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| Washington University John M. Olin School of Business |
OVERALL 1998 RANK: 17 BW corporate rank: 19 BW graduate rank: 16 BW 1996 rank: 16 |
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1999 Profile Update School Profile School Statistics Graduates' Comments: Having had a previous career in the service industry, I am qualified in stating that Olin as both an academic institution and a business, was one of the most customer-focused, driven, and responsive organizations that I have been associated with. Dean Greenbaum has led the charge in this area, and is transforming Olin into one of the best places to get an MBA. There is a sense of community among both the students and faculty that I don't think I would have found at other schools. The administration's responsiveness is unparalleled, and the access to teachers after classroom hours is unbelievable. There is an open door policy for most professors, and generally any time is a good time to see a professor. This is one of the things I loved most about my experience at Olin: developing one-on-one relationships with both students and teachers. --No career path given Dean Stuart Greenbaum's passion for the program and dedication is truly a credit to Olin. He can often be found talking to students and investigating the fruit of his efforts. He continually holds lunch meetings with the students to enable them to discuss any issues about the program. In addition, the Dean can often be found at the school on weekends. His commitment to the program is obvious, and I am always amazed when the Dean greets me by name whenever we pass in the hall. As I graduate, I cannot help but feel extremely fortunate. I am graduating with my dream job and have almost doubled my salary. --Finance The emphasis on tailoring your MBA education to your future goals was brought in by the Dean. We had a core curriculum that comprised 40% of our course load and the class of 1999 will have a core of even less. The Dean has also backed many programs for experiential learning, giving our graduates more opportunities to learn advanced business dynamics through real world activity. --Finance The people who work at Olin really care about the students and our education! The students attending Olin truly share this sense of the "Olin community" as well. Many outstanding improvements have been made throughout my two years at Olin. These are mostly done in response to student demands. We now have double the modem lines he had before in our computer lab, for example. In addition, areas where we were slightly weaker before (IT and international business) have since received much greater attention. --Consulting Washington University has a high proportion of international students (40%) which really enhanced my learning experience. The administration is amazingly responsive to the concerns and opinions of the students. Dean Greenbaum constantly seeks and implements student input regarding the MBA program. However, there are two things I'd like to focus on: the small size of our program and the flexibility of our program. The small size of our program allows us to have several advantages over some of the larger schools. For example, we have many chances to interact with the faculty, both socially and professionally. The faculty are truly interested in the students, and many close professional or mentor relationships have developed. The small size also helps us in the employment arena. We really get to know the career advisors, and the director of the career center gets to know the students. The flexibility of the program is wonderful. We take mini-semester classes which allow us to take nearly 40 classes in our two years. This provides great opportunities for someone in finance, like myself, to explore areas in marketing or operations without giving up a whole semester of a finance class. The flexibility truly allows students to create their own MBA. --Finance I went to public institutions for all of my previous educational pursuits. When I applied to the Olin School, I knew it was a smaller program at a private institution. That hardly prepared me for the personalized attention and insightful teaching I have received over the past two years. The school did a great job with the core courses, bringing those with non-business backgrounds up to speed on the basics. I had a nontraditional background and never felt I was over- or undereducated. The internship search was exciting. Many quality firms came on campus, and I had the opportunity to interview with more firms than I could imagine. There were other top-tier schools represented in my internship class and I soon realized that all of the top schools teach many similar items. The second year was even better than the first. I had plenty of choices each quarter, and feel well-rounded. I signed a great offer with a firm I think I'll love. Business school was a great investment as well as a good time. I made lifelong friends and met so many international students I could continent-hop and always have a friend nearby. --Consulting Olin's smallness (150, compared to 450 or 750 at other top schools), really translates into a much more intimate classroom experience and a much more intimate community of faculty and fellow students. --Information Technology The best aspect of Olin is that it has developed a competitive environment without sacrificing opportunities for collaboration. No student goes through this program alone. We have found an elective way (i.e. student tutors, TA's and practicum projects where groups meet to discuss solutions on their different projects and share ideas, etc.) to push for excellence in individual and team efforts while not forgetting to help our classmates to learn and improve their skills. --Unknown I was well-prepared for a middle-management marketing position at one of the top consumer-product manufacturers in the world and that is directly attributable to the skills and techniques I learned at the John M. Olin School of Business. Olin stresses practical and experiential learning activities that combine the academic and theoretical models we learn in class with real-life problem solving situations, all in a team-based approach. I had several professors take a personal interest in my professional development, while encouraging and challenging me to work above and beyond the required coursework. --Marketing The strong influence of foreign students at Olin cannot be stressed enough. The business program is very carefully structured to integrate students from abroad. My business education has been greatly enhanced due to the influence and skills of foreign students. It makes global decision making even more relevant. The students at Washington University are truly friendly and team-oriented. That's not to say the students aren't very competitive, they are just more competitive with themselves. For me, this part of the student body was the most important. Yes, I learned the quantitative and qualitative aspects of business, and teaching was of a very high calibre. However, I would not have had the depth of experience without classmates willing to share their individual expertise. I never had to worry about having a paper stolen or negative competition. --Consulting I am very satisfied being here as an international student. Almost all professors take an open door policy and can be easily accessible even during weekends or evenings. Size of classes is reasonably small and enables students to participate in discussions. In addition, our dean aggressively recruits professors who are highly respected in their feild of study. --Accounting Back to Top 1999 Profile Update School Profile School Statistics |
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