Meet our Mentors | Austin’s journey to Washington University in St. Louis

We interviewed one of our many incredible Mentors, Austin, who graduated from WashU in 2020! Read on to see how Austin approached college applications, how WashU has unique programs tailored to the most exciting career opportunities, and how Austin actually graduated debt-free!

Austin, thanks for sitting down with us. Let’s start with the basics. Can you share where you went to college, when you graduated, and what you studied?

I graduated from WashU in 2020 with my B.A. in Economics and International Studies, and then tacked on an M.B.A. in Product Management and Entrepreneurship in 2022. My undergraduate degree was in liberal arts, which made me think I’d never be able to enter the business world, but WashU actually had a very generous 3+2 MBA program for undergraduates where you could get both degrees in 5 years.

I had no idea when I applied to undergrad in 2016, but just by getting into WashU, my horizon expanded so much and the institution enabled me to land a job right after college making about $200,000 per year.

That’s incredible! I want to flash back to junior and senior year of high school and your application process. Did you apply anywhere early, whether that’s Early Action (EA), Restrictive Early Action (REA), Early Decision (ED), or something else?

I grew up in a public school setting where you either go to Longview Community College, UCM, Mizzou, or Missouri S&T. Those were the expectations, and while those are great institutions in their own right, I wanted to shoot higher. Despite actually being laughed at by my high school counselor for placing my ambition on getting into Stanford, I still applied to several of these top schools. My EA choice was ultimately Princeton University, where I was deferred to regular decision and ultimately rejected.

Looking back on my Princeton process, I absolutely bombed the interview session, which was held in a 20th floor law firm penthouse that absolutely intimidated me. I also remember sending a resume formatted in MLA with a laundry list of uncoordinated bullet points. I was shooting in the dark, because I didn’t know any better.

And then over the course of the whole application process, early and regular, where else did you wind up applying?

In addition to Princeton, I applied to Yale, Stanford, Rice, Notre Dame, William Jewel’s Oxbridge Honors Program, Truman State, WashU, and several others. All in, I had applied to around 20 schools that ranged across target, stretch, and safety.

I was accepted to Rice University on $50K scholarship per year, WashU on full-ride no debt, and William Jewel’s Oxbridge Honor’s Program. That program entitles you to spend a portion of your college experience studying at Oxford University. I was rejected by Princeton and Stanford. I was waitlisted at Notre Dame and Yale; I withdrew quickly after getting admitted to WashU.

Did you apply to any specific university scholarship programs?

I mentioned Oxbridge Honors, which was an incredible program that I almost chose over WashU and Rice. I also applied to WashU through the Anika Rodriguez scholarship, and was invited for a welcome weekend for all Rodriguez and Ervin Scholars finalists. I remember getting rejected from that program and thinking that it was an automatic no for WashU. Turns out that wasn’t the case, so while I was rejected for the scholarship, I got accepted to the university, and because my family made under $70,000 per year, I qualified for their generous no-loan program. I think the number to qualify is closer to $100,000 now.

Why did you choose WashU?

For me, it was a combination of academics, finances, and culture. Academically, I loved their interdisciplinary International Studies program, which lets you concentrate in either Global Affairs, Global Cultural Studies, East Asian Studies, or Development. I also admired their economics department, which gave me confidence in a pragmatic fallback if political science degrees got nerfed (they haven’t!). Financially, I got a full ride, which was essentially the case across my top three choices. Culturally, I had a better gut reaction when I was on the campus of WashU, compared to Rice and William Jewel. Maybe it was the Tempur-Pedic mattresses, who’s the say!?

What was the best thing about WashU?

There are so many great facets to WashU, many of which I didn’t realize until I got to campus. I could talk about the professors, the clubs, the sense of social impact happening before your very eyes. It’s difficult to say one best thing, but let me throw a curveball at you.

WashU, in 2017, was need aware. They are no longer need aware, but this is important to know. The need aware status seemed to create a culture where there were a lot of 1% wealthy individuals and a strong handful of full-ride need-based aid individuals. This stark economic divide manifested in ‘flocks of Canada Geese’ walking across Mudd Field to the business school, while lower income students would be hustling their extra meal points at the end of semester.

This divide was certainly problematic, but it always serves to find diamonds in the rough. As someone from the lower income side, I stepped out of my comfort zone to engage with all different backgrounds. It was through an organic relationship with a humble top 1% jewish student from NYC that I actually landed my first internship. We met on WUSauce, a Latin social dance team, and she helped me find a freshman summer job working for the JCC in KC, even though I wasn’t Jewish and had no association to the JCC.

That opportunity created a success syndrome that landed me a start-up job the following semester, then a role in San Francisco with Bank of America, then a role in strategy consulting with ZS Associates, and ultimately a full-time gig at Boston Consulting Group, which is a top recruit at the Princetons and Stanfords of the world. It goes to show that WashU, despite having a problem with intense inequality among the student body, presents a unique forced networking opportunity between vastly different people from vastly different walks of life.

And that Jewish student is still a great friend of mine. In fact, last time I saw her was at an EDM festival in Costa Rica, where I just decided to detour there on a whim and found her behind a kombucha beer vendor stand helping her friend grow this kombucha business. Keep in mind, neither of us planned to be in Tamarindo, Costa Rica on that day. Crazy how the world works!

And how about your least favorite thing about WashU?

The campus life is incredibly energetic, which I love, but there is a negative side. As stated, socio-economic divides can be horrible, but can also breed incredible opportunities for social mobility. Similarly, social justice energy on campus can be both an incredible facet as well as a silencing mechanism. I did have some fears that very powerful movements on campus around improving greek life, improving race relations, and limiting police encroachment were being muddied by a few folks on campus that were trying to abolish several campus organizations without a just cause.

The cancel culture was powerful, and I think it hurt the momentum of a lot of great social advocates on campus. That said, I went to college during Trump’s first term, so politics were incredibly divisive. This was the era of Me Too, kids in cages, Eric Garner, the Muslim Ban, and several other hot topics issues that drove fiery emotions on all sides of the political spectrum.

Any regrets about your college application process, decision-making process, or how you approached college? What’s that one thing you always tell high schoolers about college?

I don’t have regrets about college, because I think every action was a learning experience. I did not apply to college knowing all the tricks. I did not enter college with the communication skills and confidence to get the immediate golden ticket job. My path was very messy and I think that’s ok. Do I wish I knew then what I know now? Absolutely! But, do I regret it? No, I do not.

It took me longer to pay down my ignorance tax on life because I started in a tricky situation. But, in 6 years, I went from being a low-income Latino living in a single parent household to holding two degrees from a top school and working at one of the world’s most desired consulting firms. I was able to double my entire family’s generations of wealth building in one short year at a top firm. This is all because I kept learning and paying down that ignorance tax.

So, my advice to high schoolers would be this: Join Cohort because you can pay your own ignorance tax down quicker than anyone else with our help, but also… don’t worry if you’re not where you want to be, because a lot can change in a few short years.

Finally, what made you decide to be a Cohort Mentor?

I joined Cohort because I was disturbed by the Affirmative Action rulings in 2023. I hold a personal belief that Affirmative Action was a tool that leveled the playing field for Black and Brown children who start life with a lot less resources and a lot less information.

I could not have afforded college counseling when I was in high school, and if I did have that support, maybe I would’ve been even more successful. I certainly wouldn’t have had to slave away all of junior and senior year figuring it out on my own. I see Cohort as a tool to level the admissions playing field when our country is trying to put up walls. Fences do not make good neighbors, but mentors do.

Well said. Thank you Austin for you time.