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INTERNSHIPS
Number of companies recruiting interns on-campus, 2008-09 academic year:
95

Companies posting internships on job boards, previous academic year:
228

Top internship recruiters, 2008-09:



Target Corp.
  

Boeing Company
  
Booz Allen Hamilton
  
Barclays Bank PLC
  
Deloitte Touche Tomatsu
  
General Electric
  
General Mills
  
Google Inc.
  
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
  
L'Oreal
  
Merrill Lynch
  
Monsanto
  
Motorola
  
Procter & Gamble
  
UBS
  


Other Internship Recruiters:
Washington University 3 Macy's 2 Scottrade 2 Bloomberg 2 Capital One 1 ConAgra Foods 1 Deloitte Consulting 1 Kohl's 1 Medco Health Solutions 1 Marcus and Millichap Real Estate Investment Services 1 Nestle Purina PetCare Company 1 New York Life Insurance 1 Oppenheimer Funds 1 Protiviti 1 Warner Brothers Entertainment 1

Percentage of internships that were paid, previous academic year
85  %

Mean internship compensation per week:
$  1,119

Median internship compensation per week:
$  1,096

Average internship, in weeks:
10

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Due to the size of the program, there is a great community feel which allows for an environment of collaboration and development. The students do not feel like they are competing with each other for grades, time with professors, or leadership positions. I value having such a supportive environment.

I feel as if our business program is unique with the amount of group projects we have as well as the fact that our school does not feel overly competitive. Yes, grades are curved so you do have to do better than your peer. However, everyone is willing to help anyone. There is always someone who wants to help you learn, whether it be the professor, a teaching assistant or your peers. If you want the help, Olin can help you.

I think the teaching has been pretty poor - it is clear we focus on research far too much at the expense of learning.

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I think the one thing that truly makes Olin unique is the plethora of international faculty members. I can't speak for other schools, but after speaking with my friends at other business programs, it seems that their instructors are rarely international. At Olin, I think over half of the faculty is from another country.

Overall, Olin is a highly competitive and motivated program, but it is limited in its academic and future opportunities. We have many excellent students and faculty, but Wash U. is handicapped by its location and size. Fortunately for Olin, many students have successful families who can help them find employment.

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The business program has a small feel to it (small classes with a personal attention) but on the campus of a major research institution. I have to ability to learn from students of all different majors in my business classes, and I have the opportunity to expand my education into anyone of the other schools on campus to add to my business degree.

The flexibility of the program is unique. I can major in Finance, International Business, and German. The amount of practical experience I have had is also unique. I have had internships in NYC, St. Louis, and Germany, and participated in company-sponsored case competitions.

The only area that I feel the program leaves for improvement is in Career Services, which I have seen improve drastically even during my short time at Olin. Olin faces natural changes being located in the Midwest away from New York and the East Coast as well as Los Angeles and the West Coast. Chicago with the largest Midwest job opportunities recruits on campus to some extent but a majority of Chicago firms have quality schools (Northwestern, Chicago) in their own backyard.

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I have been in many programs and many interviews with students from all of the top business programs in the country, and there is no difference in the raw intelligence of these students, and the students at Olin. I believe this is drawn from the selectivity of admissions -- it is very difficult to gain admissions to the school, which requires an impressive academic background complemented by unique extracurricular experiences. Moreover, Olin relies very heavily on international professors. At times communication may be difficult but the professors themselves are extremely knowledgeable and a valuable resource for the students.

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The significant difference between Olin and other business schools is that there is minimal structure so as to allow individuals to create their own experience within the school. The main issue with this policy is that it creates a "sink or swim" kind of environment-- which allows for a greater self selection of candidacy than at other programs. One particular weakness of this structure is that it does not allow for strong recruitment preparation to occur. In talking with students at other schools, it sounds as if Olin's ability to place its students in top positions within different industries is its main weakness. That said, I have noticed certain companies taking advantage of a perceived undervaluation, of Olin students, by the job market. I do think, however, that the career services have improved in the past few years and I believe that within the next five to ten years Olin will be more consistently placing its students in top industry positions.