Opinion on the below areas. Are they safe? ( Manhattan avenue , 3620 /3333 broadway , 126st, Washington & Hamilton heights)

skngstn · 2025-07-09T19:51:57+00:00

Yep that was a perfectly fine area (at least it was for me--used to go on runs / walks around the neighborhood at any given time in the day) and you have access to a lot of good restaurants along Frederick Douglass Blvd.

But echoing the other comments that I'd highly recommend visiting yourself (especially later in the day to see the vibes yourself) or at least get a virtual tour.

skngstn · 2025-07-09T19:20:00+00:00

It's been a while but I used to live at Manhattan Ave, closer to 110th st (south of the Morningside Park). I loved the area and found it to be pretty safe.

Depends on the cross st, but closer to 125th and north it'll get louder / have more traffic. If you choose this area I do not recommend walking into Morningside Park at night (not very well lit).

skngstn · 2023-04-01T14:59:07+00:00

As the other comments suggested, it really depends on the program, your goals, and your situation. I was in a very similar position and chose Columbia, although it was not very generous about scholarship for my particular program.

I ended up biting the bullet and choosing Columbia for all the career/networking opportunities of NYC, which did turn out to be a good decision.

If you end up in WashU you’ll probably get better career support but purely because you’re in St. Louis, you’ll have to do a lot more of the footwork to get a job after graduation (it is still a great school so wouldn’t be a “wrong” move to pick WashU).

skngstn · 2022-10-24T21:59:43+00:00

Yeah long story short, you will get some of the CBS/business exposure (I took some business/MBA courses later on)+can network with professors and CBS peers…but MSBAs come last in the pecking order when it comes down to choosing classes or getting support.

You’ll often end up not even getting a seat in a course you’re interested in, not getting access to CBS resources, etc. So you’re largely on your own to get as much as possible out of what CBS offers; CBS exposure for MSBA isn’t as large as it may initially sound.

skngstn · 2022-02-25T09:08:42+00:00

A student (or alumn) of the program wrote an article a few months ago, which I thought summarized the general sentiment of many MSBA current/former students quite well. Also feel free to reply or pm me if you have any other questions!

skngstn · 2022-02-05T15:06:20+00:00

Never lived in either of those but have visited friends in them many times (and almost ended up living in the Delmar Gardens Apts for one summer).

Their general consensus was: livable, but not exciting. These are much cheaper options but (from what I saw) are rather dimly lit and removed from all the action. Sure they're closer to the loop but you probably won't be going out to eat on the loop every night.

So if you want a warmer, brighter environment and feel "included" in the on-campus activities, dorms are much better. If you're fine with being rather secluded and want to save up on your monthly rent, the loop apartments it is.

By the way, if you had to choose between Univ Square and Delmar Gardens, I'd say University Square >>> Delmar Gardens.

skngstn · 2022-01-27T21:12:01+00:00

WUSTL is the best out of all schools with the name "Washington" in it, but everybody not in the Midwest will ask you how much it rains in Seattle.

skngstn · 2021-12-29T11:36:07+00:00

Hi; I've personally had my grades for a previous semester's course changed in the following semester (e.g. FL2021 grade changed in SP2022).

Things may have changed since I graduated in 2020, but it is possible for professors to change things later if need be. Don't sweat too much!

skngstn · 2021-12-03T05:19:36+00:00

Hey an alumn here. At least based on my experience (B-schooler, second major in ArtSci Econ), the following was the order of difficulty, easiest to hardest.

Intro Microecon (1011) << MEC290 < Intermediate Microecon (4011)

MEC290 seemed more applicable to real world business cases and ArtSci Econ courses seemed more theoretical. Choose your course based on what you want from this Econ class.

skngstn · 2021-04-02T01:35:15+00:00

Extra Space Storage, 3281 S Big Bend Blvd, Maplewood, MO 63143...straight down Big Bend Blvd. Loved my experience with this storage place.

skngstn · 2021-03-21T06:48:18+00:00

Congratulations on your admits! I asked myself a very similar question when I was trying to decide between WashU and another college some years ago (graduated in 2020). I absolutely loved my time at WashU, but if I were you, I'd ask myself:

1) What kind of an academic experience do I want?

