<p>Well, all I can say is that recruitment calendars speak volumes about a school's prestige. And if I take a cursory look at the campus calendars for Morgan Stan, Lehman, JP Morg, Goldman, Wash U is not listed on any of those. It is not on Citi's or Lazard's for that matter.....</p>
<p>What does that tell you?</p>
<p>UChicago, Michigan, Northwestern are on all of those.....</p>
<p>And i know that someone will say, we'll I know persons x, y,z, that got jobs at those firms. And my point is not that Wash U students can't find jobs at these firms. My point is rather that these firms do not consider Wash U a core target school. If they did, why wouldn't they list Wash U as a recruitment school? I can understand that some firms might have accidentally forgot to list the school. However, not all of them did that......</p>
<p>collegebound9696 - what your post tells me is that you did not do your research. Check the recruiting calendar for this spring - you will find Citi, Mercer, Lehman, Bain, Boston Consulting and Yahoo among the firms interviewing at Olin. You can check the link at: Olin</a> Calendar</p>
<p>Went back and checked the fall schedule for Olin and you can add Morgan Stanley, Google, Goldman, JP Morgan and Booz-Allen. That seems to more than cover your list - next time check your facts before you post.</p>
<p>As for other top firms recruiting from WashU, McKinsey had an info session a few months back, and we're in the top 3 schools that Deloitte Consulting hires from. Right now, our career center's job list includes Mercer, Lehman, Booz Allen, BCG, GE, IBM, Barclays, Bank of America, Bank of New York, and more (I was only looking at a small subset, so I'm missing quite a bit). I have plenty of friends who have graduated and are working at Goldman, JP, Morgan Stanley, Merrill, and the likes - They do recruit from WashU. It might be a bit harder to get their attention, being in St. Louis, but the career fair organizes alumni receptions in cities such as NYC, as well as holds trips for students to go to NY, Chicago, and other cities to meet with companies (and potentially interview).</p>
<p>I figure 1-2 more years before this discussion topic finally ends. The school is now acknowledged as one of the top schools in the country and attracts amazing students from all over the world. Whether it's bulge-bracket investment banks and other major financial institutions, or employers of various diverse ilk, the school is showing up as a place that recruiting must be done.</p>
<p>Also, the school is definitely mounting a strong effort to strengthen itself with recruiting coordinators of major enterprises throughout the country.</p>
<p>Brown, Cornell and all the Ivies have been well-known and have enjoyed first-rate reputations for decades (although, of course, Cornell and Penn are much more highly regarded now than they were 30 years ago, when I was applying to college).
As the pool of highly-qualified applicants increased, forcing Ivy-caliber students to attend non-Ivy schools, other schools have typically been recognized as part of the same upper echelon of schools - such as Johns Hopkins, U of Chicago, Duke, Northwestern and others (including a number of first-tier, small liberal arts colleges).<br>
Wash U has, in the last 10 to 12 years, joined their ranks by combining perhaps the best PR anyone has ever seen (which attracted both lots of money for the endowment and lots of top quality applicants) and a real investment in the quality of the education the school offers. No school has ever risen as meteorically in respect, popularity and rankings in a decade as WashU did between 1996 and 2006.
Simply put, Wash U is one of the top universities in the U.S. Put aside USNWR rankings and the percent of applicants accepted (which is often a misleading and unhelpful statistic), which must be taken with a large grain of salt. The school has a fine faculty, great students, fabulous academics and a gorgeous campus. While many experienced academics around the country still regard it as being a half-step behind the Ivies, Chicago, Duke and Northwestern in terms of the quality of its academics and faculty, I suspect it will catch up there too in no time.
