After thirteen years of school, we long for independence and a fresh start when searching for a college. Many of us want to leave home. However, only a hop, skip, and a jump out of the confines of the “Burroughs bubble” is one of the most prestigious and competitive universities in the country, and in the world: Washington University. While some Burroughs students are put off by the school’s proximity to their home, WashU remains in the top three choices for seniors applying to college, and this has been the case for twelve or more years. This leaves one wondering, what forces are at play between WashU and Burroughs?

     The reputation of Burroughs as a rigorous school that produces bright and well-prepared students has come from admissions officers that visit Burroughs. Ms. Tarbouni, the Director of College Counseling at Burroughs and former Director of Admissions at WashU, confirms that, “We work really hard to build the relationships [with schools] there are many of them that are really happy to have Burroughs kids applying.” Just like students know the reputation of certain colleges producing stellar graduates, schools know that Burroughs produces stellar students. Ms. Shimabukuro, also a past Director of Admissions at WashU, remembers, “we were comfortable knowing that the students could handle the workload.”

     Ms. Tarbouni explains, “our students, because of Burroughs, get a really good read.” This brings up the question of whether students from Burroughs are favored. Students are not necessarily favored in the admissions process at WashU, or any other school for that matter, but it is certainly a positive factor to have attended a reputable high school.

     On the flip side, Tarbouni debunked the rumor that schools such as Duke have a “bad relationship” with Burroughs, saying, “The world of selective admissions is such that you can’t have all the good kids.”

     An average of 10% of JBS graduating classes attend WashU, which is 59 students in the past 5 years, thus demonstrating that countless times students find everything they want in a university, right in their backyard. WashU boasts Tempur-Pedic beds, fantastic programs, and a beautiful campus, all of which are hard to ignore. In addition, there are many children of faculty (of WashU) who attend Burroughs, and have a benefit of a full tuition remission, (essentially free undergraduate education at WashU), or partial tuition remission at most other accredited universities. Although initially WashU may seem too close to home, after going through the college application process, and visiting many schools, many students cannot find another school that they love as much as WashU, even if it is only 10 minutes away.