Concerns about Olin

Colleges and Universities A-Z Olin College
1

<p>So right now I am trying to figure out where I will be applying to colleges next year. My list right now consists of a few LAC, a few engineering schools, and few top colleges (star next to one's visited):</p>

<p>Middlebury *
Olin College *
Williams *
Harvard
Grinnell *
UPenn
Pomona *
Stanford *
Harvey Mudd *
Carnegie Mellon</p>

<p>Thats 10 schools so far, which is what I'm aiming to apply to. Out of those schools my top few choices are probably Olin, Pomona, or Harvard (yeah right :p ). However, my parents although they have been very supportive of me thus far, aren't thrilled about sending me to a school thats basically doesn't have a reputation. Its not that all they are concerned about is prestige - its just that they're worried that I might have trouble finding a job if I don't go to a fairly well known school.</p>

<p>However, when I visited Olin, I completely fell in love with their theory of teaching. I really like the fact that basically the whole curriculum is project based. Also, although I wouldn't mind going to a small college, I get the feeling that Olin might be a bit too small.</p>

<p>Anyways, I'm looking for advice as to whether I should go for Olin even with the resistance of my parents, and also any general suggestions on what I should do as I undergo this process.</p>

2

<p>Folton, Check out the Post Graduate Planning section of Olin’s website: [Olin</a> College](<a href=“http://www.olin.edu/pgp/default.aspx]Olin”>http://www.olin.edu/pgp/default.aspx) - under the “Alumni” heading you’ll find information related to the success of Olin graduates that may help put your parents at ease.</p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>

3

<p>That’s a nice looking list, Folton, and highly reminiscent of my DD’s last year. In addition to Olin, she also ended up applying to Williams, Middlebury and Stanford, along with Princeton and several other LACs. Pomona, Grinnell and Harvey Mudd were all on her short list.</p>

<p>As luck would have it, she got into most of the places she applied, and her final decision came down to a trio strikingly similar to your current favorites: Olin, Carleton and Princeton. So, among other issues, we’ve grappled with this more-established vs less-established question at some length. In the end, she picked Olin, and I think it was an excellent choice.</p>

<p>Regarding employment prospects, from everything we’ve been able to glean from talking to recent graduates and seniors, as well as from the PGP office, Olin grads seem to have terrific success on the job market. One senior I talked to at Candidate’s Weekend remarked that it had actually been quite stressful navigating all of his job offers, since his services were so highly sought after. The PGP office told us during Candidate’s weekend that around 96% of Olin grads were employed (and a bunch of the remaining 4% are doing things like travelling, etc., rather than struggling to find employment). So if a primary worry is getting a job after graduation, I’d say you’re very likely to be in excellent shape as an Olin grad.</p>

<p>Harder to quantify are the more intangible benefits of the large and influential alumni networks that exist at bigger and more established schools. How much that sort of thing comes into play in one’s future varies widely with the individual. In the end, my daughter felt like the very tangible benefits of an Olin education outweighed the more uncertain advantages of the alumni networks associated with her other choices. </p>

<p>And of course, Olin’s alumni network and reputation are only going to expand from here. It already has an excellent reputation with many employers, and that is certain to continue to trend in a positive direction.</p>

<p>There’s a certain leap of faith associated with taking the road-less-travelled that is Olin, and Oliners have to deal with a lot of blank stares when they say where they attend college. If you find yourself in the fortunate position of turning down other attractive offers from big name schools, you’ll probably have to deal with a certain amount of incredulity from relatives and acquaintances. I think most Olin kids go through this–they’re a highly sought-after bunch. None I’ve met have regretted their decision.</p>

<p>As for your parents, just hope to get invited to attend a Candidate’s Weekend and bring one or both of them along. Odds are good that Olin will successfully indoctrinate them :)</p>

4

<p>Rayrick, thanks very much for your thoughtful response. Its comforting to know there are people out there that feel the way you do. I’m also wondering how exactly competitive Olin admissions is. There isn’t really a lot of data out there, since its such small applicant pool. As of now my SAT score is 2220, and I’m ranked #3 in my class (out of 80). I also am involved in loads of ECs, most math/science based. </p>

<p>Also, my father went to UPenn (and later Harvard business school), so he is really pushing me to apply to his alma mater(s). I haven’t even visited Penn, and he wants me to consider applying early there. I’m not sure if I would fit in as well. One of the things that had me cross of a few ivies off my list was an air of borderline pretension. I felt that a lot of the kids were there just because of the namebrand, and didn’t really look past that.</p>

5

<p>Great comments from Rayrick! </p>

<p>Yes - Olin is rather competitive, but so are many of your other choices. So apply and see what happens. If you are lucky enough to get invited to Candidate’s Weekend next February, arrange to bring a parent (or two). After that, you will likely all be smitten. If not, you’ll know more about crucial factors when comparing your other schools.</p>

