Wash U Olin Undergrad Business School

<p>I really love Wash U and am thinking of applying ED. I just have a few questions. I know that Wash U is regarded really highly, but is the business undergrad viewed as highly? Also are the classes in the business school harder or easier or the same as classes in artsci? I know Wash U is seen as a very flexible school in terms of curriculum, but I have to say that the General Education Requirements in Olin and ArtSci seem like a lot. Do students seem to find these really annoying to deal with. Also I was kinda confused what exactly one is required to take, so if someone could tell me that would be great. At some of the other schools I'm looking at, they have an open curriculum which really appeals to me, so are these requirements viewed as a pain to students?
Also just one other slightly random questions, how many traditional dorms vs. modern dorms are there in the South 40? If one requested a modern double, how likely is it that they would get it, or are a lot of people placed in traditional dorms when they requested modern?</p>

<p>You can find rankings on the internet ranking Olin near the top of all undergraduate business schools, even above institutions like Wharton. I personally think that’s ridiculous. Olin is good, placement is fine, but obviously not as amazing at getting a job in the northeast as some other places. I can’t speak for Olin’s gen ed requirements, but I don’t think that the artsci ones are that bad. They require you to take courses in various areas, but don’t dictate the specifics, giving you a pretty broad choice. There’s only one class that is mandatory (Writing I), everything else gives you numerous options. Modern dorms are fairly numerable. If you want one, you SHOULD be able to get one. But of course it’s not perfect and people do end up with lower choices.</p>

<p>ok great thanks! Can anyone else comment on olin’s requirements? And the difficulty or ease of the classes (also the difficulty of olin classes compared to artsci classes)</p>

<p>Olin distribution requirements are pretty easy to finish, they’re similar to the artsci requirements. </p>

<p>You need:
3 units of physical and life sciences
3 units of humanities
6 units of international studies
3 units of behavioral analysis
3 units of ethics and values. </p>

<p>Average classes are worth 3 units so generally speaking you need to take 1 class in each of these areas, besides international studies. This requirement can be more difficult to complete but if you take a language course (for example I’m in French 201 - meets every weekday for 1 hour) it grants you 5 units of international studies. I personally like the distribution requirements because you can take classes in the artsci school to fulfill them, and it helps me take more interesting classes that aren’t related to my business major.</p>

<p>As far as difficulty of Olin classes goes, you may hear the remark “B-school preschool” (referring to how easy people think Olin classes are), but this is not the case. You’ll find many pre-med and engineering students at Wash U who are taking difficult math and science classes, but I’ve found Olin classes to be similarly difficult. You don’t need to deal with advanced string theory and quantum mechanics but you will be taking business classes that require a large amount of work and effort.</p>

<p>I hope this answered your questions, feel free to contact me if you’re wondering about anything else.</p>