UNDERGRADUATE Profiles Publish Date 2/26/09

Washington University

Olin Business School

Getting In

PROGRAM BASICS

BSBA Program, Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis

Olin Business School, Campus Box 1133
Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive
St. Louis , Missouri 63130-4899

Private Institution

Web site

http://www.olin.wustl.edu/

Program e-mail address:

bsba@olin.wustl.edu

Program telephone number:

(314) 935-7773

AACSB accredited:

Yes

Year in which the undergraduate business program was founded:

1917

Length of entire institution:

Four Year

Business program length:

Four Year

Degrees offered:

Degree/Program Name:
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

PROGRAM COSTS

Annual Tuition (Resident):

$ 36,200

Annual Tuition (Non-Resident)

$ 36,200

Cost per academic credit (resident)

$ 1,508

Cost per academic credit (non-resident)

$ 1,508

Required fees

$ 1,048

Books:

$ 1,220

Room and board:

$ 11,636

ENROLLMENT

Full-time undergraduate business student enrollment:

730

Part-time undergraduate business student enrollment:

Distance undergraduate business student enrollment:

Total College enrollment for 2008-09:

13,507

ADMISSIONS

Minimum SAT score for entire college on 1600 scale:

n/a

Minimum ACT score for entire college:

n/a

Minimum high school GPA for entire college:

n/a

Interviews for entire college:

Recommended

Additional application requirements for entire college:

N/A

Upcoming application deadlines for entire college:

Semester: Fall 2009
Deadline: 11-15-2008 (Early)
Semester: Fall 2009
Deadline: 01-15-2009 (Regular)

Freshmen admitted into business program:

Yes

Percentage of business students admitted as freshmen:

100 %

Are the freshman admits to the business program required to complete pre-business courses before beginning upper-lever courses in the junior year?

Freshmen admitted by:

Indicate interest on university application

Minimum requirements for business program:

Entrance exam requirement other than SAT/ACT for business program:

Additional application requirements for freshman admits:

N/A

Additional requirements for internal transfers:

N/A

Total number of full-time applications for entire college:

22,005

International applicants, entire college, 2008-09:

10 %

Female applicants, entire college, 2008-09:

53 %

Selectivity--applicants admitted to undergraduate business program, 2008-09:

22 %

Yield -- applicants enrolled in undergraduate business program, 2008-09:

30 %

Relative Importance of Application Elements:

Secondary School Record:

Very Important

Class Rank:

Very Important

Talent/Ability:

Very Important

Interview:

Considered

Extracurricular Activities:

Very Important

Volunteer Work:

Very Important

Character/Personal Abilities:

Very Important

Application Essay:

Very Important

Work Experience:

Very Important

SAT/ACT Scores:

Very Important

Recommendations:

Very Important

High School GPA:

Very Important

Admissions program managed by:

The university admissions office

Total undergraduate business program applicants, 2008-09:

3,077

Applicants enrolled in undergrad business program 2008-2009:

38 %

Applicants admitted to undergraduate business program, 2008-09:

13 %

CLASS PROFILE

Class Profile:

Female: 34 %
International : 8 %

Entering students by age:

Mean: 18
Median: 18

Citizenship of Entering Students

U.S.: 92 %
Canada: 1 %
Other countries: 7 %
Unknown: 0 %

Percentage of US citizens in entering class who are:

African American: 8 %
Asian American: 10 %
Hispanic or Latino American: 3 %
Multiethnic/Multiracial : 3 %
Native American: 1 %
White (Non-Hispanic): 64 %
Chose not to report: 11 %
Other: 0 %

Entering students from the following region:

Northeast: 22 %
Mid-Atlantic: 8 %
South: 14 %
Southwest: 6 %
Midwest : 41 %
West: 9 %
Possessions and territories: 0 %

SAT Scores for full-time entering business students on 1600 scale:

Mean: 1432
Median: 1445

SAT middle 50% range on 1600 scale:

From: 1,360
To: 1,510

ACT Scores for full-time entering business students:

Mean: 32
Median: 32

ACT middle 50% range:

From: 31
To: 33

Percent of Students Who Were In:

Top 10% of high school class

98 %

Top 25% of high school class:

100 %

FINANCIAL AID

Financial aid handled by:

Central financial aid office at the university

Scholarships awarded to students in the business program based on:

A combination of need and merit

Scholarship consideration process:

Unique scholarship application

Other scholarship considerations:

N/A

Students receiving institutional scholarships for 2008-09 academic year:

43 %

School offers guaranteed loans:

Financial aid web site

http://admissions.wustl.edu/

Academics & Lifestyle

PROGRAM BASICS

Business students who graduate within four years:

90 %

Business students who graduate within 6 years:

95 %

Freshman retention rate:

97 %

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Credit hours required for graduation:

Degree: BSBA
Hours: 120

Other degree requirements:

N/A

ACADEMICS

Average class size in required business courses:

Average class size in business electives:

