<p>I assume most of us are in the same situation looking for schools to apply to.
as for me I just finished my Junior year and I'm getting a start on applications and essays.</p>
<p>MIT represents the standard for a great tech school but as I've been looking for schools I've come across a small place a few towns away from Boston called Olin. I was wondering if any of you guys have been looking at it. One thing that caught my eye is that last years electrical engineering class had an average starting salary of $83K and overall average engineering salaries of $80K <a href="http://www.olin.edu/pgp/docs/Salary_Table.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.olin.edu/pgp/docs/Salary_Table.pdf</a></p>
<p>apparently, companies like the OLIN graduates. But I'm more familiar with the MIT name and I have always heard that MIT graduates have always been very highly respected. Olin seems so small 70 kids for the freshman class but they look pretty smart (1490 average SAT). and the curriculum looks a little non traditional since everything is collaborative & team based while MIT is the classic curriculum based. MIT is at the top of my list but I'm really looking hard at OLIN ....I was just wondering if any of you guys are also checking it out ... and if so what do you think about the place. Whats the risk of going to a place that no one hears about.</p>
<p>This should really be in the Olin forum. Olin is a great school Apply to both. If you are one of the few that get into both, then you will have a dilemma. But, a happy one to have.</p>
<p>Olin is a much smaller and much younger institution, so it’s less well known. If you Google the name of each school along with “Common Data Set,” you can compare features. Olin’s student body is less than 350. In terms of graduation rates, the comparison for the cohort entering in 2005 (most recent comparative data) looks like this:</p>
<p>Percent of students that graduate in 4 years:
Olin – 74%
MIT – 85%</p>
<p>Percent of most recent freshman class that returned the following year:
Olin – 91%
MIT – 99.9%</p>
<p>Percent of students that graduate within 6 years:
Olin – 96%
MIT – 93%</p>
<p>Make of this what you will.</p>
<p>People in engineering know about Olin. The quality of its graduates are up there with MIT and Caltech. </p>
<p>The only drawback is that they only offer engineering majors, not science. I don’t know whether they have distribution requirements in humanities.</p>
<p>I guess the advantage is that it is focused on educating undergraduates.</p>
<p>Anecdotally, I feel like we had more people agonizing between MIT and Olin on the forum a few years ago (~2006-8) than we do now. I’m not sure if that trend would be reflected in the cross-applicant/cross-admit data.</p>
<p>I think here in California many of the students agonize over Caltech and Harvey Mudd for the pure science/engineering types…</p>
<p>I have to rethink all of this I’m feeling pretty naive & dumb.
At first I thought the hard part was getting good grades & finding a school … but after spending a week studying posts on EA and RD for the elite schools I’m starting to learn that there are A LOT of realy smart kids out there. and I am thinking that the admissions office has a tough job telling super smart students that they weren’t good enough.</p>
<p>I know everyone knows the name MIT but I’m still trying to figure out if its a place I belong … I’m just a kid that has only heard stories, I’ve never been there. My mom still worries when I drive to the next town with my friends.
– how come there are so many people that know this is the place to be. How the heck did you guys figure this out. All I see are buildigs and court yards … I can’t see the experience …I can’t see the classroom …I can’t see the study groups… I envy you guys that know where you belong.</p>
<p>Selection can’t be based on fantasy & dreams … this phase is about being careful where I apply to save money on applications… I think all I can do is write an essay that gives a glimpse to who I am and then let the school decide.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about making a choice until you actually get in these places.</p>
<p>@molliebatmit - If I recall correctly, Olin was a free ride for everyone who got in during those years.</p>
<p>Even Cooper Union which provides an outstanding engineering/science program in New York finally had to relent to start charging in the 2014-2015 academic year for “tuition”…it use to be free tuition…</p>
<p>
I was thinking that was the case, but I wasn’t sure if I was misremembering.</p>
<p>To the OP: If you have the requisite grades, test scores, extracurricular activities it would be wise to look beyond your provincial circle…to include reach schools like MIT, Caltech, Harvey Mudd, Carnegie Mellon, Olin, Cooper Union along with few match schools and few safety schools…part of growing up is to look beyond your “comfort” zone…</p>
<p>…let alone…one can “never” predict one’s application outcome…unless you are God.</p>
<p>As the previous posts have said, applying to schools like Olin and MIT is one step, getting in is quite another.
Make a list and apply to schools that seem like a good fit, see where you get in.
Visit the schools, if you haven’t already, and then you can decide which school to attend.</p>