Bottom line: go with the school that feels right for you; if WashU feels better for you as an individual than Penn, Cornell, NU and the others, that's where you should shoot for.</p>
<p>i am admitted to wustl class of 2012 as an early decision international student....and when i told people about this, they mostly said "oh...so you are goin to washington DC....."</p>
<p>My D is a freshman at WashU. When deciding which schools to apply to last year, an Ivy never made her list - she just wasn't interested. She was never worried whether WUStl was good enough for her - it was the inverse. She worried if her mediocre, rural, public high school prepared her for the rigors of a school like WashU (despite being a NMF, #1 in her class, 99% in both ACT/SAT, etc.). She agonized over her decision, and WashU came out on top in the end.</p>
<p>On the car ride home from the airport for Christmas break I asked her, "So, was your decision to attend WashU the right one?" A huge smile came across her face and she said, "It was SUCH the right decision." What had been a somewhat quiet car ride before, suddenly was filled with her excited voice going on and on about much she loves this school. Along with the top notch material she is learning in her classes, she said the most surprising thing she came to realize the first semester is that all the people at WashU (professors and students alike) as so amazing that she has something to learn from each and every person there. </p>
<p>Along with being the most amazing teacher she has ever had, she said her language professor had "incredible communication skills". "When she listens to you, she is completely focused on what you have to say. She never takes her eyes off you and often moves to sit in an empty desk nearby to talk to you face to face." Despite working harder than she has EVER had to work in a class, she said her Chemistry professor was "out of this world". Such an incredible intellect! A random freshman who approached her about being chemistry study partners turns out to have a mind that "thinks like no one my age I've ever encountered." </p>
<p>There is no panacea in terms of the perfect school and Ivy is just a term that people throw around as if it automatically brands a school as the best. If you are interested in rankings, some Ivys are above WashU and some below. My nephew is as smart as they come and is a freshman at Northwestern. He reports that he had good along with some uninspiring professors his first semester. The son of a friend said the same for Unv. of Penn. There isn't a perfect school out there.</p>
<p>When my D visited with her high school friends over the break and they discussed the material they were learning in "same level" classes, D said that what she was being taught was so far and above the material they were receiving she couldn't believe it. When they commented that their class was difficult, she said, "They have no idea - they haven't experience difficult!"</p>
<p>You have to find the school that is as close to YOUR ideal as you can. Washington University in St. Louis was that school for my daughter and it has not disappointed! The campus is stunning, the new buildings are jaw droppingly gorgeous, the food is great, most of the dorms are palatial, teaching is top notch, and everyone she has encountered bends over backward to help you.</p>
<p>As the tired and overly used commercial says:</p>
<p>Tuition, room, board, and fees for 2008-2009 expected to be $49,000 +</p>
<p>The life experience my daughter is having (in class and out) - priceless!</p>
<p>xuhailun - I meant to add - </p>
<p>At my daughter's senior music concert, the teacher was telling the audience where everyone was attending college and when it was my D's turn she said, "And she will be attending the University of Washington"!! Afterwards everyone was saying, "My, she is going a long way away for college!" Heavens!!</p>
<p>My sister says when she tells people her son is at Northwestern, most think it is "Northwestern State University", a very mediocre college in her state!!
Have Mercy (as she would say!).</p>
<p>No one around here even knows that University of Penn. is an "Ivy" and they could care less. They also haven't even heard of Emory or Vanderbilt, that are ranked near WashU. When we told people our daughter was accepted at Notre Dame, they all went "WOW" - based on what, their knowledge of the school's FOOTBALL history!! </p>
<p>What I have found is that people "who know", know all about Washington University in St. Louis. You can tell the minute the name of the school rolls off your tongue and the person's eyes get wide and they say, "Ooohhh!", they know what an exception place it is. Those who don't know, well, what can I say!</p>
<p>"What I have found is that people "who know", know all about Washington University in St. Louis. You can tell the minute the name of the school rolls off your tongue and the person's eyes get wide and they say, "Ooohhh!", they know what an exception place it is. Those who don't know, well, what can I say! "</p>