<p>You have great stats, but you a lot of reach-for-all schools on there. Consider adding your state flagship too. That can be especially nice if they have rolling admission, allowing you “one in the bag” early in the process.</p>

6

<p>Colorado_mom has an excellent point that your might want to think about adding another safety. Looks like only Grinnell and Carnegie Mellon on your list admit more than 20% of their applicants, and they’re not way above that mark. PM me if you’re looking for other cool LACs that aren’t quite so selective.</p>

<p>Olin has admitted about 16% of their applicants the last two years, and your stats look like they’d make you competitive. Odds are better for females, since Olin gets substantially more male applicants and tries to keep the classes gender balanced. Conversely, odds are somewhat worse for males. Not sure which camp you fall in!</p>

<p>You might also want to take a look at a thread I participated in a while back started by a student inquiring about what it takes to get into Olin:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/olin-college/1306233-applying-olin.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/olin-college/1306233-applying-olin.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>The other thing I’ll add is that I would encourage you to resist the siren call of early decision unless you’re really sold on the place. I’m pretty sure Penn is an ED school, so, if you go that route and you’re accepted, you’re committed and you’ve foreclosed all your other options. </p>

<p>Early Action is a different story, and, echoing colorado_mom, in my daughter’s case it was really comforting to have an EA acceptance in her back pocket going into the rest of the RD process. It lowered her anxiety level and saved her some work by shaving a couple of safety apps off her list.</p>

8

<p>I agree on the ED comments.! Each fall I am temped to Parent start a thread titled, “ED - Just Say No”. Ok, there are a few situations where ED makes sense…but not many. E</p>

<p>A is a great option, no down side. I remember it took me a while to learn the difference ED vs EA… the terms sound similar. Ah, we’ve learned a lot since then!</p>

9

<p>[An</a> Innovative Approach To Engineering Education | Radio Boston](<a href=“http://radioboston.wbur.org/2012/07/16/president-olin-college]An”>http://radioboston.wbur.org/2012/07/16/president-olin-college)</p>

<p>President Miller from Olin College of Engineering spoke on Radio Boston this week and provides a 15 minute talk about Olin that gives a good overview of the college.</p>

10

<p>OP - What majors are you considering? (If you are not precisely sure, that’s OK… pretty normal). I ask because of your top choices, Olin only has Engineering. Pomona does not have Engineering (but does have math and science majors).</p>

11

<p>For my majors, my top few choices are (in order):</p>

<p>Engineering (Biomedical/Chemical/Electrical)
Sciences (Biology/Chemistry/Physics)
Economics (not very serious about this, just sort of a back up plan)</p>

<p>Essentially I love the sciences, especially Biology and Chemistry. I realize my college choices are very diverse, but at this point I’m not entirely sure what I want to do, so I want to leave my options open. I also know that Olin only has engineering, but it seems that there is still a lot of freedom within what type of engineering you want to do (please correct me if I’m wrong here).</p>

<p>The problem is, almost all the colleges on my list are Early Decision (not EA), and I feel inclined to apply early somewhere - part of me just wants to be finished with the process early. Unfortunately, Olin doesn’t have any EA/ED options, so I’m stuck grappling between Penn ED, or possibly Pomona ED.</p>

12

<p>You don’t have to take what I say too seriously, but this is it: don’t listen to that part of you. This is a decision that will somehow determine the course of your life for at least the next four years if not more. If that is not worth spending a few weeks’ work, you may want to reconsider. ;)</p>

13

<p>First of all, my daughter hasn’t even started at Olin yet, so I’m not, perhaps, the best person to be commenting on all this stuff. Also, I really don’t want this to sound like too much of a lobbying effort, since you’re looking at a lot of great schools and would probably be happy at most (or all) of them. But some of the considerations you’re grappling with sound so much like my daughter, I can’t help but chime in.</p>

<p>She, too, is not sure exactly what she wants to do. She, too, loves sciency/mathy stuff (and especially enjoyed her bio course), but is not clear exactly where that’s going to lead. About the only thing she feels pretty clear about in the science realm is that she probably doesn’t want to go to med school. Since DD doesn’t have her heart set on being an engineer, she struggled with the issue of Olin=engineering vs LACs=no engineering. Here are some of the things she thought about as she made her decision:</p>

<p>–If you go to Olin, you don’t have to decide to be an engineer. You only have to be okay with majoring in engineering. Oliners go on to do a pretty diverse range of stuff after they graduate, and most seem to feel that their Olin education prepared them well for their careers–engineering or otherwise. Olin builds proactive, creative problem solvers, with a broad set of technical tools in their tool belts and the wherewithal to go get new ones as needed. They get a lot of practice working in teams and seeing projects through from inception to completion. That’s a powerful package for a wide range of potential careers.</p>

