WUSTL Class of 2017 Questions Thread

<p>Can anyone tell me about the workload as a Freshman at Olin (BSBA). Additionally, does anyone know any Pakistanis already studying at Wash U? I’d love to get in touch with one of them.
Thank You</p>

<p>Hi. Could anyone tell me what the professors are like in the political science department (particularly in regards to political philosophy)? Are they like my view is absolute and if you don’t parrot what I lecture I’m gonna fire Cs at you. Or are they more open and try to help you build your own views. For example, if you lean heavily towards libertarian ideals and your professor happens to be a huge fan of Alasdair MacIntyre, are you ****ed?</p>

<p>Re:math</p>

<p>I think the math department is the most well run department at Wash U. There is a large number of classes, with special classes offered intermittently. For example, this semester I’m taking a course on cryptography. Last year I took a course on graph theory. All the courses I’ve taken (with few exceptions) have all surpassed by expectations. And my expectations are always high. Other departments, especially those in engineering routinely drop the ball.</p>

<p>With that said, the department is much more focused on pure math (algebra, analysis, etc). While there are many statistics courses, there are only two professors that teach upper level statistics courses (out of 40+ faculty). Also while there are a couple of applied math courses, the department lacks a lot of these (and people interested in applied math are better suited in Systems Engineering).</p>

<p>The majority of the math professors are excellent. I have complaints about other departments I work in, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a serious gripe about anything from the math department. </p>

<p>Professor Ron Freiwald is in charge of math undergraduate studies, and would likely be willing to talk to potential students. He is an extremely nice, caring individual, who puts a lot of time to make sure things are run smoothly. For example, several months ago I asked him about courses for next year. He showed me the listing for not only next fall, but also next spring; complete with color codings. His door is literally always open, and he is always willing to talk to students.</p>

<p>I think every department chair and person in charge of undergraduate and graduate studies could learn a lot from him.</p>

<p>@Mattygfisch</p>

<p>Your free time is obviously partially dependent on how many ECs you participate in, and how much of a time commitment they require. That being said, most freshmen with “normal” levels of ECs have a good amount of free time. They’ll be time to party/read a book/play video games/sleep/whatever you like to do with your spare time. IM sports are pretty popular in general. It’s usually pretty easy to form a team from the students on your floor, or in your dorm.</p>

<p>@Maaz997</p>

<p>The stereotype is that the b-school is the easiest of the schools - you will not make it past a few weeks without hearing “b-school preschool”. While there’s an element of truth to that - b-school courses tend not to have time-consuming homework or class on Friday - there are a bunch of group projects one has to do for the intro courses in Olin.</p>

<p>@pianoman0929</p>

<p>I’ve only taken two regular philosophy courses, so I can’t speak for all the professors that you will have during your time at Washu. However, it has been my experience that they don’t care which conclusion your argument supports as long as it is a good one. So far, both my classes have given us readings from both sides of the argument as homework, and we (the students AND professor) discuss the two in class. I don’t know if that happens in every class, but it has prevented the professor from dominating the discussion from only one point of view. Be aware that most people here are fairly liberal, so you might find a lot of disagreement, but a philosophy class is so much better when not everyone agrees with one side and not the other.</p>

<p>Hi all,
I’m a Chinese international student just accepted to Olin. Right now I can’t decide between a double traditional dorm and a triple. Is there a huge difference between living with one roommate and living with two? Would it be harder to adapt to others’ living habits with more roommates?
Also, just out of curiosity, are there many Chinese students at WashU?
Any reply would be much appreciated.</p>

<p>I think having one roommate is fine. The only traditional triple I’ve been in was very cramped, but ymmv.</p>

<p>There are a lot of Asian students at WashU. I am sure you can get stats on the website or from Admissions. </p>

<p>I would recommend a double. A triple will cost less.</p>

<p>I have not received a physical copy of my financial aid packet from WashU yet, so maybe it’s in there, but does WashU provide any information on student and parent expected contribution. I could not find any information on WashU’s online portal about how much my parents or I are expected to pay.</p>

