personqwerty

How are the business/econ departments at WUSTL, specifically?

Thanks

personqwerty

How is the reputation of the other departments also? Is it on par with that of med school?

fallenchemist

personqwerty - I will assume you are interested as a potential undergrad. If so, then your questions are a bit off-base. I mean that kindly, not harshly at all. But here is why I say that.

Many many schools, even "average" ones, have fine professors that for the most part teach the same material as schools with superior reputations, even Ivy League institutions. The single biggest factor that separates one school from another is the quality of your fellow students. Schools like Wash U that have very bright kids with way above average test scores, proven track records of achievement as high schoolers, and highly competitve acceptance every year are going to challenge you more than these "average" schools precisely because your peers will challenge you. Beyond that, what makes a school a good or not-so-good choice for a student is how it feels to you. Urban or rural? Large or small? Big-time sports or not so much? These and dozens of other factors are what make a student say "Wow, I cannot imagine being anywhere else" or "This was a mistake, I will transfer". Having said all that, Wash U is very well thought of in many departments, but no school is great in all, even the Ivies. But again, that has more to do with grad school reputation and how the profs are thought of as researchers, consultants, etc. than how they are as undergrad teaching institutions. Wash U is very focused on the undergrad while maintaining world class research opportunities.

So forget all the ranking crap for departments and focus on how Wash U seems to meet your personal needs. Also, if your concern is focused on how Wash U does in getting students into top grad schools and professional schools, they do EXTREMELY well. But go visit, stay a couple days, and see how it fits you.

GVMom

My daughter is a freshman in the Olin School of Business at Wash U, and so far is very happy to be there.

I have now been to presentations for parents at Olin's spotlight weekend last spring, fall orientation, and parent's weekend. I am extremely impressed with the people running the business school. They seem genuinely concerned about their students and are doing a great deal to continue improving an already excellent program. They are developing lots of international programs/internships and they have hired a new career center director (who was the director at the highly regarded career center at the Kelley School at Indiana). The students are assigned a four year academic advisor and he called my daughter several times over the summer. He gave us a letter at parent orientation that even gave us his cell phone number to call him if there was ever an emergency and we needed to reach him.

Olin's reputation is outstanding, but more important, the students love it there and are getting a great education.

interestingguy

Translation: Few, if any, of WashU's departments are highly ranked.


Define "EXTREMELY well."

http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/p...ege_092503.pdf

vbball90

Please........ NO ONE respond or address interestingguy's comments. It's absolutely futile at this point.

fallenchemist

Agreed. Pests need to be ignored.

ILLYRICAL

^For sure. Fallenchemist, good post - much of the subject matter for an undergrad education is similar throughout many fine schools, but an important part of an education includes competing with other smart people - and learning to work with them as well.

mruncleramos

Ok, I a greee. Let's not bump this thread anymore to add more attention to interestingguy. Please let's stop talking about it.

mruncleramos

good job everyone for not bumping

Johnson181

grow up, mruncleramos.

MBA program ranked 2nd in career placement, despite the recession | Student Life

fallenchemist

just ignore it. Otherwise it just keeps going.