Meet Washington University’s Olin MBA Class of 2017

Matt Holtshouser

Washington University, Olin Business School 

Hometown: St. Louis, MO

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Pennsylvania – BA in English

St. Joseph’s University – MS in Secondary Education

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

9th Grade English Teacher

Work Study Program Coordinator

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? As an English major in college, I had to engage in as much repetition as possible to regain my number sense and efficiency doing calculations. People prepare in different ways, but what worked for me was enrolling in a class. Doing this forced me to set aside time outside of my house and work-life in order to be fully present in my preparation. It also provided me with a community in which to work through troublesome areas. Listening to how my classmates worked through a problem gave me the advantage of having multiple frameworks and methodologies.

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? Before you create a list of target schools, determine your priorities for pursuing an MBA. The more you think about this question, the easier it will be to differentiate schools. For me, the three main factors were region, job placement success, and the highest quality of professors. Olin satisfies all three of those preferences. I want to land a job in the Midwest near my family and have the opportunity to create knowledge every day in my studies.

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? My advice to you is to be sincere and authentic. The best way to do this is to focus in on a select few attributes that describe your brand the best. In the beginning of the process I felt like I had to fit many descriptions of the ideal MBA candidate. Instead, I just had to highlight how my experiences fit into making significant contributions to the MBA experience.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? Olin offers the opportunity to explore different industries, while simultaneously gaining broad knowledge of business management and skills required to succeed in any context. This is important for me as someone who comes to business school wanting to make and discover a career within a specific industry.  Also, Olin offers a personalized career counseling experience through the Weston Career Center. Being a part of a small class, 140 students, has huge benefits concerning career exploration – the ability to gain attention from career advisors and also the opportunity to glean experiences from classmates.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? Overall, I want to have a clear sense of my strengths and an understanding of what kind of impact I can make on an organization. I believe I will gain this through real-world business experiences that will contextualize what I learn in the classroom. Olin offers these experiences through an internship and CEL (Center for Experiential Learning) classes that place students in situations to consult for businesses and solve real problems. My hope is benefit from at least two or three of these CEL classes. I also hope to soak up knowledge from my peers through learning about their experiences and their successes/failures. Collaboration happens every day, and I want to walk away having learned something new from each of my classmates.