Establish Access at WashU

You will use your ID to access various buildings, make meal purchases, check out books from the library and more. You can learn more by visiting the Campus Card Services.

Below are the steps for receiving your Student ID:

1. Complete the application for a student ID: In the application, indicate that you are a student studying primarily on the Danforth Campus. You must submit a picture of yourself against a blank background, with no editing or filters.
2. If you are living in ResLife housing: You will receive your ID when you receive your room key, if you completed the WashU ID application.
3. If you are living in non-ResLife housing, visit Campus Card Services: You will pick up your ID at the University Services Center, located on the ground floor of Mallinckrodt Center on the ground floor, next to the Bank of America ATM. You will need to know your six-digit student ID number, and bring a government photo ID, such as a passport, with you to pick up your ID.
4. Get Started: Learn more about your student ID. You will need to activate your Bear Bucks account in order to make purchases.

Meal plan: All undergraduate and exchange students are required to purchase a meal plan. WashU offers a wide variety of dining options. Visit Dining Services’ website to learn about meal plan options.

All dining options on campus are declining balance, meaning you will use your meal points to pay for each item by the price indicated. If you run out of meal points at any point during the semester, you can add Bear Bucks to continue using your campus card at dining locations.

Bear Bucks: Bear Bucks is a cashless system on the WashU ID Card that allows you to make secure purchases on-campus. You can add more Bear Bucks to your card throughout the semester. For more information about the Bear Bucks system, visit Campus Card Services.

Paperless billing: WashU uses a paperless billing system, so all statements will be available in your financials hub in Workday Student. The secure eBilling service will send an email to your WashU email account whenever a new monthly statement is ready. Students are responsible for making sure their accounts are paid in full by the due date to avoid late fees.

Third party access: If you would like your parent or family members to receive your monthly billing statement, you can set up friends and family in Workday Student, and manage third-party permissions.

Enrollment deposit: All undergraduate exchange students are required to pay a non-refundable enrollment deposit upon admission to WashU. The enrollment deposit for exchange students is $550. This enrollment deposit covers costs for Fall Welcome, additional orientation experiences for international students, and programming offered for exchange students throughout the semester such as local excursions and holiday celebrations.