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#89 Washington University St. Louis Olin MBA Admissions Interview with Ashley Lautzenheiser

Ashley Lautzenheiser Washington Olin MBA

“Our charge as Wash U faculty and staff is to get to know every student by name and by story. We’re a smaller program and there’s an opportunity for us to know every student. The collaborative, close-knit environment here gives you strong connections with everyone in the program. This also means that when your an alumn and when you meet alumni the strength of connection is there and the network that you have will be very deep and strong. The collaborative environment is one pillar for us.”

About Our Guest

Ashley Lautzenheiser is Associate Director of Graduate Admissions at Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, where she has been since 2010. Ashley got her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Olin in 2009. Her main role is admissions for Wash U’s full-time MBA program.

What is relatively unique about the Washington University Olin MBA? What are its key advantages?

  • Wash U has a 96%+ job placement rate within 3 months for the past 4 years, ranking them top 2-3 among Top 50 US MBA programs
  • Wash U offers 5 career platforms – Consulting, Corporate Finance and Investments, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Operations and Supply Chain Management – where students attend weekly industry seminars, take industry-related electives and get industry-related guidance from advisors
  • Students choose nearly 2/3 of their required classes
  • The university is well-known for its Medical School and Olin is well-known for finance; most Olin graduates head into finance, consulting and marketing
  • No recommendations required for the application

3 Interesting Tidbits About the Washington University Olin MBA: 

  • Wash U launched the Olin Family Business Program in April 2016, expanding opportunities and resources for students interested in family business
  • Wash U started Idea Labs (Idea, Design and Engineering in action) – a collaboration between the Medical School, School of Engineering and the Olin Business School to make medical entrepreneurial advances. Doctors and clinicians identify problems, engineers design technology and MBAs help turn them into businesses – so far 11 Idea Lab startups have won $2 million USD in investment
  • Olin Business School offers EMBA programs in Shanghai and Mumbai and Global Masters in Finance in Singapore, South Korea, Israel, Germany and Spain so has a growing international network and footprint

Listen on for the insider’s scoop…

Touch MBA’s Washington Olin MBA Fast Facts

Program Highlights (3:12)

  • Olin Business School founded in 1917 and added MBA program in 1950
  • 1 intake / year in Fall
  • Length: 2 years
  • Campus is in a suburban neighborhood 7 miles from St. Louis, Missouri
  • 140-150 participants/intake
  • 15-20 nationalities / intake, class is 35% international
  • Students ranked Finance and Corporate Strategy highest
  • Offers 5 career platforms: Consulting, Corporate Finance and Investments, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Operations and Supply Chain Management
  • Partnership with 10 exchange partners in 7 countries. Students can also pursue Global Management Studies project, Venture Consulting in Budapest or an International Practicum for an overseas firm
  • Year 1: 10 core courses, platform industry seminars, electives // Year 2: 2 core courses, electives
  • Rankings: #80 Financial Times 2016, #41 Economist 2015, #21 US News & World Report 2017, #35 Bloomberg Businessweek 2015
  • Other MBAs: Part-time MBA
  • Accredited by AACSB
  • Double Degree / Dual Degrees: MBA + MS in Finance / Accounting / Supply Chain Management / Customer Analytics or MBA + MS in 7 other disciplines offered by Washington U.

Admissions (20:04)

  • 5 deadlines from Oct – Apr, get a decision within 2-3 months
  • 1579 applications received, 476 admitted, 141 enrolled, 30% acceptance rate
  • Avg GMAT: 695 (range 570 – 770), Avg GPA: 3.4 (range 2.6 – 4.0)
  • GRE accepted
  • Olin doesn’t require or accept letters of recommendation, and recommends applicants submit a 1-page resume
  • Avg age: 28 (range 21 – 35), Avg work experience: 4.4 (range 0 – 12), [#] work experience recommended/required
  • TOEFL or IELTS required but no minimum score – Olin feels the interview is a better assessment of a student’s english
  • Interviews done by admissions staff

Financing (32:00)

  • Full-time MBA Tuition: $55,400/year, roughly $110,800 USD
  • Recommended budget: $28,000/year, so roughly $56,000 USD
  • 60% of class awarded scholarships
  • Scholarship amounts range from partial to full-tuition
  • Scholarships are merit-based and awarded with offer
  • Int’l students don’t need cosigner for loans

Career (35:22)

  • Olin MBA – Full-time placement report (yes)
  • 97% of graduates had jobs within 3 months of graduation (ranked 2 in US for Top 50 programs)
  • 42% secured offers through their internship
  • Average Salary (bonus): $98,100 USD ($15,000 median bonus)
  • Graduates in 2012 experienced 80% increase in salary 3 years later
  • Top 5 regions graduates worked in: 55% Midwest US, 15% Southwest US, 9% West, 7% South, 7% Northeast, 4% International, 3% MidAtlantic
  • Top 5 industries: 21% Financial Services, 17% Consumer Products, 16% Pharma/Bio/Healthcare, 11% Technology, 9% Consulting, 9% Manufacturing
  • Top 5 functions: 24% Marketing/Sales, 18% Financial Services, 16% Consulting, 14% Industry Finance, 11% General Management, 9% Operations
  • Top recruiters: not available
  • Over 21,000 alumni worldwide including alumni clubs in 13 international locations

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One thought on “#89 Washington University St. Louis Olin MBA Admissions Interview with Ashley Lautzenheiser

  1. Pingback: #100 “What 1 Action Can Candidates Take to Dramatically Improve Their MBA Application?” - Podcast » Touch MBA

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