<p>Same sentiment here, Midwest Parent. I was having lunch with a group of ladies I seldom see and the topic went to where our kids went to school and when I mentioned Wash U the young lady, a newcomer in town who is in the medical field went "WOW!" and the others just looked at her like "so?"</p>
<p>S1 is now a senior at Wash U, a PNP major cognitive track. His 3 1/2 years at Wash U had been priceless and he is continuing to take advantage of everything the school offers academically, socially, etc. until he graduates this May, God Willing.</p>
<p>Wow, between WCASParent, MidwestParent and FilAm_mom, this father of a freshman S can so echo all of those sentiments. I can also tell you first-hand that the administration is very, very intent on expanding both name recognition and career placement opportunities---particularly expanding on-campus recruiting.</p>
<p>Our S has never looked back and is absolutely thrilled with where he is. He loves the challenging environment and is incredibly impressed with the quality of the student body. </p>
<p>It's not for nothing that the school is constantly being hailed as "the hottest school in the country!".</p>
<p>In this forum (WASHU) parents are always trying to justify why their children haven’t applied to or chosen an IVY school. Maybe the school is not well known, because all programs in WASHU are mediocre with exception of Medicine and Social Work.</p>
<p>visitor1, look before you leap, i.e. read before you write...</p>
<p><a href="http://facts.wustl.edu/rankings.htm%5B/url%5D">http://facts.wustl.edu/rankings.htm</a></p>
<p>"The School of Law’s clinical training program ranked number four, and its trial advocacy program was number three."</p>
<p>"In U.S. News’ ...The Olin Business School undergraduate program ranks 12th."</p>
<p>"In "individual discipline rankings" — within the 11 broad field categories — WUSTL ranks in the top 10 in 19 disciplines, 10 of them within the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences. In two disciplines WUSTL ranks No. 1: ecology & evolutionary biology and political science." [Comment - 10 are in Life Sciences, but 9 are not, including Pol Sci at #1]</p>
<p>"The Olin School’s Executive MBA program ranks 20, and the part-time MBA is 12"</p>
<p>
[quote]
In this forum (WASHU) parents are always trying to justify why their children haven’t applied to or chosen an IVY school. Maybe the school is not well known, because all programs in WASHU are mediocre with exception of Medicine and Social Work.
[/quote]
And you're a student with too much time on your hands, that you troll through the Wash U forum to re-open a week-old thread... </p>
<p>What does choosing an Ivy have to do with success anyway? Out of the top 10 richest people in America (excluding the Wal-Mart fortune), colleges attended (including drop-outs, which is the majority in this case) are:</p>
<p>1 Harvard<br>
2 UPenn, transfered to Nebraska
3 City College of New York<br>
4 University of Illinois, transfered to UChicago
5 Washington State
9 University of Texas
12 U Maryland Undergrad / Stanford Grad
13 U Michigan Undergrad/ Stanford Grad<br>
14 Wash U
15 Harvard</p>
<p>Which of the top 10 richest went to Wash U?</p>
<p>According to Forbes, Jack Crawford Taylor (of Enterprise Rent-A-Car fame). And no, I did not know this off the top of my head. : ) But I guess it does make sense because I already knew about the Enterprise-WashU connection.</p>
<p>Actually, parents in this forum are so proud of their children that are attending WashU and are actively promoting the institution that their children attend. The school reaches out to its parent community for more than just donations. It encourages parents to take an active interest and to get involved with the school. When you see parents actively posting and praising the institution, it's because they believe that the place is a great school. You should be looking at the excitement that parents show in this forum as a positive....it means they care!</p>
<p>WashU is well-known in academic circles. If you're worried about your Average Joe on the street knowing about it, then you need to reconsider why you're going to a certain university. Here in St. Louis, everyone knows about WashU; if you go to coasts, probably not. I ED'd to WashU and got in, and I couldn't be more excited about going :D</p>
<p>Wash U is well known on the east coast; the "hot school" as someone said earlier and for very good reasons. In a post prior to the one he posted above, Visitor 1 stated, "I'm peruvian too. I am freshman at Columbia University." (Cut and pasted the small "p" is his.) Being from Peru he probably never heard of Wash U and being at Columbia he's been too busy focusing on the Iranian Prime Minister to get up to speed on our nation's heartland.</p>
<p>That's interesting - with all the Ivies, you'd think that WashU wouldn't be that well-known over on the east coast. Was this the case 10-15 years ago as well, or is it a new development?</p>