<p>–As you mentioned, there seems to be quite a lot of freedom at Olin to pursue niche interests in the science/math realm. You’ll end up majoring in engineering of some sort, but if you want to design a chem or bio heavy concentration, with a liberal sprinkling of upper level courses from Wellesley, for instance, I think that can be done. If it’s science you want, I get the impression that the odds of you feeling frustrated by lack of opportunities at Olin are remote.</p>

<p>–The Ph.D. track in laboratory sciences is not necessarily all it’s cracked up to be these days. It’s actually pretty tough out there for recent Ph.Ds (see this depressing article: [U.S&lt;/a&gt;. pushes for more scientists, but the jobs aren’t there - The Washington Post](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-pushes-for-more-scientists-but-the-jobs-arent-there/2012/07/07/gJQAZJpQUW_story.html]U.S”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-pushes-for-more-scientists-but-the-jobs-arent-there/2012/07/07/gJQAZJpQUW_story.html)) DD was also influenced by a bright young woman she met who majored in engineering as an undergrad and is currently finishing up her Ph.D. in physics at an Ivy-league department. She said that, if she had it to do over again, she’d have stuck with engineering, as she feels that their opportunities are more diverse and plentiful.</p>

<p>In the end, what clinched it, however, is just how DD felt sitting in an Olin class vs the more traditional science/engineering lectures at other schools. She was engaged. She was energized. She kept being struck with a “this is so darned cool!” feeling. When you’re signing up for four years of demanding, quant-heavy education, that’s a big deal. That was the Olin difference, and that’s why she’s going.</p>

14

<p>“If you go to Olin, you don’t have to decide to be an engineer. You only have to be okay with majoring in engineering.” - That’s very true. Just applicants should be prepared to be VERY challenged with the coursework (stated by a mom of an engineering major and and engineering-turned-econ major). </p>

<p>A few decisive (and very rich or very poor) students are ready to do a binding ED application. It sounds like you will need more time to refine your priorities. That’s ok and very common. Do yourself a favor - keep your options open. Doing senior coursework and visiting more colleges over the 9 months will give you a better idea of the best path for you. GOOD LUCK!</p>

15

<p>I agree with much of which has been said here–especially the part about just saying no to ED. I also would encourage you to bring your parents to visit Olin (especially if you get invited to Candidates’ Weekend) and let them experience it for themselves and talk with students and faculty and ideally, other parents. </p>

<p>Since your dad attended Harvard Business School after college, he may be interested in the fact that 7 (fully 10%) of the class of 2012 were accepted into the Harvard Business School’s 2+2 program. They will enter the business school after working for 2 years. This program only accepts around 100 students every year, so that is an exceptional rate for Olin!</p>

<p>My son just graduated from Olin and we were blown away by his experience there. If it speaks to you, then listen to that inner voice. Also, read through these threads on Olin and find the comments on (Harvard Professor) Tony Wagner’s “Creating Innovators”. It may be another way of introducing your parents to the idea of Olin.</p>

<p>You are considering some great schools, and you may be happy at any of them, but I would say that your experience would be fundamentally different as night and day at your top 3 (Olin, Harvard and Pomona). Only you know for sure which experience you want.</p>

16

<p>Wow, siusplau… that a great Olin example. The Harvard 2+2 program sounds interesting. </p>

<p>Definitely Op’s top 3 (Olin, Harvard and Pomona) are very different. But it is typical to have variety in the mix at this point. We toured Pomona with our Oliner a few years ago. Even though he was not certain about engineering at that point he did favor Harvery Mudd (more like Olin) over Pomona.</p>

17

<p>Oh yes, I definitely think it is a good idea to have some diversity in the mix, and your preference may or may not crystalize as you get more familiar with the schools and go through the entire process (starting to write essays usually teaches you a lot about yourself!). My 2 kids’ second choice schools were Harvey Mudd (my Olin S) and Pomona(my D)–and I do think they each would have been happy if they hadn’t gotten into their first choice schools. But my son wouldn’t have been as happy at Pomona or at his sister’s ultimate school, so that’s why I mention it. And I’m pretty familiar with the 5-C’s, since both DH and I went to one of the Claremont Colleges!</p>

18

<p>Olin is a tough ticket and they have no early admissions. So don’t fall too much in love.</p>

<p>I am curious - how did you visit Olin but ignore Harvard around the corner?</p>

19

<p>“Olin is a tough ticket and they have no early admissions. So don’t fall too much in love” - So true! Ditto for Harvard and Pomona and other schools on OP’s list. </p>

<p>I’ll echo the value of of college essays and the related self-introspection. It was even meaningful to me as a parent reader. OP - If you can get a summer start (even with last year’s questions), you’ll thank yourself in a few months.</p>

20

<p>It sounds to me like having a great EA school or two on your list would make you a much happier camper - what about University of Chicago?</p>