<p>I need this information when consulting with other colleges about financial aid because they may match WashU’s offer for me.</p>

<p>Well, I assume that the financial aid information will indeed be in the financial aid packet. I’m not sure if there’s any way to access it beforehand. I guess if you cannot possibly wait, you could always send an email to your admissions officer.</p>

<p>Just out of curiosity, how’s the party scene at Wash U?</p>

<p>Eh, pretty decent. As long as you don’t go in expecting big state school levels of partying, then you should have a good time with parties here.</p>

<p>how is washu’s computer science department? is it important that it’s not accredited? what are some places where recent compsci grads work? do people get internships at places like twitter or google?</p>

<p>I am also strongly considering WashU as a physics/mechanical engineering double major.</p>

<p>RyanMK, while you said that all of the classes that you have been in are scaled, do you know if that is true of other majors as well? I am concerned about competing against other students at WashU. While I know it’s possible for most people who put their mind to it to succeed, it is still tempting to goto a nearby state school on a full ride, where I know I can make high grades and devote more time to research or other activities. Any input from anyone on this issue would be appreciated.</p>

<p>My biggest ultimate concern is grad school admissions.</p>

<p>I don’t know which majors grade purely or mostly based on a curve. I have taken a few humanities courses which all utilized curves, so my guess would be that it’s quite common across arts and sciences, at least.</p>

<p>A full ride at a state school is certainly a viable option. I regret not considering it as much as I should have. If money is not a concern, then maybe washu is worth it. If money is a concern, then the state school might be better.</p>

<p>@RyanMK- my son is going to visit WUSTL at the end of the month. Unfortunately, admissions office said that they don’t have my overnight stay program or a program where he could shadow a student I’ve read all about how nice the dorms are and how friendly the kids are. Any other ways he can go about talking to more students while he is there?</p>

<p>To be clear, are you saying that, in your experience, most of your classes are curved, as in a bell curve where there is a distrubution of grades, or scaled, where everyone can theoretically get an A?
Scales and curves can often be confused</p>

<p>^Prometheus - while the term “curve” technically refers to a bell, it is entirely appropriate to refer to scaling as a grading curve.</p>

<p>Most of my upper level classes have had grading done where ~half the class gets an A (and a 90 is not required for that).</p>

<p>@Prometheus13</p>

<p>Yes, most of the classes I have taken are curved, not scaled. The mean/median is usually set at some sort of B, and professors attempt to make the letter cut-offs at natural gaps in the student grade distribution.</p>

<p>@PsychoDad10</p>

<p>It’s too bad none of the overnight programs were available. One thing that I’ve seen parents and children do is sit in on some classes, and talk to the students in that class (obviously not during the lecture itself, haha). Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any ingenious ways of talking to students other than just going up and talking to them… Maybe if there is a club that your son is really interested in, he could email the president and see if anything can be arranged? Sorry for my useless answer, haha.</p>

<p>Ask admissions if they’re still running something I think is called “Bear Lunches”, where students will have lunch with prospective students after their tours. I’m not sure if they’re doing it this year as I have yet to hear of any friends participating, but I know people who did it last year. It ends up being like an hour long lunch/chat session.</p>

<p>Even if the overnight and shadowing programs aren’t available, there are definitely ways to get a sense of the Wash U experience. As RyanMK mentioned, sitting in on a class can give you a sense of how some lectures are conducted. You can also talk with students on campus and ask them about their impression of the school. A great spot for this is the front of the library as classes change (top or bottom of the hour). There are always small groups of people chatting near the grassy area out front and you can feel free to jump in and ask what they think. Asking a group rather than a single person may yield more insightful information. Practically everyone at Wash U is very accommodating, loves the school, and is more than willing to answer your questions. I mean, look at those of us on this forum… ;)</p>