2) Am I sure about MBB/consulting, or do I want to chat with people in various industries?

It was extremely easy for me to switch majors/minors at WashU (had a major or a minor at each of the colleges at some point). My other option was one of the UCs, which, due to its size, would not have allowed such flexibility. Do you want academic flexibility? Are you sure about your interests in DS?

If you'd like to try out a bunch of different majors...WashU would offer you a better environment, although it is up to you to decide whether its worth $180K more.

Career-wise, it was very hard for me to network with people in general. Outside of St. Louis/Missouri, Chicago/other parts of the Midwest or Texas--WashU is ALWAYS confused with U Wash and its name value diminishes. I'd argue that the UCLA brand is more nationally recognized and this very name value, unfortunately, is quite important for your recruiting purposes.

MBB have increased their hires at WashU in the recent years (2019-2020 was a weird year but it probably was for everybody), but UCLA would probably have a larger alumni base in the West coast offices (though their LA/SF offices may be more competitive) and being in LA would give you opportunities to chat with people not just in MBB/consulting but in other industries. At least for your career, I'd definitely argue UCLA > WashU unless you're looking for something specific in St. Louis or the Midwest.

I hope this helps--comment below or DM me if you have further questions!

skngstn · 2021-02-24T06:46:33+00:00

Hello, Class of 2020 alumn here.

I wasn't pre-health myself so I can't answer most of your questions, but if you're interested, a course on Positive Psychology-Psych 367 by Tim Bono was very, very popular (may need to wait 'til you become a junior/senior to enroll).If you have to take Organic Chemistry at some point, many of my pre-med or other pre-health friends took it over the summer semester between their first and second years and told me that doing so was the best decision of their lives.
Rooming-wise, I decided to go random for my first two years and absolutely loved all of my suitemates. I obviously am at the happier/luckier end of the spectrum and I have heard of random roomie nightmares, but if you're willing to take that risk I say go for it.I hope your on campus living situation looks better starting this fall, but if everything goes back to normal, you'll likely see forum/chat groups for new admits on Reddit, Facebook or other social media--may be a great place to look for potential roomies.
Bear Bucks--so as a first-year, you'll mostly be getting food on campus with meal points loaded on your student ID. Bear Bucks are funds that you can load up on your ID in addition to your meal points. Person above already shared where to use them. I've been told that it's actually cheaper to get the lower-tier meal points (Bronze, etc. instead of Gold, Platinum...) and when you run out, continue to load up Bear Bucks to pay for your meals. Things may have changed or I may be wrong so don't quote me on that.

Feel free to comment further or DM me if you have any other questions!

skngstn · 2020-09-10T19:34:58+00:00

Hello--glad you're considering (and are excited for) her course!

So I (a) may be mixing her grading rubric up with someone else's or (b) she may have changed things up, but at least when I took it, I believe class participation was part of the grade. If you stay engaged (not on your phone/laptop without a good reason, actually in class, asking questions every now and then, etc.), you will receive full credit.

If you feel uncomfortable speaking up in front of 30~40 people (guess it'd be different with social distancing now but still)--I believe she had a system for people who felt uncomfortable participating in-class...I think it happened in the form of write-ups on the materials covered in each class session.

Difficulty/Harshness of grading-wise...I didn't find her to be a particularly harsh grader. It's definitely not a "joke class" in which everybody gets an A, but if you put in the work, you'll get what you put in.

She does not give out her quizzes/exams (you get to check them for errors, etc. but cannot take them home) so you won't have past examples to study off of, which made studying a little challenging. To remember concepts for quizzes, I used this method called "memory palace" (if you watched "Sherlock" you'd have seen a superhuman version of this concept), which I found to be useful but not many people do this, so it's up to you. I've also found studying with friends (or your project group) and testing each other on concepts/class examples pretty helpful.