Class size:

Classes with fewer than 20 students: 59 %
Classes with 21 to 50 students: 24 %
Classes with more than 50 students: 17 %

CURRICULUM

Number of elective courses available in business program:

154

Electives added current year:

MEC 400H Economics of Entertainment
MEC 471 Empirical Techniques for Industrial Analysis
OB 462 Leadership in Organizations
MGT 321 Health Economics and Policy
MGT 4002 Business of Presidential Elections

Year of the last major change to the business program's core curriculum:

2008

Leading areas of study:

Accounting

Economics

Finance

International Business

Marketing

Special programs for business students:

International Internship Programs, Taylor Community Consulting Projects, Senior Honors Seminar, Olin Hatchery (Entrepreneurship), Management Practicum, Management Communication Lab

Business program offers work study or co-op opportunities:

Business program offers study abroad opportunities:

Yes

Study abroad program description:

International Internship Programs in UK, France, Germany, and Spain. Academic semester abroad programs in Italy, Hong Kong, and Australia.

Volunteer work and community service opportunities:

Yes

Volunteer opportunities description:

Volunteer opportunities are available through the Taylor Community Consulting program (for academic credit), and through student organizations such as Campus Y and Olin Cares.

Business clubs and extracurricular activities:

Delta Sigma Pi
Alpha Kappa Psi
Olin Business Council
Washington University Consulting Association
Female Association for Business
Investment Club
Washington University Accounting Association
Washington University Marketing Association

FACULTY

Faculty:

Full-time faculty : 68
Adjuncts and visiting faculty: 13
Permanent/tenured professors: 21
Percentage of permanent/tenured professors who are women: 19
Percentage of permanent/tenured professors who are underrepresented minorities: 5

Prominent faculty:

Glenn MacDonald
Anjan Thakor
Jackson Nickerson

STUDENT LIFE

Largest on-campus organizations for business students:

Delta Sigma Pi
Olin Business Council
Alpha Kappa Psi
Washington University Consulting Association
Female Association for Business

Freshmen are required to live on campus:

Yes

Business students are grouped in learning communities:

TECHNOLOGY

Wireless network available:

Yes

Technological improvements made in the last three years:

Unified campus wireless network created. Extension of 'Express Labs.' Introduction of new software. Updated technology in all classrooms. Careerlink. InsideOlin (intranet).

Trading laboratory available:

Alumni Affairs & Careers

ALUMNI

Total living alumni:

7,895

Percent of alumni who gave, 2007-08 academic year:

22 %

Mean alumni gift 2007-08:

$ 5,149

Median alumni gift, 2007-08:

$ 100

Prominent alumni:

Name: Sam Fox, BSBA 1951
Title: Former US Ambassador to Belgium; Chairman, Harbour Group Ltd
Name: Jerald L. Kent, BSBA 1978 MBA 1979
Title: President and CEO, Cequel III, LLC
Name: Arnold B. Zetcher, BSBA 1962
Title: Former Chairman and CEO, Talbots, Inc.

CAREER SERVICES

Percent of 2008 graduates who provided employment information:

87 %

Seeking full-time employment in business: 75 %
Not Seeking full-time employment in business: 25 %

Other activities and services provided for business majors:

Undergraduate Career course; individual career advising; resume review; mock interviews; organized visits to New York City; Talent Summits in New York, Silicon Valley and Chicago; Accounting, Finance, Consulting and Marketing Symposiums

Job offer results, 2008 graduates:

Received first job offer by graduation: 83 %
Received first job offer in three months following graduation: 11 %
Received first job offer more than 3 months after graduation: 1 %
Did not report having received a job offer: 5 %
Accepted first job offer by graduation: 82 %
Accepted first job offer in three months following graduation: 11 %
Accepted first job offer more than 3 months after graduation: 1 %
Did not report having accepted a job offer: 6 %

Top hiring firms:

JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Mercer Consulting
Bain & Company
Citigroup Inc.
Ernst & Young
General Mills
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Bank of America Corp.
Goldman Sachs Group
Merrill Lynch
Morgan Stanley
Booz Allen Hamilton
Deutsche Bank AG
General Electric
Google Inc.

Deloitte Consulting
Accenture
ConAgra Foods
Macy's/Bloomingdale's
Abercrombie & Fitch
Edward Jones
Boeing Company
Eli Lilly
Exxon Mobil
McKinsey & Company
Target

Graduate compensation:

Mean base salary: $ 55,323
Median base salary: $ 56,500
Mean signing bonus: $ 6,749
Median signing bonus: $ 6,000
Mean other guaranteed compensation: $ 7,825
Median other guaranteed compensation: $ 5,400

Grads accepted jobs in following functional areas:

Consulting: 20 %
Finance/Accounting: 50 %
General Management: 2 %
Human Resources: 0 %
Management Information Systems: 0 %
Marketing/Sales: 21 %
Operations/Production: 2 %
Logistics/Transportation: 0 %
Other: 5 %

