<p>New college sends off class that engineered it
Olin's first grads started with idea</p>
<p>NEEDHAM -- When they applied to the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, the school was little more than a pile of dirt. Still, they accepted offers of admission, lured by the opportunity to create their own college, as much as by the free tuition. </p>
<p>They helped build a school where professors go by first names and eat lunch with students every day. A school so devoted to democratic principles that students sometimes vote about what voting procedures should be before they decide the issue at hand. A school where a central provision in the honor code demands ''openness to change."</p>
<p>On Sunday, these 66 students, Olin college's first graduating class, will accept their diplomas from a tiny, close-knit college that eschews traditional trappings.</p>
<p>I still maintain that the experience these first kids at Olin have had and will continue to have for a few years is among the best our colleges and universities can provide. How exciting it must be to be part of something so bold and so new. (Had they had any major my D was vaguely interested in, she'd have been on them like a duck on a june-bug.;))</p>
<p>Hmmm I was wrong about our Becky graduating. She is a sophomore. But I agree with Curmudgeon, it is an exciting place to be; it makes me think of Deep Springs, but for engineers.</p>
<p>Marite, thanks for the link. My high school junior was impressed when we visited in March. The entire college population is smaller than his graduating class but he didn't think that would be a problem. Very nice people and he enjoyed the info session.</p>
<p>DeanJ, I bet that it was non-stop. What an experience! To watch something that grand and that optimistic and that groundbreaking take shape - well, I'm jealous of your time there.</p>
<p>Probably the smartest kid in my D's class -- and, as my D say, just the nicest person as could be -- fell in love with Olin and will be attending come Fall. Presidential Scholar; would have been a strong contender at MIT or Caltech. But the size and creativity of Olin (and the $$, too) really made it a fit for him; I thought it was an admirable choice. (I also had the Deep Springs image come to mind -- though maybe not as much now that the school is a bit more established.)</p>
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DeanJ, I bet that it was non-stop. What an experience! To watch something that grand and that optimistic and that groundbreaking take shape - well, I'm jealous of your time there.
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I had met the Dean of Admission back when I was a sophomore in college. When I ran into him at a professional event years later (after finishing my grad work), he told me about "an amazing new project". I had my doubts, but wanted to work for him (and the VP, another HUGE name in the admission field) so badly, that I left BC to work at Olin. It was the best decision of my life. </p>
<p>We literally had steel beams sticking out of the ground back then (no buildings, aside from some houses). We'd give "tours" on a poster. We'd have committee meetings about chosing furniture. We'd constantly fight the notion that we were a fly by night. High schools that now usher me in with open arms would stick me in the cafeteria for a visit back then. It was a true "start up". </p>
<p>I love Olin! I love those students!</p>
<p>Myself and another former admission officer (now at Georgetown) have been prowling the travel websites for flights back up to Boston this weekend. We'll be heartbroken if we can't be at commencement!</p>
<p>I will be very interested to see the success of Olin grads 10/20 years hence. it will be then that we will see the success of this educational experiment. Its students are superb so there seems to be little or no chance of failure. However it remains to be seen whether it will foster innovative technical and management leaders or uber-successful entrepreneurs willing to take risks by thinking outside the box.</p>
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uber-successful entrepreneurs willing to take risks by thinking outside the box.
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I know you were thinking years down the line, but there already are a number of start ups being run by Olin students (Seahorse</a> Power and another co, run by a senior named Leighton, come to mind). The SCOPE</a> program also points towards a bight future for these students.</p>
<p>There's a little blurb about each of these in this</a> video.</p>
<p>P.S. Plane tickets are bought and rental car booked! I'm going back for commencement! :)</p>