pursued the highest level of math and science available and shown real evidence of technical curiosity or achievement. WashU also expects excellent academics, but it is not looking for the same narrowly intense STEM signal across most of its applicants.

Another difference is how self-selecting the pool is. Students who apply to MIT usually know exactly what kind of school it is and often have a strong reason for targeting it, which makes the pool especially tough. WashU attracts many outstanding students too, especially in pre-med, business, and research-oriented areas, but the range of applicant interests is wider, so the competition feels less compressed around one extreme academic profile.

In practical terms, most students should treat MIT as a very high reach, including applicants who would still be quite credible at WashU. WashU belongs on the reach side for many strong students as well, but not usually in the same category of selectivity as MIT.