In recent years, academic institutions across the United States, including Washington University, have embarked on initiatives to confront the historical connections between universities and slavery. The Washington University and Slavery Project, which began in the summer of 2020, aims to not only document the university’s historical involvement with slavery, but also to promote transparency and dialogue about this challenging topic in American history. 

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis will devote $100 million to scholarships over the next ten years, the University announced Tuesday.

Washington University’s School of Medicine will devote $100 million to scholarships over the next 10 years.

Washington University is the newest QuestBridge partner school and will begin accepting QuestBridge scholars in the fall, the non-profit scholarship program announced in a statement Jan. 17.

For years, freshman hallways have overflowed with tinsel, baked goods and a variety of wooden Greek letters. This year, the boxes of brownies and glitter-glue-decorated jewelry boxes have multiplied, leaving Student Life with concerns about the minimal number of Greek scholarships available to students.

The Institute of International Education placed Washington University on its 2011-2012 list of the top-producing schools of Fulbright award winners. Eleven of the 44 Washington University students who applied for Fulbright scholarships last year for this academic year received funding, a 25 percent yield.

Despite a national trend of universities discontinuing funding for national merit scholarships, Washington University continues to fund students named with the distinction. New York University’s recent decision to stop funding the National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP) has incited a host of discussions amongst universities over whether it is practical to offer scholarships based on standardized test scores.

Gov. Jay Nixon announced that the Missouri Department of Higher Education will increase scholarship amounts for students under the Access Missouri program for a combined total of about $58.7 million.

Over $67 million has been raised toward Washington University’s $150 million scholarship initiative, “Opening Doors to the Future,” which began in March of 2009. The scholarship drive was intended, in part, to keep financial aid stable after many students’ financial circumstances changed following the economic collapse of 2009.

Students in WU/FUSED and the Diversity Affairs Council might be pushing for more financial aid, but Washington University offers both need-based and merit scholarships.