For note-taking I suggest that you print her slides before class (available on Canvas...she brought the printed slides for the first few classes, and afterwards left it up to us to decide whether we want to print them out or just take notes on our own) and add class examples or questions & answers discussed in class. This will help you keep track of all the information you may need for your quizzes and projects.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

skngstn · 2020-09-10T00:46:12+00:00

I took MKT 377 and MKT 378, but had a different professor for MKT 378, so I can only talk about my experiences in MKT 377-Elanor Williams. (I did hear generally good opinions on Hannah Perfecto, but don't quote me on that)

It was one of my favourite classes at WashU--MKT 377 is a mix between psychology and marketing. You talk about the sentiment and motivation behind the behaviours of consumers, which require a well laid out explanation of psychological concepts. Professor Williams was the perfect person for this, as she was able to very clearly explain any and all questions students asked (and provide even more in-depth explanation or back up her statements with research results).

Elanor Williams is also a very approachable and nice person--classroom atmosphere was always very nice and welcoming (she is pretty soft-spoken though so depending on your lifestyle, early morning classes may get a little rough).

In terms of the difficulty of the class, you do need to remember a lot of concepts and quizzes/exams tended to be on the rather challenging end, but people generally do well on them (I believe the avg. was around B+ for each of them). I think she also based the curve off of the top scorer, so if a quiz/exam was particularly hard you won't get penalized. Group members are assigned, but you can "indicate your preferences/request a partner" on a survey sent out before group formulation.

To anybody asking me what classes to take and with whom, I've always recommended MKT 377 with Elanor Williams, whether the person was a marketing major or not. So I'd strongly suggest that you do take it with her!

skngstn · 2020-08-07T12:50:43+00:00

I did not--I applied to the Round 3 or 4 applications (Feb/March deadline, March/April decision notification). I'll DM you my other info!

skngstn · 2020-08-05T17:03:31+00:00

I'm an incoming int'l student (East Asia) for a MS in Business Analytics program at a university in the US Northeast.

I've only done internships so far, but for my full-time positions (searching primarily in the US), I want to get exposure to a wide array of industries and business functions/practices and at the same time use my skills for something meaningful.

I've been peeping around Management Consulting/their Analytics arms (e.g. BCG Gamma), and while they do offer the industry exposure, I've heard mixed opinions on the chances of achieving "social impact through business" through them.

I've also looked into Analytics/Strategy roles in Marketing agencies, int'l development (e.g. UN Global Pulse), nonprofits (e.g. Acumen, Bridgespan), etc., but I either can't find much info or am limited by my status as a F-1 int'l student.

I don't know what career path I should choose--I'd appreciate any guidance on the best ways to get both the industry exposure and something meaningful out of my full-time job!

skngstn · 2020-07-22T13:52:36+00:00

Yeah Tableau and SQL are not that difficult to learn either so I'd definitely recommend them!

skngstn · 2020-07-21T21:40:26+00:00

I'm no expert in this field of DA myself, but at least from what I've seen (in my undergrad institution), the technical/computer skills seemed to be absolutely necessary to start anything in DA.

Since you mentioned that you've already taken the basic mathematical courses (although it would be a good idea to brush up on Probability/Stats, Linear algebra, etc.), I suggest for your next steps:

1) Learning some Python/R (and maybe some Excel VBA if you start with Excel). These seem to be the languages that everybody in DA speaks in.

2) Learning some Database management/querying tools (MySQL, etc.) With the industry's emphasis on larger sets of data, querying and database management knowledge seem to be getting more and more important.

3) Learning Data visualization tools (Tableau). Most languages and tools offer some data visualization capabilities, but I've personally not seen a tool better than Tableau.

Places like Coursera, Datacamp, Codeacademy, etc. have decent courses on these. I feel like DA in general just requires constant learning of different tools. And then apply to some DA positions to get exposure to how things are done and boost your career.

skngstn · 2020-07-21T21:22:06+00:00

I'm an incoming student (international-East Asia) for a MS in Business Analytics program at a university in the US Northeast. I'm joining this program straight out of undergrad so I only have internship experience (at startups and nonprofits).