Grads accepted jobs in following industries:

Accounting: 7 %
Consumer Products/Retail: 17 %
Consulting Services: 17 %
Financial Services: 35 %
Government/Education: 2 %
Pharma/Biotech/Health: 3 %
Manufacturing: 1 %
Media/Entertainment: 3 %
Petroleum/Energy: 2 %
Real Estate: 1 %
Sports/Leisure: 0 %
Technology/Science: 5 %
Non-Profit: 1 %
Transportation: 1 %
Utilities: 0 %
Other: 5 %

Percentage of job acceptances, US and Canada:

US: 100 %
Canada: 0 %

Grads accepted jobs in the following US regions:

Northeast: 32 %
Mid-Atlantic: 6 %
Midwest: 42 %
South: 5 %
Southwest: 9 %
West: 6 %
US Possessions/Territories: 0 %

Top internship recruiters, 2007-08:

Citigroup Inc.
General Mills
Target Corp.
Yahoo
Goldman Sachs Group
Merrill Lynch
Monsanto
UBS
Anheuser-Busch
Boeing Company
Deloitte Touche Tomatsu
HSBC
Intel
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Jefferies and Company
Bank of New York
The Seiden Group
Capital One
Deloitte Consulting
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services
Microsoft
Morgan Stanley
Standard & Poor's
State Farm
Wachovia

Percentage of internships that were paid, previous academic year

85 %

Mean internship compensation per week:

$ 1,064

Median internship compensation per week:

$ 1,087

Average internship, in weeks:

Graduate Comments

I have a job that I am happy with and, while I largely attribute securing this position to my own efforts, Olin provided me with the tools necessary to achieve this goal. If Washington University in general adopted some of the practices that go on within the business school (such as interaction between students and professors), the university itself could improve its overall image and would receive a higher degree of satisfaction from its students. Olin is beginning to attract some real talent.

Olin Business School needs more top-notch recruiters on-campus and interested in hiring its students. From my experience in courses, the quality of the students is very high, but often I do not think that the school brings enough good companies on-campus to do the students justice. I am disappointed that there are top 10 accounting firms not recruiting at all, not even resume drops. It is much harder for students to get consideration from just applying online to these firms. They are top firms, and the students here are very bright and competent and would appreciate the opportunity.

Cheating is rampant, but I am not sure how much more of a problem it is here than at other universities. The professors' incentives are such that they spend the majority of their time on research instead of coursework; the homework and exams often don't change, so "backfiles" are a major problem.

Beyond how to write a resume (in Olin format) well, the career center needs a lot of improvement. I was able to search out internships and jobs via the career link site, but really it was no more helpful than monster or ladders. Also, there is too much focus on finance positions at Olin (this being across the board) and all other fields tend to slip between the cracks.

I have had multiple classes where I've somehow gotten an A and left feeling like I learned nothing. If I could do it all over again, I would never have selected this program. It is so frustrating to see numerous professors being hired with clearly no regard to their ability to communicate with students. Some professors are so atrocious that students simply don't show up to class.

The school needs improvement in the career services center.

The business school emphasizes group work which I think is very applicable to working at most jobs. What makes our business school so great are the people. Our classmates are helpful not cutthroat and competitive. The camaraderie and support is unbelievable and something you will not find anywhere else.

Professors are available. They are not just research professors for the most part, but very approachable and interested in your growth not only as a student but a professional. As I was going through my job search, I found that not only were all of my professors lenient about missing class for interviews, but I was receiving emails and had them search me out in regards to the success I was having. I had professors take their own time to assist me in interviewing and assessment techniques.

The school has extremely talented professors who are very involved in the school and are always willing to do anything necessary to help students. WashU/Olin is a top school, but it's one of the few top schools in the Midwest, so I think the atmosphere here is more low key and less competitive than some eastern schools. At the same time, the entire student body is intelligent and motivated, so everyone needs to work hard to do well. There is a lot available here, and a student's experience really depends on how much effort he is willing to put into it.

The Olin Business School is small enough so that you feel like you are part of a community, but big enough so that you get a chance to work with and learn from many diverse people from different backgrounds.

Olin offers a study abroad-intern program for juniors in London, in which I participated. While I think the program definitely needs improvement in terms of placement, organization, academic support, and a change in where students take courses in London, it is a good idea that has potential. I think they should work towards providing such an opportunity in Hong Kong, since many of us have experience in Europe already and would like to try another area with a strong business environment and English language.

The size and location of our business school is unique. We are one of the best in the Midwest, yet we have people attending from all over the world. At the same time, there is not too many people so it doesn't feel competitive or intimidating.

Olin listens to students' concerns more than any other program that I have heard of. There is a large degree of interaction between the faculty and the students, including forums with the Dean and other faculty members. Additionally, these figures are highly visible and are always willing to sit down and chat with you. The school's focus on academic research is also clearly emphasized; although possibly too much sometimes.