Meet Washington University’s Olin MBA Class of 2017

Yao Shi 

Washington University, Olin Business School

Hometown: Zhengzhou, China

Undergraduate School and Major:

Washington University, Olin Business School, St. Louis, MO

Master of Science in Finance

May 2015

Washington University, College of Arts and Sciences, St. Louis, MO

Bachelor of Arts in Economics

May 2009

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, Corporate Banking—Manager

Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, Global Market—Treasury Marketing Officer

Citibank N.A., Global Transaction Services—Trainee

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? I would say practice, practice, and practice were the keys to achieve high score on GMAT. That was my strategy to prepare for GMAT in order to familiarize myself with the concepts and the type of questions that were tested in the exam. I used three sets of study material to practice: The Official Guide, GMAT Paper Tests and Complete GMAT Strategy Guide Set by Manhattan Prep.

In addition to practice questions, I think it is also important to become familiar with the test platform that GMAT uses for its exam. Because I did all my practice tests using paper and pencil and did not practice answering questions on a computer, I wasted some precious time during my first attempt. I would recommend test takers to play with the testing software by using the disc provided by GMAT.

Lastly, it was also important to time myself when I did the practice test, so that I can pace myself to finish all the questions in the real ones.

Based on your own selection process, what advice do you have for applicants who are trying to draw up a list of target schools to which to apply?  If I were to apply for business school all over again, I would select schools according to three criteria: Ranking, location, and recent graduating class job placement.

By ranking, I don’t recommend applying only the top tier schools. I only applied to three of the top-tier schools the first year that I applied for an MBA program. I was not admitted to any of them. I had to wait until the following year to apply again. I would recommend candidates to divide the top 50 business schools into five groups and apply to one school from each group to ensure there is program to attend.

By location, I would suggest potential MBA candidate to consider schools that are located in a major metropolis with various industries and major corporations. Location matters because there are more potential job opportunities in such places.

By recent graduating class job placement, I recommend applicants look at recent job placement because alumni network is an important channel for job search. By looking at job placement, candidates are able to see if there is potential networking opportunity in the industry or company of his or her interest via alumni.

What advice do you have for applicants in actually applying to a school, writing essays, doing admission interviews, and getting recommenders to write letters on your behalf? I felt the admission process for a MBA program is no different from any job interview because applying for an MBA program is a full time job. Thus, applicants should prepare their applications as if they are applying for a job. I would say it’s important to have stories that explain why applicants want to obtain an MBA and how the particular MBA program would help applicants achieve their career goals.

Other than this, just be yourself, be genuine, and show your passion and energy.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? Since I was a Master of Finance student at the business school, I knew the MBA program relatively well. I chose it because of its emphasis on class size, diversity and quality of faculties.

Class Size: The majority of courses that I have taken have had less than 40 students in them. I like the relatively small class size because we have easy access to professors. Whenever there is a question, we can either go to their offices or ask them via mail. A lot of professors have open door policy. If we can find them in their office, they are available to answer our questions. Questions asked via email are usually replied within hours. I believe the small class size enables this level of accessibility and engagement between professors and students.

Diversity: I like how the program admitted students from around the world and various backgrounds. Each student has his or her own unique life experience. The diversity exposes me to different perspectives and interesting stories. It’s a fun learning experience.

Quality of faculties: There are many renowned professors at the Olin business school who are still actively teaching. You may be surprised to find one day that you are sitting in professor Philip Dybvig’s class . His paper, Diamond-Dybvig [1983], is one of the most widely cited papers in finance and economics learning about numerical methods and optimization in finance. I also like the fact that faculties have various industry backgrounds where they would share real life business stories/cases. It makes class much more interesting.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? First, be able to secure my dream job is the number one priority. Second, learn and experiment as much as possible. Third, find my other half.