<p>Although both are technical/engineering schools and both enroll very high caliber students, MIT and Olin are in fact very different. Here’s our impression after S looked at both in 2005/2006:</p>
<p>Olin: Free tuition is a big deal for those of us who don’t qualify for need-based aid. Innovative curriculum, more general multidisciplinary engineering education, but due to small size and limited number of faculty, not particularly deep in any field (I would describe as “pockets of expertise”). Only undergrad courses.</p>
<p>MIT: Large size, deep in many fields, undergrad and grad courses. No/little merit-based financial aid. </p>
<p>If a student already knows what field he/she wants to major in, has become advanced in that field during high school, etc., I would worry about running out of related courses to take at Olin. Best for great all-around students who want to major in engineering but perhaps don’t require access to grad level courses and research profs as an undergrad. (I’m sure many Olin grads go on to grad school where they can specialize more in a particular field).</p>
<p>I realize that I’ve generalized a bit, but this was what we thought. S is now at MIT.</p>