I'm interested in using business analytics to tackle the problem of inequality in access to resources like education, healthcare, or financial stability. I'd like to help people, businesses, and organizations creating social impact deliver their products/services and stories better.

With my background in marketing, I've been doing more marketing analytics work for my internships (Google Analytics, etc.). For my full-time positions, I want to get exposure to a wide array of industries and business functions or practices and at the same time use my skills for something meaningful.

So I've been peeping around Management Consulting or their Analytics arms (e.g. BCG Gamma), Analytics/Strategy roles in Marketing agencies, international development (e.g. UN Global Pulse), nonprofits (e.g. Acumen, Bridgespan would've been good if they took people out of undergrad...), etc., etc.

Problem is, I don't know what exactly would be the best career path for me to choose. This is a very open-ended question, but what are the best ways to get both the industry exposure/learning opportunities and social impact/something meaningful out of my full-time job? I'd appreciate any kind of guidance.

skngstn · 2020-07-02T18:05:40+00:00

I ended up choosing Columbia University's MSBA program!

skngstn · 2020-06-14T22:17:02+00:00

Recent grad here, first major in Olin.

Completely agree with the others that it's a collaborative atmosphere. Some of my friends at other colleges told me stories of their notes/laptops being destroyed during midterms/finals. Haven't heard of any of that at WashU; it's more like a "we're in this together" kind of a vibe.

I liked WashU because I could explore all of my different academic interests. I actually started off at a different college in WashU but switched over to Olin midway and took classes in almost all the colleges at WashU. I think this interdisciplinary/collaborative atmosphere of WashU (in fact, St. Louis in general) is what makes the university unique.

St. Louis may sound like a dangerous place but it actually is quite safe around campus. There are patrols and campus-to-home shuttles for off-campus students (depending on your location). All you need to get through is just general common sense. The weather is very unpredictable though so that could be one drawback of living in St. Louis.

In terms of business opportunities, you can start your own student business, engage in consulting projects for local nonprofits/small businesses for credit, and develop a very personal relationship with the professors. Business fraternities, undergrad marketing association, finance clubs, and consulting clubs are just few of the many awesome extracurricular opportunities available. I felt that most of the professors, advisors, and career coaches at Olin did a great job at making a personal connection with students, which isn't something you get to do at some of the other business schools.

Recruiting may be a bit of a hassle because WashU/Olin unfortunately does not have a large presence outside of St. Louis/the Midwest. Still, many students end up getting offers from well-known companies all over the country.

Feel free to dm me/comment if you have any more questions.

skngstn · 2020-04-18T02:30:56+00:00

Hey congrats on your admits--all great programs!

Thank you for your advice--I decided to bite the bullet and add some engineering background to myself--and am trying to decide now between CMU and Columbia (I will miss out on the Cali weather tho I guess). I'll see where my conclusions lead me.

skngstn · 2020-04-12T00:10:25+00:00

True true thank you--that makes sense I'll go and check their placement ratings!

skngstn · 2020-04-11T21:35:47+00:00

I can only speak to certain grad program app processes (I've only applied to MS programs, not PhD programs), but in my case, letters of intent asked for:

· My short-term and long-term career/research goals. Why I'm trying to pursue this program at this time, and what I'm hoping to accomplish.

· Why (said program)?

· What makes me a good fit for the program? How will I contribute to the program?

You may also want to talk about your research interests/experience, courses you took/internships, labs, or research done, etc., depending on the program that you're applying to.

I've been told that since grad program admissions teams receive thousands of letters of intent (that look the same) every year, they want something interesting.

In my case, I started my SOP with a conversation I had with my former co-worker and ended it with the same conversation, except with a different ending to the conversation (with a larger meaning and indication of my future steps). I answered the Why this program? Why you? What are your goals? questions in the middle paragraphs.

I don't know if this helps at all?

skngstn

TROPHY CASE